We covered some big topics at the Council meeting last week (25 June). Here are a few highlights.
Transition to a new membership system agreed – considerable work has gone into finding the best way forward when the PIMS contract ends later this year. Additional work actioned at the last meeting has now been completed to the Director’s satisfaction and the transition to a new system has been given the green light. This is a major project for the operations team and it will take time, so there will be more updates as it progresses.
Increase to 4 Independent Non-Executive Directors agreed – INEDs bring an important balance to the Board, providing objective scrutiny as well as bringing skills and knowledge that are needed by the Board. Since 2016 two of the twelve seats on the Board have been reserved for INEDs. Directors have now agreed that this should be increased to four of the twelve seats. This will align us with the recommendation from the Independent Board Review and good governance guidance. As this change will require amendment of British Skydiving’s Articles of Association, I will be presenting it to members and seeking agreement at the 2025 AGM.
Skills audits and succession planning actioned – putting these in place will enable Directors to identify skills gaps and expertise needed for the Board to run effectively in the short, mid and long term. This means we will be able to place clear skills and expertise requirements at the core of our recruitment to the Board going forward.
2024-2025 budget signed off – this is a customary item at this point in the year. Recent changes to the structure of the operations team enabled us to approach this crucial annual task in a slightly different way this year; managed by Rob and his Senior Leadership Team, with Committee input and Board oversight and sign off. This sees us return to a break-even budget following the instability of the Covid years. However, to achieve this the Board agreed that athletes’ attendance at World Cups will no longer be financially supported and that this decision will be reviewed every two years.
British Skydiving ambassador scheme initiated – this focuses on trialling a scheme across this year with an emphasis on growing the positive and enthusiastic representation of skydiving across social media to promote the sport.
The minutes of the meeting will be published in the members’ section of the website shortly.
Mary (Chair of British Skydiving)