In light of the disappointing announcement that more than 200 BFA members are calling for an EGM I thought it would be useful to provide a bit more information and provide some facts as balance to other information being promulgated; not least because around 2000 BFA members have not called for an EGM and are possibly unaware of the reasons being cited and it is their association too.
Most importantly I would like to reassure the membership that there remains a functioning committee of hard working, impartial and experienced members continuing to try and run the association effectively on your behalf; I will admit it is not a ‘normal’ functioning committee: 2 members have withdrawn from supporting the committee on EGM related matters and 2 are actively calling and orchestrating the EGM. There remain 5 members who continue to be committed to serving the association on all matters and ensure normal business continues whilst we go through the process of an EGM, to ensure there is a quorum to enable committee decisions and allow the association to continue to run, with or without full engagement from the entire committee.
There has been a delay in the announcement of an EGM due to the application of due diligence by the committee on behalf of the membership who did not call it; the list of names presented as having called the EGM had a significant number of errors including multiple duplicates, junior members, and expired memberships. This has still not been satisfactorily validated by those responsible, but we accept corrections would not bring the number down below 200, and given that the call for an EGM was inappropriately released by those responsible, before it was verified that it complied with the constitution, the committee felt obliged to provide more information immediately.
The reasons a minority group of members have called for the EGM have been published but essentially the calling notice referred to the committee investigation into the running of a BFA tournament at Ardingly earlier in the year. The most important fact for members to bear in mind is that this process has not yet finished, this is really important, not least due to the confidentiality of private information belonging to those involved. Despite the claims made by those calling for an EGM, no final decisions have been made; all of what is referred to as fact in the past tense in the EGM calling notice is currently under appeal. The calling notice has stated concerns about the application of BFA rules in regard to this procedure. There is no clear agreement on the application of some rules between those members of the committee calling for an EGM and those that are not, although the 5 of us are satisfied that there is clear precedence for the disputed committee actions going back through many iterations of the BFA committee for many years previously. There is a documented evidence trail of the 5 of us having continually attempted to mediate the dissatisfaction that had been expressed regarding differing interpretations of the rules and our own subjective opinions; we have made multiple unreciprocated offers of meetings and mediation to discuss these concerns directly and try to get to the nub of the issue, including Alternative Dispute Resolution from an independent charity, includng an attempt today. We even offered to discuss this matter openly at the already scheduled AGM which would have allowed the whole membership to be involved and for the committee to gain the opinion of the membership in where we go for resolution. We have been obstructed and frustrated by those directly involved, and other committee members at each turn. I have pointed out on multiple occasions that an EGM would be hugely costly to the association, financially, organisationally and have a significant impact on the mental health of those involved; our many, and well documented efforts to resolve this matter have not been engaged with openly and constructively.
It is important for the membership to understand that the constitution states that an EGM must be held at a location central in the UK and only adult members attending in person are allowed to vote. The current EGM procedures exclude members in more remote locations, exclude those with caring responsibilities, exclude those with inflexible working arrangements, and importantly, they exclude those on tight budgets. The 5 of us feel this rule is out of date and inconsistent with the rules for an AGM which is why, prior to there being a call for an actual EGM, a majority of the committee had already agreed to put a proposal forward to bring EGM voting procedures in line with AGM voting procedures. The rules as they stand deliberately exclude the vast majority of the membership from being able to decide on any EGM matters.
The 5 committee members who remain performing their full duites are absolutely clear that this association belongs to the membership and whilst the committee are elected to deal with routine matters, and routine interpretations of the rules, the entire membership should be provided the opportunity to engage in any matters of enduring significance. This is why we have worked so hard over many years to bring about procedures with the AGM that enable access for everyone and enable voting for everyone, and this is why we will still endeavour to run this next AGM as planned as the continued functioning of the BFA is important to us. There is a principle with EGMs that they are used to generate a meeting when there is an urgency to determine a matter outside of the normal meeting cycle. The matters referred to are not dog welfare, gross misconduct or existential to the BFA in any way and could easily be resolved as an AGM item or by people using words. We have an AGM on 22nd October, which is before an EGM could take place due to the 28-day rule; and an offer to openly discuss the grievances at the AGM was rejected. It is still your meeting though, and the 5 of us will answer any questions you may have relating to this matter, noting laws on confidentiality of private information will apply to some of the details. Disclosing private information, that was sent with a reasonable expectation of privacy, without the sender’s consent could constitute a criminal offence noting there are very specific exceptions laid out in statute (none of which are likely be applicable to BFA business), and the misuse of private information sentencing guidelines are fairly severe so please understand why some information will not be disclosable under any circumstance without the agreement of the original owner/sender of that information.
Further relevant information at this point is that another AGM proposal agreed by the majority of the committee is a revision of the BFA’s grievance/disciplinary procedures which have been proven to be inadequate each time they have been tested; and this is the nub of the issue with the Ardingly investigation. A separate grievance procedure which would clearly lay down a simple and straightforward process which allows matters of concern to be addressed by members or the committee, without having to resort to making allegations of misconduct and pay £50 to use the disciplinary process for resolution.
The 5 of us are 100% happy to discuss any of these matters with the membership at an EGM; we are not trying to avoid an EGM, we just do not think it is in the best interests of the association. The 5 of us are all at ease with our conscience as everything we have done has genuinely been with the best interests of the whole association at heart; no personal motivations; no private interests; and where the application of the rules is open to interpretation, we are content that we have been guided by precedence set by previous iterations of the BFA committee and we have been consistent in our approach. It is your association though and should you decide that our actions were, or are, inconsistent with the way you wish the BFA to be run we will all happily step down from your committee. We do feel strongly though that this should be your choice, and a choice based on truth. To some degree we accept responsibility for the EGM because we could have walked away, but we have refused to be bullied off the committee; and despite a lengthy period of harassment, we remain committed to the obligations we undertook when we were elected to serve the membership and will do so until such point as our terms end or you decide you do not want us.
An EGM under the current rules could well be decided simply by who can pack the most supporters into the venue on the day; the future of the association should not be decided by a small, if vocal, minority, it should be decided by fair and transparent behaviours by the majority of the association. So, my request to all the membership is for your engagement in this matter and your attendance at the EGM; the more members that are involved, the more likely you are to get a resolution that the majority of you want. In the meantime, we will endeavour to keep you informed and answer any questions we can without breaching confidentiality or personal privacy.
My final plea is this: an EGM will be emotive, and it will be polarising; please behave like responsible adults and be mindful of the mental health of others, especially on your engagement on social media which includes the misuse of private information. We thank you in advance. Juddy and the BFA Committee.