Regional council elections 2019
We have today launched the 2019 elections for our established Regional Councils and invite interested parties to put themselves forward for election. The elections to the Regional Councils are a vitally important component of our democratic structure in what is a broad sport where most of the growth in athletics and running during the last decade has come from the off-track community, particularly women and girls and over 30-year-olds. Track and Field is enjoyed by roughly 40,000 people, largely under the age of 20, and athletics and running is an inclusive para sport.
It is our aspiration that our representative structures reflect, as much as possible, the wide ranging demography of our participant base. Of course, some existing Regional Councils have already done some good work in this respect but there are opportunities for more people to get involved through this process. We are looking for people with a wide range of skills and experiences but fundamentally people who care about the sport and who want to help enhance the work of England Athletics in supporting our membership and delivering success.
Chris Jones comments: “We do have an opportunity to reinstate the West Midlands Regional Council for the first time since 2017 in order to give the region a clear voice in our democratic structure but only if the required number of people stand for election to meet the minimum requirement (quorum), which currently stands at three. Should insufficient nominations be received for the West Midlands area, the number of Regional Councils will remain at eight with the Midlands continuing to operate as one larger Council.”
Timeline
The election process takes place from 1st February 2019 with applications open until 28th February 2019 for self-nominations for the 37 available positions across the Regional Councils. More information for candidates and the nomination form can be found here.
If too many nominations are received, it will go to club votes via a ballot to determine which of those nominated are elected. If a ballot is required, ballot papers will go out by the end of w/c 4th March closing on 3rd April 2019.
Each candidate can be part of a Regional Council for two terms of four years. Therefore after four years the position has to be applied for again and if successful that candidate can then sit for a further four years. After eight years they need to stand down.
The number of elected positions to Regional Councils remains at between 3-7 elected positions and the number of co-opted members to Councils is also unchanged and must be fewer than the number of elected members.
On 30th March 2019 the members of the Regional Councils will be announced if there isn’t a ballot (if there is a ballot the announcement will be made on 5th April) and the first Regional Council meetings will take place in April 2019.