There seem to be some people who are under some misapprehension about what constitutes the MMOC annual overseas rally - Minors on Tour.

Primarily it exists to provide a holiday abroad, open to all MMOC members. Secondly, it is organised by an individual, or a team of MMOC members, who has presented a proposal to National Committee, and has been approved by National Committee to act on behalf of the Club.
The way in which the event is organised depends to a great extent on conditions which vary from year to year, but there are a few criteria which have been in force since the beginning.
First of these is that the event should be organised with equity and fairness for all. In the early days of MOT, which was primarily a camping holiday, the event was advertised in Minor Matters and potential participants were invited to send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the organiser who, on a set day, at the same time, and at the same Post Office or post box, would post the application forms in the envelopes received. It was then up to each potential participant to complete the form and return it to the organiser with the administration fee cheque as soon as possible; the reason for that was, and still is, that places may need to be restricted for logistical reasons. That concept is still followed today. (The organisers cannot be held responsible for the vaguaries of the UK postal system, nor for those in foreign countries)
For those who were not into camping, a list of local off-site accommodation, hotels, gîtes or bed and breakfast was available, allowing participants to choose and book for themselves. This facility is still available for those who require it.

Next, a word about the Administration Fee.
This is a sum of money used to produce documentation, provide envelopes, postage, handbook, rally plaque and windscreen sticker, pay for telephone calls, etc. It is also used to provide participants with, in most cases, a bottle of wine (produced locally to the campsite if possible) upon arrival, liquid refreshment, and snack food at the various events within the rally, and anything else that the organiser believes would enhance the event. It is used solely for the benefit of all participants; it is up to them to decide whether they wish to partake or not.
The organiser(s) benefit in no way from the administration fee, they receive no payment from the administration fee, or from the Club, and in fact they pay their own administration fee in order to participate in the event.
Why is the administration fee non-refundable? It is a deposit or a financial commitment, needed to cover expenditure incurred from the outset on the organisation and administration of the event, and future expenditure committed to for the benefit of participants; refunds could leave the administration fee 'out of pocket'.

The organisers devote their time and spend their own money in researching the event, which includes 'scouting' the campsites in the chosen area, talking about the event with campsite owners, and reaching an agreement with one of them. This will also include the negotiation of a discount on camping fees. The size of the campsite is important: it has to be of sufficient size to have the facilities the trip requires - restaurant, bar, take away food, on-site shop, swimming pool (if in an appropriate area) if possible, children's play area, etc. - but small enough for the organisers to command the interest and cooperation of the owners. Usually this means that the chosen campsite has between 100 and 200 pitches.

That done, the organisers then have to produce the rally preview article for inclusion in Minor Matters. They then devote their time to producing the paperwork for the booking system, including the research and compilation of the off-site accommodation list, accepting and logging applications, sending out confirmations, etc.
It doesn't end there: there is still the handbook to produce, a document which contains a considerable amount of information which will be of use in preparing the participant and their Minor for the event, informing them of what they can expect when they get there, information about the area, what they might need to know about driving on the continent, a route (or routes) from Calais or other channel ports, a list of fellow participants and their vehicles, a diary of events to be staged during the rally and anything else which may have an effect on the participant or the event. This is sent out to all participants.
The rally plaque and windscreen sticker need to be designed, and production organised.
There are also garments (t-shirts, sweat shirts, etc), particular to the event, the design for which has to be produced, paperwork (order forms, etc.) have to be generated, and the garments then have to be printed and distributed.
There is usually a celebration meal, in the form of a street party, buffet, barbecue or sit-down dinner, which has to be organised, order forms sent out to all participants, payments collected, etc. For a sit-down dinner or organised buffet, everything must be arranged in advance, not forgetting that the provider is in a foreign country.

There are various events which are staged during the rally, such as an en-masse drive through the local countryside, which has to be carefully researched, documented, and copied for all participants. Notification has to be given to the local authorities of the intention to stage this drive, and their approval received.
The quiz - not just the reading out of a few questions, but documents in the form of answer papers have to be produced and duplicated for all participants, and collation paperwork devised; organisers time is spent marking papers.
A charity auction has become one of the major events of the week, as is the potentially huge raffle, both of which require careful organisation. All of this requires the organisers, and their 'helpers', to use their holiday time for the benefit of all participants.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of participants who are, and I hope they will excuse the reference, getting older, and whilst they still wish to participate, either can no longer camp or find that camping no longer appeals. This has coincided with the increase in the number of campsites which have on-site accommodation in the form of ready-erected tents, chalets or mobile homes, either owned and/or administered by the campsite owners or by companies specialising in this form of accommodation.
It should be pointed out that the organisers of MOT are neither travel agents nor tour operators, and as such have no responsibility to provide information about, or administer, this form of accommodation. However, in order to satisfy the need, organisers have been prepared, over and above the considerable amount of work involved in just organising the event, to become involved in this potential minefield.
Bearing in mind that the overriding factor is one of equity and fairness to all MMOC members, and potential participants, and with the advent of the internet, which, it should be pointed out most strongly, is not available to all MMOC members or potential participants, it would be unfair just to provide the details of the accommodation and the name of the provider in the Minor Matters preview article; this is why the only mention of where the trip is going gives just the general area.
The on-site accommodation for MOT 2007 has caused a considerable problem. The campsite owners have several of their own chalets for rent, and the organisers were able to get a commitment from them that they would reserve them all solely for MOT participants. However, the ready-erected tents are owned and administered by an international company, and at the time of the Minor Matters preview article going to print, the organisers had been unable to get an agreement from them to reserve accommodation for MOT participants. Subsequent to that, in fact about a week prior to application forms being sent out, an agreement was reached, and the organisers were able to release the name of the campsite in the letter which accompanied the application form in the knowledge that they had maintained the spirit of equity and fairness, and that no-one could short circuit the system prior to every potential participant receiving the information.

Going back to the non-refundable administration fee, of course, if the MOT organisers were unable to provide on-site accommodation to a particular individual, who then did not wish to camp, or to stay in off-site accommodation, their application form would be destroyed, prior to processing, and their cheque returned.

So why not just go to a campsite that has more on-site accommodation?
A rather worrying trend (from an MOT perspective) is being revealed; this is the increase in the number of campsite owners who have realised that they can make more money by turning their campsite into a 'leisure park', and are either placing their own mobile homes on what were once camping pitches, or renting out patches of the campsite for individuals to place their own mobile homes (and then arranging for the campsite owners to administer them when they don't require them), or renting out a proportion of their land to on-site accommodation companies for them to locate their mobile homes and tents. In the latter case, the campsite owners have little or no involvement, other than keeping the grass under control. Using such 'leisure parks' moves away from the whole concept of MOT benefiting from the interest and cooperation of the campsite owners to produce an enjoyable event, as our group then becomes just 'faces in the crowd' - if the site would be full at that time of year anyway, our booking and our group is not important to the management.

The organisers have to take responsibility for all financial matters, whether it be collecting money from participants, or paying out for goods and services. Meticulous records have to be kept, and whilst the event is self financing, as a Club event it is subject to overview by the MMOC treasurer, and the accounts have to be approved by him/her, as they then become part of the Club's annual accounts, which are subject to external audit.

We hope that you will see that organising an MOT is not just a case of advertising it in Minor Matters and allowing it to just happen. There are complexities which have to be carefully thought about and resolved, probably not to everyone's satisfaction, but then that is the way of the world.

Finally - the organisers are volunteers, and whilst they may have certain skills which make them suitable to run events, they are also human beings, they are not infallible, and they do what they do because there is a need to do so, not just because they can, or because they think it's fun to keep people in the dark. They will always try to take a line that causes them least aggravation and uses the minimum amount of their time, but sometimes the apparently complex solution is the fairest; the alternative would be chaos.

Minors on Tour organisers will always be open to criticism, but that criticism should be constructive, meaning that those criticising should provide a logical and workable alternative, presented in a logical and respectful manner, remembering that the written word is intended to clarify, and not to leave room for any misinterpretation or misunderstanding.

I should point out that the above has been read, and approved, by previous organisers and long time MOT participants.