Regional Council - What Council Does
Council takes most of the major decisions about the running of the society. For example, with a few exceptions (SCAM and Field championships) it is generally Council that decides what events will run and who will run them, or what the Society's funds are used for and how budgets are set. Once activities are decided on (and many are long-standing), Council monitors them on the basis of officers' reports.
The business of Council covers:
- Appointment of Officials. Though the principal Officers of the Regional Society are appointed at the AGM, much of the work of the Regional Society is done by members of council, appointed by Council to specific posts as set out in the Constitution.
- Activities of appointed Officers and Officials. Each officer is expected to provide a report to every meeting of council of their recent and planned future activities. The reports allow Council to monitor progress and for its members to stay informed. Formally, too, council acceptance of a report forms the continued authority for the officer to operate, though in practice this function takes the form of questions about the report. Frequently, officers will include questions or proposals for council, for example for guidance on preferred ways of running a regional shoot, or formal suggested changes in policy; Council will normally discuss and answer such questions by consensus or vote.
- Approval of Judging appointments. Council approves individual candidate judges at all levels for appointment. This is part of an approval mechanism that includes the candidate Judge's peers (through the assessment process), their own county organisation, and all other Counties in the region, before GNAS formally appoints a judge. It is extremely rare for council to reject a candidate, since they are usually supported by their own peers and by their own county. But the mechanism is important in allowing all counties to comment on a particular individual's suitability, since such appointments affect archers in many counties.
- Approval of FITA Star event organisers. Formally, FITA Star events are awarded to the Region, which accordingly is responsible for appointing suitable organisers. This is one of the things GNAS requires to make sure that international record status shoots will be run properly and by experienced organisers.
- Liaison. Council includes provision for liaison with the Regional Shooting (Judges) and Coaching committees, and for Regional liaison with various National bodies, including coaching and shooting committees and the EAF.
- "One-off" business. All the normal day to day business of the Society is carried out by the Officers and Officials. But Council often has to address matters which do not fit neatly into a particular officer's job. Examples include EAF representation, general issues concerning all regional tournaments, Regional policy on performance improvement, proposals for change in archery administration or rules, one-off projects such as this website, or requests for grants or loans (which often come first through the Secretary or Treasurer). Council decides, in practice, what the Regional Society will do in each case.