Remote meeting via Zoom held on 3 August 2020.
Attendance - Simon Clarkson (Chair, London Branch), Terry McCarthy (London Branch), Nigel Davidson, Jim Mitchell, Alastair Woodcock (CUOSC), Keith Elliott (CUSAT), Dan McLennan, Matt Spooner (TheCumbrians.net), Barry Carter, Barbara Abbott (Disabled Group), Keith Ward (Scottish Supporter), Andy Hall, Amy Nixon, Nigel Clibbens (CUFC)
Apologies – Geoff Weston (SLO)
This was organised as a catch-up meeting due to no meetings of CUSG having taken place since March 2 because of the pandemic. Simon thanked the club for all the work they had put in providing updates during lockdown.
CUFC Updates
Nigel C explained that season tickets prices were set before COVID. ST arrangements will be announced very shortly. There will be no early bird period. The biggest savings will be available exclusively for existing holders.
They represent a 4-game pro-rata saving based on 23 games, with 3 games for new ST holders. Reduced prices will apply to juniors to reflect a shorter season (for fan attendance).
There will be a two-stage process to selling. Firstly, reserving your place for live games when they start – with existing holders first. Club needs the ultimate final say on where people sit/stand. No payment will be taken at this reservation stage.
The pro-rata adult price is unchanged at £15.74 per game. No money will be taken until after the fixtures are announced (circa August 24). Safety Advisory Group (SAG) will need to give the final go-ahead for the expected number of fans.
Season tickets will be the best way to have the best chance of watching live football at Brunton Park during the restrictions. Seats occupied by ST holders from last season are likely to be available again for the 21-22 season or later in 20-21 season, depending on when restrictions are lifted. People in family or social bubbles should be sat together. Discussions about away fans access are still ongoing. EFL rules currently outlaw restricting away supporters. Streaming will be an alternative.
Full details will be public within the next 7 days.
The club's present plan to separate supporters is 'fill a row, miss a row'. Standing fans must be 1 metre apart minimum. For standing, blocks will be allocated – you must stay within the block you are allocated during the game. A one-way system will be implemented for movement around the ground. The Waterworks End could be opened as an overflow area only.
Further details will be given in updates to fans by the club.
Painting work is going on at the ground - nothing else significant currently in progress.
Disabled fans access - Barry/Barbara were asked to think of issues that could arise and share with club.
iFollow – Prices currently unchanged: £10 match pass. £6.66 of this goes to CUFC. Free iFollow passes could be given to fans buying season tickets for matches they can't attend (if no capacity or locked down). The EFL are looking into these proposals.
Spectator code of conduct (SCoC)
The reps considered the club's proposed ScoC previously circulated to them. These rules are to ensure that fans are aware of COVID restrictions prior to committing to attend and buy a ticket.
Jim suggested they should define what a social bubble is. Nigel C asked about the view on the compulsory use of face coverings/ masks (with waivers for those who are exempt).
Barry said they should be mandatory, backed up by Jim. Nigel C suggested some areas of the ground could be mask-only. He said all stewards will be required to wear masks, as will all members of staff. Andy said all all fans should be required to wear them or no-one, to eliminate the chance of confusion. Nigel explained that if masks are to be made compulsory, then the club wouldn't let people in without one, but they could be handed out.
Stewards could approach anyone not wearing one inside the ground, with the power to ultimately eject them if they refused to wear one. Andy stressed the need to communicate the code of conduct effectively to all supporters. The club want to use all CUSG groups to consult and help spread the word. CUSG agreed to fully support the draft SCoC. An informal vote was held and around 50% wanted masks to be made mandatory.
The club agreed to consider the feedback in discussion with the SAG before the final version was implemented.
Nigel said the draft SCoC would be published on the club's website along with the regulatory guidance the club would need to follow.
A draft of the current version of the Code of Conduct (in pdf format) is available HERE.
Pin badges
The 94-95 commemorative badges were received from the manufacturers in March just before lockdown. 250 were given to the club shop, and are selling steadily - 120 so far.
Simon/Terry have sold 30. 600 still to sell. 130 left in club shop, London Branch to sell 70. 400 badges remained. Terry offered to give small batches to individuals. Andy/Amy agreed to push sales via social media. They are also available to buy online.
Face in the crowd
Nigel D said 'Face in the Crowd' cut-outs were to be offered to fans as part of Carlisle REUnited. Various schemes had been looked at.
A Leicester-based company had been selected to do the CUFC faces, following consultation between CUOSC and the club.
There was a tax benefit for the funds to come direct to the club, but these would be ring-fenced and would be added to the Carlisle REUnited total. Cut-outs could be collected from the ground and potentially signed by players when restrictions are lifted.
Price: £25 per cut-out. Profit £15+ per cut-out.
Due to lack of TV/streaming footage of cut-outs, camera footage would be obtained by the media team before/during games, showing them in situ. Checks on 'questionable' photos being submitted would be made by CUOSC and the printing company.
Disabled matters
Many disabled supporters are, or have been, shielding. Barry was conducting a survey amongst his members to measure their thoughts about attending games. He suggested access to the back of the Waterworks End for disabled supporters could be beneficial.
Agenda structure
TheCumbrians.net had proposed an amended agenda structure for meetings. Dan will email some suggestions to reps this week. The idea was to streamline the agenda to allow for fewer talking points, while allowing each group to submit a report covering their own activities.
Memorabilia
There had been an excellent response to the appeal for more donations. Access to the ground was restricted but lots more items were now available to display. There had been no chance to begin redecoration of the Sunset due to the lockdown.
Access on match days to the bars was still uncertain, at this stage. 10 or more new shirts had now been displayed on the walls by the staircase to the ticket office.
Any other business
Keith said CUSAT will run away trips this season if they can. Shirts from last season's sponsorship were being auctioned off, with all proceeds going to 'Save Our Stan'.
Winners of last season's prediction competition to be announced soon.
Next meeting - Monday 7 September