from BHAA Hi all
A couple of points. 1. Contrary to what was stated in my email on Monday and the text message that was sent during the week, there will be two separate races at Cherryfield Park, Ballyboden on Saturday next. This has been decided in order to avoid confusion at the finish. So, the women’s two mile race will start at 11.30am and the men’s five mile race will start at 12.00 noon.
2. Group teams
Originally, only single organisations were eligible to win team prizes. Obviously, these would often be large organisations (e.g. Bank of Ireland, Eagle Star etc.) and could win team prizes regularly. For a member working for an organisation that does not have many runners, group teams were set up in order to give such members an opportunity to win team prizes. Group teams were formed by the BHAA based on the area of business/activity that the employer operated in.
Over time, there have been flaws with this arrangement as occasionally the groups have become quite large and consequently very successful, and too successful in the opinion of some.
The issue was raised at the AGM in December and was discussed at a recent BHAA committee meeting. The method of allocating members to group teams is being reviewed and it is likely that from February onwards the method will be changed. This may involve a group of members from one area of business declaring a list of runners as a team for the year ahead.
An important requirement in all of this is for members to complete the membership form accurately. One question now is: “Would you wish BHAA to include you in a generic group team?” Another is “Please tick one group that describes your business area.” We are reliant on members to complete this accurately.
And just to be clear on the way this works: If an accountant works for the Army, the relevant box to be ticked on the form is Defence Forces and not Accountants. If you work in IT for a supermarket, the relevant box is Retail and not IT/Computing.
I am told that the online form and PayPal are ready but I need to get final confirmation before sending out the details. I will send out an email as soon as I hear.
Best of luck at the weekend.
The Editor
