VCB UPDATE

Like every organisation, the Vespa Club of Britain has been affected by the Covid pandemic. Several events have been cancelled and competitions put on hold. We managed to put on two events in August, both with reduced numbers to comply with regulations. The Memorial 75 was hosted by the West region and the Tre Castelli was hosted by the North West region. The signing-on championship was unfortunately cancelled and the Riders Regional Competition was halted for a few months but was able to resume in August, albeit with slightly different rules. The AGM which was due to be taking place at the end of November in Scotland was postponed but due to the ongoing situation it has now had to be cancelled.

There have been some important changes to the VCB this year. The VCB is split into 15 regions; the main change within the club is that each region is now starting to run more independently. When you join one of the regional Vespa clubs, you automatically get membership to the Vespa Club of Britain and also the Vespa World Club. The regional reps are now contacting new members directly which means they can be kept in touch with what is happening locally. Obviously local ride-outs and meetings have become more popular this year and can be organised at short notice. The regional reps play an important part in the smooth running of the club and are the first port of call for VCB members.

To coincide with the change, the website has been undergoing major updates and the membership renewal system has been changed. Members will now receive a reminder when their subscription is due for renewal. Payment is done by Stripe rather than Paypal as it doesn’t store members’ details and is more secure. Phase two of the website involves setting up a members-only forum which will hopefully be up and running before the end of the year.

As the regions become more active they will hopefully put on more local events as well as still being involved in national events such as British Vespa Days and Vespa World Days. Speaking of events, we have several events planned for next year. The main event is British Vespa Days at Rutland Showground in August. Hopefully this will go ahead as 2021 is an important year, being the 75th anniversary of the Vespa. More details can be found in Vespa News, the club’s bi-monthly magazine.

The Vespa Club of Britain is a club for anyone with an interest in Vespas. Individual membership is only £16 per year which includes a welcome pack, six copies of Vespa News and access to events and riding competitions. For more details go to www.vespaclub.uk

Russ Machin (VCB vice-president)