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Could the Committee please publish the minutes of all previous meetings during 2008.
Also could the Committee please let the membership know who will be resigning from the Committee in 2009 (April?) How will the election of new Committee Members be decided?
I have full intentions of applying for the chairmans job. I know Andy is resigning and Geoff Smith wants to apply for his seat. I am not sure what Geoff thinks about working with me but i will certainly take the job seriously do the job to the best of my abilities.
I believe the election should be done by a simple vote by members of the FRA. simple. :)
Depends whos in the running, but if not that many then i would vote or you! :)
I plan to take an active involvement in the running of the FRA once I am finished uni but for now I wish you all the best Swanny
To all roboteers and prospective FRA commitee members.
There are still many problems in the fraternity, major safety issues (one I was shot down for, for bringing up some months ago) have not been delt with by the commitee, rules are being ignored on a regular basis on some shows but constant pressure is put on others.
This is not in the sports interest.
We attend events regardless of the organisers and try to maintain a political position of sitting on the fence. The same connot be said of the current FRA commitee, we have already lost one organiser as a result. We need more event organisers not less, the more we are in the public eye the more likely the TV companies are to put Robot Wars back on TV.
I therefor propose a set of additional rules to be added to the FRA constitution:
1.To avoid conflict of interest and voting bias commitee members should not be employed, wether paid or not, by event organisers.
2.Commitee members should be active roboteers attending events from all orgamisers.
3.Commitee members should support all organisers and do their best to promote them equally.
4.Commitee members should be open about all issues which affect the roboteers or sport in general and post subjects to be discused prior to voting to get the roboteers views.
5.all important issues should be voted for/against by the roboteers not the commitee.
These are my veiws, what are yours guys and gals?
I plan to make the FRA as transparent as possible. 1 way might be to have a members only thread with a members password so issues can be made clear and out of the public eye therefore making the forum a better place arguement free. Minutes from every meeting should be given a timescale to be posted in a minutes thread....say 2 weeks. If we all work together the roboteering world will be a much better one.
swanny, as a fra member and it being a public forum i think its fair to say i can post my 2pence worth, you do make some good points, and so does mike, but my question is from comments you have made in the past such as roaming robots, the future of roboteering (JUST REPEATING WHAT I HAVE READ ON HERE OFF MEMORY,AND EXPRESSING MY VIEWS,BEFORE ANYONE GETS ON THEIR HIGH HORSE) could it not look a bit biast towards roaming robots if you were chairman? from other peoples eyes. perhaps someone else might be thinking of asking the same question, i mean i dont know your involvment with RR, and your points are good enough in my eyes to make you a suitable candidate. it just might help clear up a question i have, and maybe others.
You have every right to ask that question Adrian and i dont doubt others think the same. All i can say is that when it comes down to it i will do what i think is right. I have stuck my neck out for Robots Live on more than 1 occassion and i have tried very hard to make jonno attend RL events which he now does and i do believe people now think he does go to be a roboteer and not to see what the opposition is doing. I will freely admit Jonno is my personal friend but thats where it stops. My problem is that i am very oppinionated and i am not afraid to say so. Black is Black with me which is why i believe i will make a good chairman. Those that know me on a personal level will agree with what i say. All i want is good for our sport which is very fragile at the moment.
The FRA was originally set up to support the roboteers in order to control their own destiny away from the likes of Mentorn. So what if an event organiser is not acting in the best interests of the roboteers especially in such matters as safety? Does the FRA committee support the EO or the roboteers? I know which I would choose.
There is no simple way of putting this but Black is black with me becomes grey very quickly. The amount of rivalry/disatisfaction/mistrust and conspiracy theories that exist within our community (I hear it all you know) just pees me off to the extent that I often ask myself why I bother.
I dont give a flying .... about allegences. We are a small community that needs to help each other out - and that we do. Are the boxers loaned out gratis? If not then that would constitute employment to me - as does selective appearance fees (I know that goes on too).
I am just not interested in conspiracy theories as to who did what to whom or who DOES what for whom. As a roboteer I want to attend an event that is safely run to the rules drawn up by the FRA (a very relevant point which is too complicated to go into here!) and that is why I am a very active member of the FRA. That is why any EO (yes any) receives short shrift from me if I feel they overstep the mark.
Despite everyones support and kind words for my efforts, due to the lack of a job and the financial hardship that brings I may not be able to continue beyond March proving once and for all that black holes do exist!
New resolution for 2009 - my patience just ran out.
Mike, which event organiser was it that was lost? Only interested
Liam
I believe he means XFM
Liam, it was XFM (extreme fighting machines) run by Ed Hoppit.
XFM was gone lost years ago
About one and a half years ago was their last event Liam, I think they gave up shortly after.
As expected when I put my head over the parepit again someone (and not for the first time in this case) has taken a pot shot.
Just so everyone knows I charge a hire fee for the boxers, all event organisers are aware of this and have the opportunity to make the choice if they want them or not, three in the UK have done so in the past.
I will not be putting myself forward as a commitee menmber so this is not an issue.
I realise that commitee members do sometimes get a lot of flack, that is almost inevitable.
For the record (again!) I have nothing against Roaming Robots, we attend the events we can, I like Jonno, Stu even Pete!!!
(even though I was in his bad books a lot at first!).
However it is a fact that safety issues have not been delt with.
Karoline,
Your patience may have run out (and I dont blame you) but I want to say thanks to you and the FRA committee for the work they have done. Without the FRA, after the demise of the robot wars forum and the program itself, this sport would have drifted off into nothing.
With that said I do believe that changed are required. New additions to the committee might be the way to bring this about.
I will wait out the next few months with interest.
Gary
1 of the things i believe should happen is a fresh start with issues. Some need to still be resolved i agree, but with fresh committee members the FRA can start on a level playingfield for everyone, and issues involving the FRA should be made transparent for members to have an opinion on. Issues can be delt with in the fairest possible way with all to see. A water under the bridge attitude is needed and everyone can work together for the better good
cheers for clearing that up, i also am very oppionated! the only problems i see with this sport is their are too many discussions behind closed doors. Also their are too many people who think they know it all and know what is best for the sport.
(Message edited by ady on January 02, 2009)
Another year, another debate...
This time last year we were discussing membership... this year were discussing committee members.... what will it be next year.
I think the problem with forum debates is that as always things get taken (possibly) the wrong way and blown out of proportion, and these lead to feuds €¦. I know it€™s the same on any forum for any hobby, and others would say the same I€™m sure.
The forum as I see it is a public place€¦. However everyone should be allowed to have their view. Both, Mike, Shane, Adrian, Karoline are all right in things they say and valid points.
I must admit I try and stay out of the FRA business as much as possible, although I do sometimes enjoy getting involved in good debates. Politics is what make the world tick and unfortunately it will always be around.
Ok some people will favour one EO, and others another EO, but I actually think we have turned a corner€¦Although Karoline is right that our community is small, I disagree with Shane about the community being so fragile. Its been several years now since Robot Wars finished on the TV, and look where we are€¦ we€™re still going€¦ and not only that€¦. We are quite strong when you look at the bigger picture.
EO€™s are still making a little bit of money ( yes only a little bit ) :-) , shows are improving, safety is improving , ( granted I know mike still has some issues but again its nothing that cant be sorted out in 2009 I€™m sure ). Now at the moment the 2009 callander is bare€¦ RL and RR haven€™t posted the events yet, but I€™m sure it is going to be yet another busy one where we get to enjoy our hobby.
Ok so we need some new committee members big deal, €¦. We can discuss€¦ Some of Mikes and Adrian€™s points are valid€¦ Will Shane be Biased towards RR because we are close friends? Can a committee member only go to one EO€™s events? I don€™t think it matters, because if they are willing to give up their time, travel to meetings at their own expense, hours on the phone, then I think we should be grateful they are bothered to stand out and be counted.
Mike€¦ I think you would be an ideal person to get on the committee€¦ you are one of the select few who isn€™t afraid to speak out.
Remember the FRA is run by a committee, and decisions are made with the backing of the committee, so that blows most conspiracies out as far as I€™m concerned. All EO€™s do wrong€¦. I admit in 2008 ive done some stupid things, made some mistakes, but I€™ve learned along the way as we all do€¦. What makes a difference is how you deal with it !!!
I€™ve even had a strong SLAP from the FRA regarding a certain event in the middle east and its safety€¦. I dealt with it in a professional manner and took my warning on the chin !! There didn€™t have to be a big fall out over it.
I€™ve vowed 2009 is crunch time for RR, it makes or breaks in the current climate, this time next year things will be different one way or another.
But together as a community 2009 COULD be fantastic !!! We need to ride out the storm.
What€™s done is done, lets move forward !! Find some new committee members, and go play robots !!
Getting back on topic€¦ Read above to the first thread€¦. Who ever puts themselves forward for the committee€¦ they get my vote for caring !!
John
Distance is the reason why I stopped as European Rep some time ago, I simply could not attend the Committee sessions. Leo has taken that up now, hes my team captain so I guess Im still involved (LOL) and in a way our team is very much involved anyway. We never shut up and we always meddle. :rofl: But distance remains a problem for us.
I would like to see people applying to be new Committee members. It would do the sport a lot of good !!! Give the old ones a chance to recover from the hard -and very much appreciated- work, let the new ones learn how hard work it is in the first place. But I can promise you that it can be fun.:proud:
The committee members should monitor debates on the forum, but disregard things when they get too heated. If people have a problem, speak directly to your rep. If an issue does arrise from the forum, it should be disscussed at a meeting. This for the most part does happen I know from attending meetings. But there is still a lack of feed back from meetings, very few minutes or agendas are published.
quote:
Also their are too many people who think they know it all and know what is best for the sport.
Quite right - but it is because of people like that this sport still exists in the 1st place and is still moving forward!
I once sat on the committee,my major problem- the regional reps, Ive sat in on a meeting where the rep for my region refused to vote on the hydraulic limit being raised as he had not spoken to people in his region but he had made no attempt to ask who he represented, There should be a regional meeting at least 2 weeks before any FRA meeting where Reps can discuss the upcoming issues with people face to face, for anyone who cant get to a meeting then the issues can be discussed in the regional part of the forum
I also think we need to rethink our weight representatives they ARE needed I think the President should be the voice for all weight divisions not just the heavyweights as this can be viewed as bias to the heavyweights
I agree with Craig that the weight representatives are needed because I fairly sure that at some point the featherweights and almost certainly the antweights have been overlooked.
Also being one of the few people who run all 3 main weightclasses I would like to see them all being represented at a FRA meeting even if I have to do it myself!
Finally I would just like to say that the current committee have done a damn good job at keeping this sport going and without them it would have probably disappeared by now.
I will definitely not be putting myself forward for regional rep again because of the flack I got from the management committee when I asked the roboteers in my area for a comment on a meeting proposal before a meeting. Im just looking forward to my next event (which I may as well add is in Whitwick on the 7th and 8th of February) The reason I add this is that RobotsLive! have been banned from putting events on the forum, a decision taken by mein Fuhrer Andy before any management committee meeting has taken place. Things like this should not be allowed to happen without a management committee meeting.
Hey everyone, whats the smiley thing for wavin a handbag?
eh? robotslive cant post events on the fra forum. what the?????
perhaps their are bigger problems than i thought their was LOL, oh well.
(Message edited by ady on January 03, 2009)
Something like [banned] i think
(Message edited by kane on January 05, 2009)
And no, I dont care if I get banned because of that. More people need to speak out against things without being scared or bullied by certain people.
:rofl:
The robot community, despite the lack of TV interest for some years, is alive and thriving.
There was a lull toward the end of last/begining of this year when there were some very poor attendances (as low as nine heavyweights on one event!) and I did wonder if the sport was dying but the remainder of this year has seen a great increase in the number of robots, feather and heavy.
Some of the old TV robots have even been dusted off and re-entered the arena (lets be gentle with them!) this is brilliant.
We now need everyone to pull together, roboteers and FRA equally, to keep the ball rolling.
There is one aspect that I have not noticed being discussed (tin hat at the ready Mike!) and that is our audiences, it is vital that they go home exited, entertained and wanting to come back for more.
Without them we will be reduced to playing to ourselves in muddy fields and sheds!
Lets give them what for in 2009!
HERE HERE To That MIKE ......
Nuf Said
(you were only in my bad books to calm you down stop you being nervous making silly mistakes )
love you really xxx pete
I second that - well said Mike! X
Recently I just happened to go to the loo as the last of the audience were filing out of a show. There I was, easily recognisable in my pink mini skirt and hobnailed boots etc. and there were 2 little girls with their mum. I asked the girls if they liked the show and their eyes just lit up as they told me how much fun they had - that made my day and it looked like I made theirs too insofar that they were actually talking to one of us.
Simple moral of the story - We are all nothing without our fans
Did though didnt I Pete!
I made an absolute belter at my first event, (Robot Rumble, Debenham), ask me about it when I next see you, too ashamed to post it!!!
Damn straight. If the audience isnt happy, then nobody is. Gotta make em smile or else. :)
There I was, easily recognisable in my pink mini skirt and hobnailed boots etc
any pics? lol
Sitting in the audience was suggested earlier last year and i still think thats a great idea. Teambud will interact with audiences more this year. If robots are ok first tho. :)
perhaps their are bigger problems than i thought their was LOL, oh well.
i was talking about the fra, not robotslive.
just to clarify!
Hopefully the FRA problems will go away after the elections.
Talking of the elections, how about having a representative/spokesperson from each event organiser on the commitee?
One more I forgot (probably one of the most important): all commitee members (except EO reps)to be elected by the roboteers with the commitee members themselves not given a vote.
The latter claus would help to ensure more democracy in the whole process.
Mike,
The EOs have the oppertunity to elect a rep, so far they have chosen not to do so.
Also remember that the FRA is there to represent the roboteers interests, NOT the EOs
Section 4 of the constitution refers...
4.10 The Event Organisers shall elect their representative for the governing body, who will serve for two
years. If event organisers have not nominated a representative, the governing body may appoint a
representative.