Goulburn Cycle Club calls for clarity over AusCycling bid

But a collaborative motion put to a special general meeting of Cycling NSW clubs didn't receive the required 75 percent support to pass.

A national body, AusCycling, was proposed to replace 19 governing bodies of the sport's three main spokes: track and road, BMX and mountain biking.

It had been proposed cooperatively between BMX Australia, Mountain Bike Australia and Cycling Australia (which oversees Cycling NSW) to de-clutter governance of the sport.

Fourteen of those 19 national and state and territory bodies that administer the main forms of cycling have now voted, and 11 have voted in support.

Those clubs who did support AusCycling represented more than 50 percent of Cycling NSW members, but not the 75 percent required.

And, in a recent informal vote ahead of last week's motion, 62.5 percent of NSW track and road clubs polled were against joining AusCycle.

Last week, the Goulburn Cycle Club (GCC) was calling for more transparency before any final decisions were made.

In the lead-up to Cycling NSW's vote on the issue, GCC president Adam Lambert expressed his concerns about the proposed AusCycling model.

Lambert supports the idea of unity between cycling codes, but wants more transparency from AusCycling about the suggested changes.

"We are 100 percent for unity, we're 100 percent for anything that makes our licenses cheaper," Lambert said.

"But there's a lot of information that we don't really have, to make it as clear as we need it to be."

Lambert's primary concerns were: a lack of clarity around the funding and licence models; and weakened relationship between GCC and Cycling NSW.

AusCycling had proposed "a single race licence that covers all disciplines ... no need for a seperate licence to ride BMX, mountain bikes [or] road and track bikes", according to an open letter on the Cycling Australia website.

While the GCC approves of this in theory, in execution it becomes murkier.

What happens, the club asked, if a BMX club has lower fees than a nearby track and road club? There is nothing to stop cyclists from the latter joining the former, but continuing to compete in track and road competitions as they would no longer be restricted by divided licenses.

This, the GCC said, opened the door for clubs with higher fees to lose revenue and members.

An AusCycling spokeperson told the Post in an email that the national body would "not mandate what fees clubs should charge their members".

"Clubs will determine what fees are appropriate for their members," the spokeperson said, but added: "AusCycling will charge lower membership fees and licence fees for most riders, particularly families and people competing across the various disciplines."

Previously, where the GCC may have struggled for sponsorship or members, the club had relied on Cycling NSW's financial stability for assistance, Lambert said.

Under the new model, all funds from the original 19 governing bodies would go directly into AusCycling coffers. Thus Lambert was concerned about the accessibility of localised support in the absence of a state governing body.

But the AusCycling spokesperson was quick to assuage those fears: "AusCycling will have offices in every state and territory of Australia with dedicated staff delivering services to members locally.

"We expect that staffing levels in AusCycling offices across the country will be broadly the same or slightly larger than the current staffing complement in the states and territories."

With the possibility of more staff and a host of new initiatives listed, including enhanced resources and support services, more coaching and education programs, and a fully developed career pathway, along with existing costs from the three disciplines, unification also looked like a high-cost venture.

AusCycling had been promised $2.5 million by Sport Australia should the vote be successful, and the pooling of the three major bodies' resources.

But Lambert questioned its funding models. "A lot of their funding models are based on the hope that they get some massive national level sponsorship that wants to sponsor cycling in Australia as a whole," Lambert said. "The example they use [from the UK] is [British multinational investment bank and financial services] HSBC ... and there's no guarantee that'll ever happen."

Cycling Australia - the national body for track and road cycling - is about $2 million in debt, and has maintained a similar level of debt for some years.

Despite that, AusCycling was confident the body was financially secure. "Cycling Australia has reported a profit for the past five years and remains in a financially stable position," the AusCycling spokeperson said.

Cycling Australia's financial reports did show an upward trend in recent years. In 2017, debt totalled $2,345,166; this year, debt had been reduced by nearly $300,000 to $2,066,190. In 2019, total surplus exceeded $170,000.

Cycling NSW's formal vote against the AusCycling initiative made it the third state governing body to do so, after Cycling Tasmania and WestCycle.

This makes it unlikely Cycling Australia will get an overall 75 percent of support it needs to join AusCycling. Thus it would be the second national governing body, alongside BMX Australia, to be unlikely to join AusCycling.

However, BMX NSW Inc has since advised it will hold a special general meeting of its clubs to reconsider the AusCycling proposal early next year.

The AusCycling spokesman said "both Mountain Biking Australia and Cycling Australia have indicated they remain committed to working with their members and affiliates towards the establishment of AusCycling."

Should both Cycling Australia and Mountain Biking Australia vote against the proposal, the latter could still be reformed as a standalone AusCycling.

This would pose a problem for both Cycling Australia and BMX Australia, as AusCycling could become cycling's only recognised national sporting group.

Sports Australia said recently that it only intended to support one cycling entity, and that only NSOs would be eligible to receive funding.

This means any national bodies who elect not to join AusCycling would face losing a significant source of revenue.

"If an NSO doesn't join AusCycling, its affiliates and their members won't have access to the benefits of AusCycling or the services it will provide," the AusCycling spokesman said.

"These include a single licence to ride any bike, family discounts, a more competitive national insurance program, national member welfare and integrity policies, and funding for national programs and infrastructure."

Not only would the loss of NSO status impact federal funding, the spokesman added, but it may jeopardise state funding as well.

"The loss of State Sporting Organisation status may impact funding provided by State and Territory Governments," he said.

"The most likely result flow-on effect of this would be that members subsidise the loss of revenue in increased membership and licence costs."

Even if road and track were to vote against joining AusCycling, the majority of member states who voted in favour could join regardless, which would result in splintered governing bodies.

Given the disconnect between Cycling Australia's clear desire to join AusCycling and its members' reticence, will there be a reassessment and an opportunity to put forward another, more agreeable proposal?

The answer, said the AusCycle spokesman, is a resounding 'no'.

"There is only one proposed AusCycling model that has been presented in this voting process. There is no Plan B option," he said.

It remains to be seen exactly what the vote will mean for clubs throughout Australia. However, Lambert was clear his priority was his club's welfare.

"My number one interest is my members and my club, which I've dedicated the majority of my life to," Lambert said.

"I don't see where handing [Cycling NSW's funds] over to recover some debt for Cycling Australia, who Cycling NSW has bailed out financially in the past, how that benefits us in little old Goulburn.

"That's the long and the short of it."

Did you know the Goulburn Post is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up here.