ANDRA: A to Z
Part 3: Divisional Councils/Clubs
Divisional Councils and clubs form the major intermediary stage between ANDRA's managing National Control Council and individual members and racers.
Divisional Councils meet monthly and are a gathering of elected delegates and non-voting observers from all ANDRA affiliated and associate clubs within the DC's Division, Divisional Stewards and such individual members and visitors as may be approved to attend. The delegates and observers, along with the Divisional Director and Divisional Secretary make up the DC.
"Ideally, a Divisional Council should be accessible to everyone," ANDRA National Director Tony Thornton explained, "but trying to run any form of meeting with too many people can sometimes become an impossibility. Nothing is decided in the end.
"Individual members are not automatically entitled to attend DC meetings, but I would like to think that every opportunity would be made to permit individual members to be present at DC's and to express their opinion on any matter."
ANDRA membership is available on two levels: As individuals and through a club. Club members are affiliated with ANDRA, with the affiliation fee of $11 forming a component of their club membership fees. Club members are represented at DC level by delegates, with each club having one delegate per 15 affiliated members.
Individual members may join ANDRA directly for a fee of $40, a rise of $10 over the fee charged in 1991 to encourage club membership. There has been a growing tendency in recent years for many racers to join as individual members, expressing a dislike for the politics that exist within some clubs or a lack of time to attend club meetings.
The functions of the Divisional Councils, as outlined on page 27 of the ANDRA Competitors Handbook, include the supervision and administration of drag racing within their divisions, carrying out the directives of the NCC, considering and reviewing the rules of ANDRA, keeping and appropriately distributing the minutes of each meeting, policing the behaviour of all ANDRA members in their divisions and instituting tribunal action where deemed necessary, maintaining and supporting a staff of Stewards, arbitrating disputes between member clubs in their divisions, handling members' affairs as related to drag racing, receiving and paying on to the NCC all income and paying all expenses necessary for the administration of drag racing in their divisions.
Head Office deals with the DD's and DC's, and they deal directly with the members of the clubs through the delegates. "It all looks quite simple," Mr. Thornton said, "but it can become cumbersome. However, it has the saving grace of being as democratic as possible."
Divisional Councils meet in the first week of each month: New South Wales, Western Australia and South Queensland on the Tuesday, South Australia on the Wednesday and Victoria on the Thursday. North Queensland operates on a varying schedule, subject to arrangements for the Townsville and Mackay groups getting together.
"As the sport grows, so do the responsibilities of ANDRA," said Mr. Thornton, "and that extends to the DC's. It is important for the Divisions to begin to work harder to match the growth, and begin to undertake some of the duties that until recently have been the exclusive property of Head Office."
The Clubs"The club system is the basis of ANDRA's structure," National Director Tony Thornton explained. A club consists of a body with a minimum of seven members, operating under one name and with a constitution that fulfill's ANDRA's requirements (see page 21 of the Competitor's Handbook).
Club membership of ANDRA can be on two levels, affiliate and associate. Affiliate clubs must have a minimum of 15 members and be entitled to one voting delegate at DC level per 15 members. After affiliation a club is not entitled to voting rights at DC level until a probationary period of six months has passed. Associate clubs will have a minimum of seven members and will be entitled to one non-voting observer at DC level.
ANDRA is currently in the process of requiring a full address for each affiliated member in an attempt to reduce the level of questionable club members, which has been known to occur in most divisions at times, when issues of politics have been foremost.
"If all the effort of a club just goes to accumulating voting power then it's not fulfilling the job of a club, in the spirit of the sport," Mr. Thornton said.
There are many benefits to be had from joinging a recognized affiliated drag racing club. The fellowship of racers and enthusiasts, the accumulated experience of long term competitors, and the social interaction all justify the effort.
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written by David Cook from DRAGSTER Australia page 34-35 - July 24, 1992 © DAVID COOK PUBLISHING PTY. LTD. 1992 |
