New Committee/Old Committee

[swanaldo]

I believe he means XFM

[pressure]

Liam, it was XFM (extreme fighting machines) run by Ed Hoppit.

[liambryant]

XFM was gone lost years ago

[pressure]

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.

[typhoon_driver]

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

[swanaldo]

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

[ady]

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)

[robotwars]

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

[babeth]

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. 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.

[geeza]

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.