I have a very impaitent 13yo daughter on my hands! No, it's not frustration at not being able to go back to school (8th January), it's not knowing when she can get back on the water. Having completed the 6-week on-the-water taster through November/December, she is keen to get on the water in a crew of novices.

We are looking forward to getting started and back on the water in the early Spring.

If there are guys up for Tideway then we'll certainly make a plan to get themthere. I'm talking with the coaches and vice-captains on how we might integrate the novice training more with the rest of the mens squad so as to provide those who want it, with a more challenging path and getting them as quickly as possible up to full fitness.

I'm going to get some feedback from everyone as part of tweaking what we're doing and how. Please don't wait, though to speak your mind - it's all part of owning your rowing and I certainly welcome it.

If I understand the conversation on Saturday (and interpolating a little), all of us primarily involved in novices/beginners development aim to bring them to a state of fitness and technical competence where as many as possible/all feel confident to compete for seats in a 2013 Tideway eight and to be competitive first at novice level and before long at an intermediate level at regattas over the summer. The longer term aim is to retain and develop them so that crews from the mens squad are able to compete at all levels and in both senior and veteran events. Some have already indicated that they prefer to follow a more recreational line and these should also be developed so that they have an acceptable level of knowledge to handle boats independently and they should be encouraged (as all members) to contribute to the club/squad through coaching, coxing and other skills – first aid, safety, welfare, umpiring, club admin. etc

I’ve passed on your contact details to Russell Thornton and Nic Feaver who between them coordinate the senior men’s squad and will add your name to the training spread sheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Age5wVd4kMN3dGdYY1ZtOTFNcVN... which details the land and water training for the week ahead for the men’s squad and enables you to both show your availability and record the results of training and tests. Take a look and let me know if you have difficulty accessing it – I’ll also be looking at it to make sure everyone is OK. We’ll now start using that as Nic and Russell want to encourage you to start joining in with the rest of the squad in addition to the Saturday 10:00 sessions. The 10:00 Saturday sessions will introduce a mix of more experienced rowers and fast track to accelerate the integration of novices with the rest of the men’s squad and they will continue to be coached primarily by Dan.

People are interested in your progress.

Veteran scullers and crews have already been waving the flag for Gloucester both home and abroad. At FISA Masters this year we put out a remarkably large number of crews from a relatively small party(8) from the club, so the only category we didn't enter was coxed fours or eights because all the coxes were at school, but there were singles, doubles, coxless fours, quads and pairs in men, women & mixed crews and in age categories Vet A to Vet F which is an age range of 27-65 or so. We didn't bring back any medals, but had a great time and in the quiet of the evening over supper, we were plotting next years trip out to Verase in Italy.

Back in the UK, as you would expect, many miles both on water and (so it is claimed) on the erg are being racked up. We've also competed at the Pairs Head (though not as Veterans) as well as at both Tideway Fours Head and Veteran Fours, where the women returned on the Sunday and re-rowed in pretty much the same time as the Saturday winning Vet B.

I'm not sure if the FISA World Masters regatta at the beginning of September is the end of one year or the beginning of the next. It certainly has an end of season feel about it because while some serious competition is to be had with Olympians from various eras represented, there is a wide spectrum of seriousness of those taking part. This year it was held in Duisburg, which though not everyone's idea of a holiday destination put on a great event backed up with wonderful weather.

• The West of England Challenge Trophy
• A New Season, A New Era
• Gloucester Regatta - 25th/26th August 2012
• Learn to Row on 16th September 2012
• The Queens Diamond Jubilee - 3rd June 2012
• Worcester Small Boats Head
• Wycliffe Small Boats Head
• Beth Rodford at GB Trials
• Gloucester Rowing Club wins British Rowing Safety Award
• Gloucester Autumn Head (4th November 2012)
• Olympic Medal Still Missing
• Development Matters
• Development Matters
• Icicle Head

Land training for the Novices has been moved to Thursday night as the women are now going to be switching over to using the ergs on a Wednesday as the nights draw in. The session will be 2 x 15 minutes pieces with a 5 minute break between. The stroke rate should be 20 spm and everyone should be aiming for a 3-5s improvement in 500m split times compared to a couple of weeks ago.
We shall also mix in a core and stretching session as time allows.

The Captain's Speech from the GRC Annual Dinner 2012:
"The past season was filled with many significant National and International events, many of which were truly unique occasions. Through some hard work from a lot of members, Gloucester Rowing Club made sure it was involved in many of them.