Effective Sunday 5th Feb 2023 OMCC will resume its usual social riding operating hours (10am-3:30pm) and will be followed by Tuesday 7th Feb (10-2pm roughly) and Thursday Twilights on the 9th Feb.
Apologies about the delays but we have had several significant impacts to the resumption of activities that have been far less straight forward than our last update suggested.
Despite the speed bumps, we are pleased to announce we can re-open for social riding.
We have secured PI/PL insurance through ARMA and this protects the clubs and officials however it does not provide income and injury protection for the riders. Please bear this in mind as you will see we have had to update the clubs waiver and the sign-on forms will also reflect this as well.
Although it was always the case prior, we remind all members it’s a requirement to obtain your own ambulance cover/membership.
Here is a quick summary of the main options the club had been exploring (AMA, although not an option shown for reference):
Protects the Club & Officials
Protects the Riders
Costs to rider
AMA
Individual $55 per year Family $110 per year
ARMA
$0
MA/MV Standard Offering via Ride Parks Australia
$15 per ride
$30 per ride or $15 per ride + a MA License
Given ARMA is currently the only viable option available to OMCC we have had to proceed however our attempts to resume under Motorcycling Australia/Victoria are still pending. The club looks forward to the continued working relationship with Peter Goddard and the MA delegates while we explore options more appropriate for OMCC which is dominated by social riding (>150 days per year) and as such the standard offering (150+ permits each year, $15/$30 rider fee each time) doesn’t really suit our situation. As we get more details on the costs and availability of a custom policy we will keep you posted.
There will be new QR codes at the club and previous QR codes and links to the old sign-on forms will be disabled.
An update on OMCCs ability to resume competitions will follow as soon as we have finalised details, but a priority is on resuming our clubs social riding.
I’d like to take the time to thank the committee who have lived through the ups and downs of the last few months. A special thank you needs to go out to Vice President Peter Spencer who has done significant work on this and has lost sleep on several occasions!
I’d also like to extend a thank you to our members who’s patience has been appreciated. Thank you for giving us the space to work through this and I am genuinely sorry it has taken this long.
I look forward to catching up with you all on the bikes down at the club.
Members please find below the clubs new liability waiver we have introduced as part of the resumption of activities under ARMA.
OAKLEIGH MOTORCYCLE CLUB INC. AGREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN MOTORCYCLE SPORTS AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES
WARNING! THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENT WHICH AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS, PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY AND DO NOT SIGN ON AND RIDE UNLESS YOU ARE SATISFIED YOU UNDERSTAND IT.
1. I HEREBY AGREE with Oakleigh Motorcycle Club Incorporated (‘OMCC’) that I am by this agreement entitled to participate in the motorcycle activity meeting identified in Schedule 2 (hereinafter called the Meeting’ or the °Event’) at the venue listed at Schedule 3 (hereinafter called ‘the Venue) on the terms and conditions set out in this document.
Well what a year. It’s turned out to be quite an unceremonious end to a cracking year at OMCC. The key highlights include:
Our memberships continue to hover near club all-time highs
We have run our first, and likely last, AMA Vic Titles at Argyle (oh the rain!)
We’ve had our first 100+ entrants at trial in a number of years at Glenmaggie
The club has run a significant number of training days for both adults and juniors, as well as hosted interstate coaches Neil Price & Chris Bayles.
Tuesday 10am-2pm have been cemented in the calendar as a new opening day & proving very popular
We continue ongoing ground works and delivery of rocks, logs and soil.
Sadly, our plans to continue the summer series we scuppered due to the AMA issue. We also wave goodbye to our friends at Southern Trials Riders and we wish Geoff and Gary all the best and thank them for the efforts over the last couple of years.
Thanks for your patience over the last two months while we’ve dealt with the withdrawal of AMA as a governing body and suppliers of the club’s public liability insurance. It left an enormous hole that we have all felt including a number of other clubs across the country. There have been a number of factors that have driven this including ceilings on the amount of risk the insurance underwriters are willing to take. I am pleased to say we are underway with our replacement and working on the final touches now. Further communications will come once we know the financial impacts to members.
Over the last two months multiple members of the committee have been hard at work exploring all avenues to obtain Public Liability insurance from a range of brokers (as have a number of other clubs also impacted by the loss of AMA). We have also been speaking regularly with other states affected clubs so we are all connected. The unique nature of OMCC with having…
Its own club grounds
Practice/Social riding multiple times per week & being a dominant part of our members use of the club
Being an exclusive trials (low risk) discipline
Volunteer run (no paid employees) and not for profit
OMCC has had a fairly modest membership fee that hasn’t required “per ride” charges like MX parks.
…we felt a robust exploration of options was justified rather than taking the first option available. Sorry for the silence, but it’s taken time and we’ve been waiting for something meaningful before we communicated further.
The committee has decided in the last week that we will be reaffiliating with Motorcycling Victoria/Australia. We are exploring a custom policy arrangement which has required significant time to arrange as it’s not simply “off the shelf”. We are close to the final details and will share the changes to pricing structure this will cause to membership fees once it’s known.
We recognise a lot of our members are non-competitive, and so options for those who do not hold a competitive license are important in the final solution for our club.
There will likely be some flow down effects of this change including the use of Ridernet, training of club officials, and the expansion of First Aid training for officials and supervisors. The competitive calendar will be worked on shortly and OMCC will take part in the Victorian Trials Series.
We aim to resume social riding in January 2023 with more details to follow and to offset the lack of access to the club all 2022 memberships will be extended until March 2023.
Thanks again for your patience again and we wish all of you and your families a great Christmas break.
As per previous discussion due to the state of insurance and the implication that will have on the club we had decided to postpone the AGM until Feb 16th 2023. We have already advised that the calendar remains tentative, but we felt it prudent to explicitly communicate about the AGM.
Formal announcement will come out closer to the time, along with any special resolutions required that may stem from our insurance impacts.
We expect to have the club up & running much sooner than this, but this gives the committee time to get its ducks in a row so we can have something to present the members with.
I am sorry to inform you that the club will be shutting due to the AMA insurance renewal issues effective immediately.
If you are not familiar, please see the email you would have received titled: “URGENT NOTICE FOR ALL AMA CLUB SPORT MEMBERS AND AMA SPORT AFFILIATES” from the AMA or click on this link.
You may have noticed, this has impacted a lot of motorcycle clubs of varying disciplines and it is not just an OMCC and trials specific issue.
The committee has been working hard to provide some alternatives for liability insurance during the AMA 6-8 week absence however there was nothing ‘off-the-shelf’ available to us.
We are committed to exploring all options and hope to report back shortly with progress.
Our sincerest apologies goes out to members and for now please treat the club calendar as tentative until our liability insurance issues are resolved.
We’ve had confirmation from the AMA that their insurance has been extended a further day and so the club will be open as normal this Sunday. We remain uncertain on opening for the next 6-8 weeks so suggest you get down and enjoy it.
The committee has met this evening and are pursuing a couple of alternative options to keep the club functioning while the AMA are unavailable.
We will keep you updated as soon as we have something to share.
It’s been a while since our last update, and as a result this one is jam packed.
Thursday Twilights are back
Now that the clocks have changed, OMCC will resume with Thursday Twilights opening from Oct 6th (this Thursday).
Please note that Thursdays are a more casual arrangement, and there are no formally assigned ground supervisors to open. 4PM is a loose guide and there are often people down earlier if you want to chance it.
We also do not do bike hire however guests are welcome if coming with other members.
Please join us for self-funded pizza after the ride ($10-15 cash contribution)…just make sure you tell John & Craig you are staying so they order for you.
Winter Series Updates
Our ambitions to host a 5 round winter series have been undone by weather (Rd 2 Scarsdale) and land-holder availability as well as calendar conflicts (Rd 5 Bonnie Doon). As a result, Argyle was our last event under the banner of the winter series. With the launch of the Summer Series we aim to replace some of the lost events.
Argyle, for those who made it, will go down in memory. Read the report here.
We’ve also been informed that the STR event scheduled for Mardan on 6th November has been canceled so we have taken that weekend for the Summer Series. STR will still be going ahead with the Xmas breakup in Woodleigh on 11th Dec.
The Club calendar has been updated with all these changes here.
Summer Series returns for 22-23
…and is bigger and better than last year! There are now two options of Thursday nights (4 rounds) and the traditional Saturday Afternoon (3 rounds).
Looking to start in early November, there will be more communication about this and the dates to members very soon.
AMA Sport Licenses
The AMA communicated to all its members in Early September in an email titled “IMPORTANT – Information About A Sports Licence”.
OMCC and other affiliated clubs were not aware that this was planned nor were we consulted about this. We have since confirmed with the AMA that the Trials discipline is not required to have this.
We were promised that a revised communication from the AMA was going to be sent to all its members but until then please be assured the club has written communication from the AMA that trials riders do not need to have a Sports License on top of their AMA membership to ride trials. Other trials clubs have also had to communicate this to its members on behalf of the AMA.
If you ride other disciplines (e.g. Enduro), please check your obligations with the other clubs & organisaitons.
JETS Youth Training Rd 4
The OMCC JETS are back at it again on Saturday 8th Oct. Details and registration link below. No charge, but registration is essential. Link: https://bit.ly/3wKm6gb
Parents support and help on the day is appreciated.
JETS is our Junior Enthusiast Trials Squad and is OMCCs youth focused training program. There are training days for adult members, but the JETS is just for kids.
New and Day members are welcome by appointment (conditions apply).
Club Meetings including AGM
The next club meeting is Thursday 13th Oct @ 7:30pm at the Club Grounds.
The goal of the October meeting will be to start shaping up the Winter series for 2023, as well as take our lessons and learnings from the 2022 series…plus the usual club business to attend to.
The AGM is scheduled for Thursday 10th Nov @ 7:30pm at the Club Grounds.
The AGM is an important event for OMCC. It gives its members a broad overview of the club’s current directions, financial health and confirms its purpose. It is also the time to revitalise the organisation through the official engagement of members into key elected positions.
We encourage as many members as possible to get down, and if you are able, get involved in the running of the club.
Big things are happening at OMCC, and this can’t be done without passionate and enthusiastic volunteers.
Working Bee
The 2nd and last working bee of the year is scheduled for 30th Oct.
The place is looking great but we want to keep it that way.
To Do list is:
Pick up glass
Clean/sort/organise section setting gear
Trim grass (I expect it will be long a month from now)
Apply more weed killer around rock/log edges & fenceline
Please come equipped with your own weed killer sprayers, whipper snippers, gardening gloves & hat, and chisel to help get the silicon off the section arrows.
OMCC is proud that we have such active members with a robust turn out at these working bee days. Sausage sizzle BBQ will be provided.
If you are unable to make it and would like to make a donation to the club instead, you can do so here.
Twinshock Extravaganza
There is likely to be a day of retro trials at OMCC with a show & shine, along with some other festivities and possibly some special guests. More detail to follow on this but keep Nov 27th free.
OMCC Xmas Breakup BBQ
Please join us for an end of year celebration, ride and BBQ on December 4th.
Awards and presentations will be handed out and it is a great social day for our club.
Call for Grounds Supervisors
As you know we are a volunteer run club, and it’s helpful to share the load. On Sunday’s our club has a rotating roster of grounds supervisors who open and close the club grounds. It works out about once every 2-3 months and you are paired up with another person so it’s not all on you.
As a thanks, OMCC reduces your membership fees as a small contribution and recognition for your efforts.
As we start to work on the 2023 calendar it would be good to know if we have any new people who can help out. If you can help, please let Simon know: [email protected]
The OMCC JETS are back at it again on Saturday 8th Oct. Details and registration link below. No charge, but registration is essential. Link: https://bit.ly/3wKm6gb
Parents support and help on the day is appreciated.
JETS is our Junior Enthusiast Trials Squad and is OMCCs youth focused training program. There are training days for adult members, but the JETS is just for kids.
In a few years from now, some of us will be saying…” Remember that trial at Argyle when it poured down!!!”
Well done to all involved in the first AMA Vic Championships held at Argyle this weekend. It’s fair to say the weather was as much of a trial as the sections were. Well done to those who finished no matter what your score.
As heroic as the riding was, so was the commitment from our hardy observers. OMCC is truly grateful for your efforts in some ‘sub-optimal’ conditions.
Thanks to our Interstate riders and TCV members who combined with the OMCC and Southern Trials riders faithful to make this a well-attended event. Also thanks to Ron the Land owner. We appreciate your commitment to run the event given the conditions.
A massive thank you to the team at OMCC and STR who helped set sections, run the event, and packed up in swift order. I think you are the real heroes in this story after giving up two weekends in a row to make this happen.
The Trophy presentation was abandoned due to the looming weather and the drive home made me glad we did, however trophies will be given out in the near future.
We already have people asking about next years event!
Scores and links to a YouTube video of the event are below.
Our OMCC section setting fairies have been very busy getting the Argyle property ready for our Victorian Championships. A massive thank you goes out to the team who have got 15 sections ready for you over the weekend: Reece, Greg, Matt, Geoff, Noah, David, Les & John.
A few event updates for you:
Entries close Thursday 15th @ 9pm. Late entries will not be accepted. Entry Link: https://entryplace.com.au/22VicAMAChampionships
Reminder for entrants to bring an observer. We still need more observers to make this event fully observed.
Day memberships are available if you don’t have an AMA membership. They are $15. Matt is making changes to the website to accommodate this today or tomorrow.
Caravan parking on the high side. The property has had a bit of water and the land owner had requested this.
The online self scrutineering forms will start going out shortly – keep an eye on your emails.
