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Outcomes of Equestrian Australia 2013/14 AGM

Published on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 in General

By Michelle Cook/EA

Equestrian Australia (EA) Chairman Dr Warwick Vale has declared the new national membership structure a success, revealing to attendees at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Sydney on Saturday, that the new unified approach had achieved an 8.1% membership growth in its first year.

Dr Vale told the meeting of EA’s shareholders (the EA State Branches) that future growth would require ongoing collaboration between EA and the states.

“After a two year consultation period it is pleasing to see the new structure come to fruition and deliver strong growth in our sport.

“Moving forward we’re confident that the programs and initiatives we have in the pipeline will lead to continued membership growth in the future,” Dr Vale told attendees.  

Saturday’s AGM provided an opportunity for EA to provide its shareholders with an update on the major works and milestones of the organisation during the recent financial year and advise of its ongoing plans.

ICT  

“A key priority for the Board during financial year 13/14 was to finalise arrangements for a long term and sustainable IT solution for the sport,” Dr Vale said.  

“In the 12 months since the last AGM, the external consultancy group Synergy Corporate Technologies completed a review of the organisation’s IT position as well as a rigorous scoping exercise. The review received input from the states and the Australian Sports Commission. 

“The review was a result of Board and states recognising there were challenges with the previous registration platform, equnect, and agreed that further scoping was required.

“As well as highlighting the sport’s future IT needs, the review and scoping exercise concluded that equnect in its current form is not the most efficient solution for the sport moving forward and as such it will not be utilised in the future solution.

“Delivering an effective IT solution for the benefit of members, clubs and event organisers is an important priority for the board and we look forward to revealing full details of the future platform in the coming days. 

FINANCIALS

“The Board was of the opinion that no future benefit would be derived from equnect and as a result the organisation recorded a deficit in FY 13/14 however EA’s balance sheet remains strong as the national office premises was revalued and this returned a gain of $493,369 to the revaluation reserve.

“Taking this into account actual reserves have increased by $391,682 in FY 2014. 

The full financial report is contained in the http://www.equestrian.org.au/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png EA Annual Report 2013-14.pdf

HIGH PERFORMANCE

“Preparation of our teams for the World Equestrian Games was the priority for high performance and in the first year of the four year Rio Olympic/Paralympic Games cycle management worked closely with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) to align with its Winning Edge strategy.  

“Once again there were outstanding results by Aussie riders. Among the many achievements was Sam Griffiths’ win at Badminton CCI4*, Chris Burton’s victory at Adelaide CCI4*, Mary Hanna representing Australia at her fourth FEI World Cup Final for Dressage and Jamie Kermond winning the Australian Showjumping Championship, Australian League of the FEI World Cup Final for Jumping and competing at the FEI World Cup Final. 

“It was also fantastic to see Boyd Exell win his sixth consecutive title at the FEI World Cup Driving Final and Paralympic gold medallist Joann Formosa receive the FEI’s Against All Odds Award.” 

HENDRA

“The Board remains committed to effectively managing the risk of Hendra virus at events in the interests of safeguarding members and event organisers,” said Dr Vale.

At the 2014 AGM there were three motions of special business raised, one of which called for the EA Hendra Vaccination By-Law to be rescinded. (See the outcomes of all motions presented HERE).

“The Board is pleased the majority of shareholders did not support a motion to revoke the Hendra By-law," Dr Vale said.

“The Hendra By-Law will remain postponed while a review is conducted and the Board has committed to wide consultation during this process. Any future implementation of a by-law requiring condition of entry vaccination to EA events will be notified to the sport giving three months’ notice.

“The board is unwavering in its commitment to protecting EA members and event organisers against Hendra virus and the outcome of Saturday’s meeting allows for the board to continue along this path and to carry on with its consideration of the role Hendra vaccination will play.”

MOVING FORWARD

“The Board is focused on continued membership growth and the development of a participation pathway for the whole of the sport, beginning with Ready Set Trot, is currently in the works. The organisation aims to grow the membership by 10% in the next financial year and the employment of two development officers, thanks to ongoing participation funding provided by the Australian Sports Commission, will allow us to put development programs into action. 

“Work on the first phase of the new ICT platform will commence and a commercialisation strategy that will work to lift the profile and profitability of some of Australia’s leading international equestrian events will also be put into action,” Dr Vale said. 

The Equestrian Australia 2013-14 Annual Report is available to download.


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