CANCELLATION OF THE BRITISH KOI KEEPERS SOCIETY NATIONAL SHOW 2011
I regret to inform the membership that due to a series of unforeseen circumstances the BKKS National Show has to be cancelled for this year.
At the recent AGM, I announced that the show could only go ahead if it was financially viable and if that could not be guaranteed, then it would not be able to go ahead as the Society could not afford another large loss.
When the date selected for the show was revealed at the AGM as 17th/18th September 2011, (a date chosen as there were no known clashes in the calendar), Birmingham and West Midlands Koi Club announced that was the weekend they were planning to hold their show. To avoid conflict, as Show Chair, I rapidly tried to investigate the possibility of holding the show on another date, however every alternative caused other issues including increased costs in some areas, including marquees as the cheapest supplier would not have been available on other dates. This could have resulted in significant spend above budget.
Birmingham and West Midlands Koi Club later notified the Council that they had taken the much appreciated step of moving their show back two weeks which made the original date of 17th/18th September viable again. We were therefore finally in a position to announce the show as going ahead and, not wanting to delay notifying the members any further, we simultaneously made announcements and notified the venue that we would be holding the show on that date, as originally discussed with them. However they came back to us shortly afterwards to inform us that, as we had been investigating other dates, they had now taken further bookings for our original dates and would not be able to host the show.
The Council then looked again at the alternative dates, however the same issues previously noted still existed and deals which had been struck for reduced costs were not available so we are left with only one decision – the show cannot go ahead this year without causing a number of calendar conflicts and the serious risk of making a significant loss again. Attention was also paid to the negative feedback on a variety of forums about holding the show in September, which suggested the possibility of a dearth of exhibitors, dealers and sponsors, which would have added to the serious financial implications for the Society and the future of the show beyond this year.
The Council felt that more damage would be done by holding a loss-making show without the numbers of koi and dealers associated with the event. It was therefore decided to book ahead for 2012 and put all the effort into ensuring this show is properly planned and resourced at a suitable venue.
The next BKKS National Show will therefore take place at the Billing Aquadrome on 23rd/24th June 2012.
David Pope
Show Chairman
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