club politics when it gets personal – UPDATE

A while back I posted this thread http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/club-politics-when-it-gets-personal about a troublesome club member and I think tonight its going to reach a head as its the AGM and he has decided to stand against mr retro as club chairperson.
I feel that his motivation is all wrong after publicly attacking committee members on the club forum and has developed a hatred of my husband and wants his role.
So in a nutshell we have been preparing ourselves and are expecting things to become heated. On a positive note alot of club members have been sending messages expressing their support of my husband and want him to continue. Its upsetting to see it come to this but its been 10 years so I guess we have done well to get this far without any trouble. I do feel like owning him with some bombers 😆 but I will be there to support him and please wish us luck.

Keep your heads, be calm, reasoned and trust worthy. Don’t get sucked into any name calling. The, even if the worst comes, you can walk out, heads held high, and generally in those circumstances, the situation often reverses itself remarkably quickly 😉

Take a go pro, might turn out to be gold!

…and has developed a hatred of my husband and wants his role.

He wants to be your husband?

Good luck [two thumbs up] 😀

hope you get the result you want (and deserve)!

<ignore>

He wants to be your husband?

Erm… almost correct?

Club politics is such a lot of drivel, our club got mired in a dispute a few years back when some officials were bang out of order and there were other clashed before that. These days it seems quite peaceful so far as I can tell.

Good luck may the tossers be vanquished.

If he’s that much of an arse (the other guy) all your husband needs to do is to smile, keep calm and reasonable and Mr Arseypants will make a fool of himself. Sounds like a lot of that’s happened already.

Haven’t read the otehr thread yet…

<ignores>

good luck mr retro!

(keep us posted as to the outcome)

If its being put to a vote why worry?

Hmm clubs

More trials, scheming and machinations than the Roman Senate.

Good luck.

May justice prevail

Many clubs have their prime minister wannabees. They become complete arses when nobody listens so they become pains in the arse.
This will be seen by everybody so if there is a vote they will go away with their tail between their tail.

Why the ignores?

similar club politics here

last year, a handful of us said sod it, “why don’t you stand if you don’t like the way it’s run?” and quit. the biggest PITA of the lot got elected chairman. this year most of the others stepped down, and far fewer people stood for election.

AGM effectively cancelled (conference call that anyone could dial in if they wanted). elections cancelled – since everyone standing vote for themselves, so they’re in.

I know for a fact that I’m not the only one investing a tenner on membership fee with the sole intention of being able to call and vote at an EGM.

I will never ever run a club, or be a committee member of a club ever again, if it contains a formal constitution and/or committee. Far too much trouble.

As I’ve said before I dont want anyone telling me what to do or playing shenaigans in my non-worktime. HATE clubs with a passion. Cycling is about freedom/escaping not conforming/appeasing

Oi!! Hora! Put your nickers on and make me a cup of tea!!!

Whens the AGM binners? I want to wear the trousers next year

If you deserve to keep the position and he is a tosser as you describe then keep on doing what your doing and have faith in other peoples ability to see whats best.
If what you say is correct and they still vote for him then I for one would not want to be part of such as group so see it as a win/win.

i once got a bollocking from someone whose club I rode with at times caught me out on a ride which I hadn’t told the club about.
There’s some mighty strange people out there.

We can do the AGM in the marble on Saturday. I ‘ll bring the leather trousers with matching cap . You can wear them for an hour or two. But nothing else other than a smile. And some Chanel No5

Seriously though…. Why do people join clubs. Surely it’s just shorthand for joyless little hitlers, manifesting their resentful social inadequacies, and character defects, by sucking the pleasure out of everything with pointless petty rules

^^had similar.
same club as the EGM nonsense above. got an earful for holding a private invite-only event and not making it public and open to all members. errr… it was a private event tyvm, nothing to do with the club other than all participants just happened to be affiliated to that club in some way, and on a location generally used by that club.

There’s some mighty strange people out there.

spot on

Seriously though…. Why do people join clubs. Surely it’s just shorthand for joyless little hitlers, manifesting their resentful social inadequacies, and character defects, by sucking the pleasure out of everything with pointless petty rules

Well that depends really… In our case we are a club based around a trail centre and we have a very strong voice with the FC which we wouldn’t get as individuals. The upshot is that we work with the FC to get them to build what we want to ride, not what the FC managers (who are not MTB’ers) think we want to ride.

Additionally as a large group we are able to negotiate benefits for our members such as discounted parking, free bike wash and discounts in local shops etc.

On top of that we can organise ourselves as a group for trail building, running race series, running a junior club to encourage juniors to get on their bikes and teach them bike skills as well as coaching for adults. We also arrange outrides and biking holidays for our members. Many of our members just join us for the benefits and have no connection with the “club” other than knowing that their club fees help build new trails and their discount cards mean that biking costs them less.

We have very few rules other than those based around control of money and child protection, and I’m pretty sure we don’t have any little hitlers either!

Having said that if we weren’t based around a trail centre we wouldn’t be able to do what we do, so I wouldn’t bother with a club…

Good luck, OP – hope it works out for you!

Why do people join clubs

Its often a necessary evil to compete in events such as road relays/national league track events/XC competitions etc. Most people are OK its just a small number that have dull lives.

Most of the BS that went on in my club was before I joined, I know some of the disgruntled people who left as a result. I also know the sad fact of the background to the most recent disputes, but for the time being I have only positive things to say about my club. Chair seems like a reasonable sensible bloke as do the committee members I know. Stirling Bike Club in case you’re asking.

hmmm – wish our club was as good as boriselbrus’
ours used to be in the early days, when everyone was keen to chip in and do their bit.
now it’s more a case that because members have paid a tenner, the committee is there to serve them and do everything, because they’ve paid for a service. easier to get blood out of a stone than to get a non-elected member to volunteer to actually arrange an event.

give me an informal club any day (apart from when you need to act as one “voice”)

Seriously though…. Why do people join clubs.
Surely it’s just shorthand for joyless little hitlers,
manifesting their resentful social inadequacies, and
character defects, by sucking the pleasure out of
everything with pointless petty rules

I reckon that I could be unkind and direct that back at you but I’ll just assume instead that you’ve had a bad experience and can’t see beyond that.

Clubs can be brilliant. A great way to make friends and meet like minded people. They’re as pretty and joyless as the people in them make them.

My “club” has no rules, barely any structure and seems to be fairly popular and people have fun. Basically it’s a group of mates. I’m struggling to see any negatives.

To the OP, good luck. Leave and join/start a new club if things go wrong with yours.

Why do people join clubs?

Because the club cycling scene is the reason we have cycling in the UK from the post-war period up to the present day.

Everyone of those UK cyclists you cheer on in the Tour this year has been a member of a cycling club, providing help, advice and encouragement as they developed.

The UK riders who helped establish mountain biking in the UK, the Tim Goulds, the David Bakers, the Nick Craigs all came from a club background.

Clubs can be rubbish, and a home for the failed politician, but they have contributed a great deal more than mountain bike websites…

Clubber – what you’ve described isn’t a club. Which is beautiful, given you’re name 😀

What you’re describing is a bunch of mates. Which is the type of riding most of us do. Relaxed and informal.

I just have issues with anything that takes a fun, spontaneous, joyful thing and starts straight-jacketing it with rules, and telling you what you are and aren’t allowed to do. Surely to god there’s enough of that in life, without filling your limited leisure gimme with it? There’s a type of person drawn to that type of thing. And frankly, the less I have to do with them, the better. I’m pretty sure it’d be mutual. I remember reading the rules of a club from a link on here (who shall remain nameless) that specified the minimum amount to be spent on your bike. I bet they were a right laugh on a Sunday morning. Talk about missing the point!

Any erm crumpet in these clubs? (in addition to that lovely asian girl in the boggies)

It can be a selfish way of looking at things. I pay my running club subs annually and a levy to the Northern AAA’s. I get (and expect) very little in return and I have been fiercely loyal to the 3 clubs I have ran for in over 30 years (each club change was as a result of relocation) but I have an image in my minds eye of a mini bus leaving our club house on a Saturday morning taking a load of kids to XC and track competitions all over the UK.
To me thats what the club structure is all about, fierce battles, camaraderie and giving encouragement and support to youngsters.
The clubs I have been a member of have had a large number of unpaid members who work tirelessly for the benefit of others. Thats why the few tyrants should be tarred and feathered.

A feather jacket for Ivy!

Well, binners, it’s a club if we call it one. Don’t be trying to set rules on what it has to be to be a club 😉

Besides, we have a website, kit, events and everything. We are clearly serious.

I just have issues with anything that takes a fun, spontaneous, joyful thing and starts straight-jacketing it with rules, and telling you what you are and aren’t allowed to do.

My experience of being in a club is making some great friends, getting opportunities to do some fantastic cycling with like minded people, and being exposed to different types of cycling (and even different sports) that I probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise. The club runs lots of local races, helps coach and develop youth and junior riders and funded me for a coaching qualification, so I’ve been able to put something back into the sport myself.
I’ve never been told what to do or given a set of rules to follow, but I have had a lot of really good laughs.

The more I think about it, being in a club is totally rubbish isn’t it?

Just back from our Tuesday evening club meet. A 26 mile steady group ride with a mixture of juniors, beginners and senior riders. Through and off with the odd interval and a little hammertime at the end. Of course a fast race pace group and medium paced groups also went out – something for everyone. Our club encourages riders of all abilities, on road, track, Cx and soon to be (gasp!) mtb’s. We offer free coaching and as much tea and advice as you can consume. We run events for the community (Go Ride Cyclocross on Sunday, for example) and visit local schools. I make it a personal goal to be friendly to new riders or people just coming to test the water, as it is a big step for some joining a club. I don’t see much politicing – just the opposite in fact.

It even managed to get this middle aged man in lycra racing 😯 and coaching. I would never have done that off my own bat, although I did ride sportives and a few Gorrick races pre-club.

To the OP: The high ground looks well mapped and you are on it. Even if your husband loses the vote, the club will be the eventual loser. Running clubs is unrequited love and I’m sure all will come good in the end.

Unnecessarily political people usually dig their own graves, given enough time. You just have to keep your distance and watch them destroy their own profile with their self-obession and manipulation.
OP you should be fine…

Sorry to hear about your politics – fingers crossed that your hubby wins the vote

I’ll echo many of the positive comments above. If your new to an area or new to biking, then a MTB club is the best way to get into it

I get to ride with 100+ riders, have made some great mates, have ridden in some amazing places around the UK, have learnt how to go down a hill quick, have learnt how to climb and train, have learnt how to fix my bike and also learnt the local biking area and the hidden trails

Alternatively, i could have just ridden with the same 3 people, at the same speed, doing the same loop in the local forest and only ever done ‘away’ trips to trail centres

Yes, the politics can be a pain, but only of you get involved with meetings (been there done that)but if you want to avoid the tension – just do the club rides

If there is tension or politics on the rides, its time to find a new club 🙂