Date: 14thth May 2009
Location: Swanbourne Surf Club, Marine Parade Cottesloe.
Attendance: Refer to the attendance list in the secretarial volume (Attended by 41 members)
Apologies: Michael Brooks, Anna-Marie Wynn-Houchin
Meeting Start: 7.30pm

The meeting provided pizza and cost price drinks and video entertainment consisting of the Kitelife series DVD.

Meeting Opened by WAKSA Secretary Pat Banks

Pat welcomed all members and explained the structure of the meeting. First person to speak was Catherine from UWA who presented a voluntary survey for members to fill out regarding kitesurfing accidents. The floor was then given to Phil Morrow for the president’s report.

President’s Report Phil Morrow

Phil began by thanking everyone involved in WAKSA for their efforts in the year to date. He then outlined the issues faced by WAKSA over the year and currently, including Melville, Mullaloo and Rockingham. Mullaloo detail was covered later in the course of the meeting, but Rockingham and Melville were expanded on as part of the President’s Report. At Rockingham a committee has been formed of stakeholders including the council, DEC, Windsurfing WA and WAKSA. This committee has been working through issues arising between different user groups at the Pond near the Yacht Club. A decision has been made to divide the pond into three zones, upwind for kiters, downwind for windsurfers and a buffer zone in between for safety. Signage is being erected to this effect. Negotiations with stakeholders at Melville have continued this year, with some local residents still opposed to kiting at Lucky Bay. WAKSA has liaised with the local council, Marine Authority and CALM (now DEC) to protect access to the beach there, and thanks in no small part to WAKSA’s history of being proactive in the area access has been preserved. New limitations on kiteboarding have been implemented however, with an official transition zone for launching and landing demarcated by buoys maintained by the Marine Authority. Kiting at Melville in the winter season has also been prohibited, due to the hazardous nature of kiting there in Westerlies. Preventing rogue kiters from kiting irresponsibly there remains a challenge, as it does everywhere, but with education and pride in ownership from local kiters the future of access at Melville looks bright. A question was raised from the floor about enforcement and penalties for persons breaking the rules. The responsibilities and penalties for such are not yet defined. Phil reported on the current status of AKSA, and that is that Mike Walker and Emma Gibbs are no longer in control of the organization. AKSA is being run by a board of representatives from each state and under its new structure is undergoing some teething problems. He then concluded his report with a vision for WAKSA going forward, and that was one of continued promotion of membership of the organization for the sake of responsible kitesurfing, and support of local users groups as they get off the ground. WAKSA wants to develop stronger relationships with schools and shops over the coming year and work with them to promote membership and safety. Phil then thanked all departing members of the committee: • Alex Swingewood • Dean Gilkison • Said Salameh • Jackie Clark

Treasurers Report

Nick Dawe (Treasurer) reported on finances from July 2008 to the end of April 2009. Full disclosure is available to members but will not be posted to the website. For further details please contact the committee via the normal channels. Conditions apply.

Events Report

Due to the lack of an events coordinator for the season, secretary Pat Banks reported on the events held by WAKSA over the year:

Season opener downwinder: This got off the ground this year after a series of false starts and a busload of people were dropped at Swanbourne surf club in flukey wind and showers. A wind line came through late in the day and turned into a typical Fremantle Doctor, giving an excellent 10km run back to the kiosk at Brighton Beach.

Course Racing: In conjuction with Choice Kitesurfing, WAKSA helped stage a course racing event the week before Christmas as a fundraiser for the Red Kite childrens cancer charity. Ian Young made the fastest time of the day, and presentations were made at a dinner later that evening, followed by an auction for the charity.

Kite Jam: The first event of the new year was a great success in its second year, attracting some of the best freestyle riders to The Pond at Rockingham in early January for a showcase of some spectacular freestyle action. This is becoming a real highlight on the calendar and with the Rockingham council in full support has a very bright future.

Slider Jam: Lots of effort went in from the Woodies locals and Toby Bromwich’s Core online magazine to set up for this, and a good week of slider action was had with only a few slight hitches.

Kitestock: Was huge again, with winds a bit stronger than ideal and a lot of people without kites small enough to take full advantage. The strong winds did make for a spectacular big air competition though, and the Epic Downwinder was truly epic, a big hit with participants and a definite keeper on the agenda. A few lessons were learned this year and will be put to use next year to make it run smoother and even better. Still and all, it was considered a success and the remains the highlight of the WAKSA year.

After the reports Tim Coombes took the floor and presented a custom kite with the Solahart logo stitched into it as a donation to WAKSA. It is the intention of WAKSA to raffle this off to one lucky member in September to encourage membership renewal/sign up. (see image above)

Phil then took the floor again to detail the issues being played out at Mullaloo with the Joondalup City Council. He gave an overview of what has happened there so far with Councilor MacDonald moving a motion to have kitesurfing banned and it being overturned in favour of a foreshadowed motion from Councilor Young. Subsequently a subcommittee consisting of Mullaloo Users Group and WAKSA representatives has been formed and is seeking legal advice as to the best way forward, and will be preparing reports for the council. Phil then returned to the topic of Melville, and discussed some points brought up in email by member Anna-Marie Wynne-Houchin including a need for kiters to show respect for their spot, fellow kiters and other water and beach users. Phil then asked if anyone would be interested in organizing a state wave kitesurfing titles this season, potentially in winter when conditions might be more suitable. Pat Banks declared all Committee positions vacant and thanked everyone again for a successful year. He then took nominations for all office positions.

Office Positions voted in by the members

President: Phil Morrow - Nominated by Pat Banks and seconded by Nick Dawe.
Vice President: Pat Banks - Nominated by Pat Banks and seconded by Dean Gilkison.
Secretary: None Treasurer: Nick Dawe - Nominated by Brad Wright and seconded by Nicolea Paull.
Webmasters: Brad Wright and Stephen Baldry - Nominated by Pat Banks and seconded by Kent Wright.

General Committee

Justin O’Malley - Nominated by Justin O’Malley and seconded by Pat Banks.

Michael Brooks - Nominated by Michael Brooks and seconded by Ian Young.

David Mopin - Nominated by Kent Wright and seconded by Brad Wright.

Ray Quahs - Nominated by Phil Morrow and seconded by Pat Banks.

Mark Steel - Nominated by Ray Quahs and seconded by Nicolea Paull.

Tony Loxton - Nominated by Theo Scholmann and seconded by Clyde Joshua.

Steve Goat - Nominated by Nick Dawe and seconded by Brad Wright.

Jennifer Rogers - Nominated by Ray Quahs and seconded by Pat Banks.

Jo Fisher - Nominated by Pat Banks and seconded by Tim Stokes.

General Business

The subject of cheap membership for the winter period was brought to the assembled members and it was agreed that a discounted rate of $35 could be used for membership taken out between the AGM and renewals for the next. A motion was put forward by Pat Banks that WAKSA funds could be used to supply appropriate refreshments for general committee meetings, and leftover refreshments could be donated to the host of the meeting, in particular but not limited to GijimaAst, where the majority of meetings have been held in the 08/09 season. The motion was passed. Phil brought up the subject of appropriate reimbursement for expenses incurred, and made the attending members aware that these can add up and should not be borne by committee members personal funds. Jonathan Keys added that all claims should be transparent, and the fact that all transactions with WAKSA funds are jointly signed lends itself well to maintaining transparent, honest claims. Dave Mopin put a motion to the membership that Kitestock organisers should receive free entry to the event, which was modified to be passed as volunteers and organizers are to receive some or all of their entry fees waived based on a schedule of discounts to be determined at a later date and approved by the committee. A discussion was then had about the potential for legal costs in addressing the issues at Mullaloo to quickly exceed the means of WAKSA. Pat mentioned the assistance available to members of the WA Sports Federation, which WAKSA is eligible and has been encouraged to join, and Jonathan Keys raised the precedent at Cottesloe, which may be of some use. Every effort will be made to keep the cost to members as low as possible. Malcolm Thompson suggested that more detail should be captured when members join WAKSA, such as profession, and this could be used by the rest of the membership for some kiter to kiter support. While this is already a feature on the website, it was generally agreed that this could be actively pursued by adding to the enrolment process, and would be considered with the other work being done in preparation for the upcoming membership season. There being no further business, the meeting concluded at 9.00pm.