Following is an update on the situation received from our ARMS President:
Hi Everyone,
Thank you for your participation and patience with the conference calls. We will inevitably have more over the next few months as more information develops.
Below are the take aways from the call. Please feel free to share with the members of your clubs:
1. The 6 Regions are continuing to work together on designing a structure for the new organization as we make an application to the FIA to become the ASN for Canada. At this time we are asking our members to put forward a name of someone that would be able to lead a new ASN for Canada. This person would have good knowledge/experience of international events, passionate about amateur motorsport, and the ability to communicate in both official languages would be preferred. Please pass a name along by Friday January 10th.
2. There are a few renditions of the structure for the new organization. Whatever we end up with will be in keeping with our values- transparency & accountability. All positions including the President will be elected by a board that will be representative of all the regions.There will be terms for all positions, groups made up of each region to maintain GCRs/NNRs etc. There are a number of elements that will go into the structure and as it is getting narrowed down by the current regional presidents I will share this with you all for feedback (this will likely be very soon).
3. Every good plan needs a back up plan, and that plan also needs a back up plan….. so:
Plan A-The 6 Regions are awarded the ASN and we continue to move forward with our new organization
Plan B– The 6 regions do not get the ASN but we continue to work together as a nation for amateur motorsport in Canada. Stoneridge is prepared to offer insurance packages to us.There will be a question at this point of how GCRs/NRRs can be written etc (i.e. can they reference FIA standards if we aren’t affiliated to FIA…), this is being investigated as I write this.
Plan C– If the 6 regions decide not to work together then ARMS can function on our own, and purchase an insurance package from Stoneridge for our club/regional events and continue to function as is.
4. The Toronto Star article from December 27th 2019. You can find this article here: https://www.thestar.com/amp/autos/opinion/2019/12/27/top-stories-of-2019-in-racing-automotive-world.html?__twitter_impression=true&fbclid=IwAR2KOPZRl_UieqCaHx1FDkubf1HCYwsDKRKDOi6xkmN68m8fV31M8i4Y1Us
You will need to scroll down to the section titled: “Who’s in Charge of Racing in Canada”.
I am sharing this article with you as it is a good demonstration of inaccurate/misleading information regarding this situation.
– It is an opinion piece by a well known motorsport journalist
– This section of the article is very Ontario-centric
– The author interviewed only Paul Cooke.
– Paul stated that it was “time to turn over responsibility of motorsport in Canada to someone else” implies that a plan was in place post resignation. As we are all now aware- this was not the case.
– CASC-OR is not preparing an application to the FIA. CASC-OR part of the 6 regions working together on an application.
It is just a reminder to be cautious of what you read. If you come across anything, please reach out to the ARMS Executive for clarification.
Lastly, my next call with the 6 regions is Monday January 13th 2020. I will provide you all with an update post call. In the meantime, if you have any questions/concerns/comments/constructive criticism please shoot me an email.
Thanks again,
Cindy
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Cindy McCarron
President
Atlantic Region Motor Sports Inc.