Hi everyone, I've seen various comments in this thread about NZ, and some assumptions about what we can do here for ourselves, some of these assumptions are not accurate.
So, to set the record straight about NZ...:
* There is no 'IBA NZ' - if there is, then it's a loose term which might refer (currently) to me, since I do a fair bit of work to help to coordinate things, applications, bulk submissions etc, but there is no formal NZ IBA.
* I / we do not independently verify our own rides. All of our ride verifications are done in conjunction with the IBA USA.
* I / we do not independently make our own certificates, these are all done in conjunction with the IBA USA.
* I / we do not hold any IP in any of the rides which you might have seen drafted, all of that is gifted, without reservation to the IBA USA.
* All of the funds for all NZ Rides go directly through to the main IBA USA paypal account. - Riders pay the IBA directly, as you all do.
What may have caused some confusion is that in preparation for some of the bulk-submission work which we had been planning to facilitate in October 2020, for our NZ Distance Riders, NI1600 ride (ask OX-34 about this, it's the simplest verification he has ever had - he said so); I had arranged for some certificate paper (and basic 1600K supplies) to be sent over, so that we could literally just print and post the certificates which were provided by the verification team to us by email, for our bulk event riders. This was to save them being caught up with the COVID-19 impacts on international postage, this was all arranged well in advance (~4 months). (Printing was done under strict quality control - I assure you, I even bought a new printer at my own expense for this in order for it to be good enough).
The natural up-shot of that was that we had paper locally here which meant that when COVID was impacting postal delivery to AUS, too, I had offered to Howard that, if it made sense, he could use me to print and post those outstanding certificates for you guys too. - He took me up on that offer and posted the other thread asking who was still waiting on certificates... I think there's been about 12 or so sets posted by me personally, out to you, to help to try to fill the gap which COVID had made worse.
Just a suggestion then: how about, rather than saying ' NZ can do it, so why can't we ?', why isn't the question: ' What can we collectively do to make the experience of 'our' members, who are riding, certifying and contributing, as good as it can possibly be? '.
Have that conversation with Mike and Howard and see if there's a middle ground, like 'we' in NZ have found. As a suggestion, perhaps you can actively channel verifications, pre-vet them, make sure they're clean and have everything in a verifiable state (work on creating missing GoogleMap links etc), then perhaps you can present your submissions, already cleaned up and part checked perhaps, via Howard (Premier). Perhaps at that point he'll return them back through you (once he's drafted and done his own internal checking with Mike), for you to print and post?
I'm running a simple 'at-cost' accounting sheet to get my IBA postage costs (for you guys and others) reimbursed... And I'm putting in a fair amount of (welcomed, and balanced) work in order to work in with their already existing processes, I'm trying as hard as I can not to create any extra work for them by doing this (apart from the recent 'Ride Development' overhead, which will come to a natural end now)...
Anyway, it's about approach, and trying to fit in, as part of the solution - that's how you'll make your best progress here. It's perhaps not about demanding independence. - These are my thoughts and my words, they're my opinions, I am not speaking for anyone else here...
All the best, and if you would like to keep up your NZ based printing and delivery service in the near future, before you achieve your own approach, then remember to be nice when you comment / reply to this.
- Thanks.
Chris.