Minutes/Notes from the 2nd CWMC Forum, held after CMWC '97 Barcelona.

(compiled, typed and edited by Joel Metz)

Right off the bat, we decided to put a time limit on the whole thing of 1 hour 45 minutes. that gave us 15 minutes to talk on each of the topics, and kept things under control so that the meeting didn't last forever. Rebecca Riley signed up as the facilitator, and it was agreed that due to the short notice of the meeting and the small range of cities represented, we would take only a few very crucial decisions, and otherwise offerring ideas and advice. Here's what we came up with:

1. What sort of event do we want? If we had a perfect championships, how would it go?

• the realism factor: locks at every checkpoint? "real" messenger bags required? "real" messengers? (how do we confirm this?)
  
• longer races?
  
• more "fun" events - tire changing, lock quick draw, fixed gear skid
  
• dq/suspensionsion for repeated unsportsmanlike conduct?
  
• full information on the course well before the race!
  
• is the le mans start really neccessary? is there some way we can make it safer for the bikes?
  
• make sure the course is designed for the racers, not tv or spectators.

2. Future structure of the CMWC?

• do we want a regulating body? what will it look like?
  
• committee? - term limits neccessary?
  
• representatives? - not electoral style, each area gets equal number of votes/reps
  
• committee takes over sponsor search? easier for sponsors to deal with a more consistant bargaining body?
  
• or, committee serves simply as advisors concerning the process
  
• possibility of a committee gaining too much power over the event - it would need
  
• accountability

or...

• people attending open forum take the decisions - if you're not concerned enough to attend, you're responsible and accountable for not taking part - ie no whining. make the effort, get the vote.
  
• open forum before event?
  
• announce it in reg. packet!
  
• send confirmation postcard with forum info!

3. Host city decisions

• most discussion here got covered in 2.

4. Deciding the host city for ECMC/NACMC

• same way as for CMWC, except Europeans or North Americans only deciding their respective events

5. Determining criteria for a CMWC host city

• type of camp courier shouldn't be a factor - some cities can do things others can't
  
• mandatory 3 days racing? everyone races at least twice?
  
• guidelines needed more than rules
  
• sponsors - keep things in the hands of the messengers
  
• keep CMWC/ECMC/NACMC safely separated through the calendar - the date is always up to the proposing host, and the forum decides from there.
  
• there's no real way to enforce decisions - the open forum is mostly advisory in this respect.

6. Womens issues

• tabled for further discussion through women's networking

7. How to cover extraneous costs - web page, email list etc

• surcharge on entry fee?
  
• check box to donate on reg form?

Summary of the decisions that actually got taken:

• Copenhagen has until Nov 1 to submit a proposal for 1999. If they don't have one by then, it falls by default to Zurich. This is to establish precedent of having proposals in 2 years in advance, so that the decision can be taken in an informed manner 1 year in advance, and so cities have that time to really start work in anticipation of getting the event.
  
• The open forum in DC '98 will be in 2 parts - the first, a longer discussion/debate meeting before the races, and the second a shorter decision-making meeting after the events. This is so that we have time to discuss throughly the topics on the agenda, and then to reflect on discussion and take in any factors from the current event that might affect our positions before taking a decision.
  
• The open forum in DC is the closing date for acceptance of proposals for CMWC 2000. Cities proposing for 2000 should have at least draft proposals ready for distribution at that time.
  
• ECMC '98 will be held in Graz. This was an arbitrary decision taken at this point - hopefully some sort of forum will arise at the ECMC as well to take care of the decision-making process for further ECMCs.
  
• A guideline booklet needs to be produced.
  
• The deadline for submission of agenda topics for the CMWC '98 open forum is June 1, 1998. After this date, the agenda is closed, and will be released to the public around mid-July. Agenda topics can be submitted either directly to the DC committee or through me.