Futures Committee (Recent activity)

Negotiations with the Council are on hold while they consider what to do with the rest of Netheridge Farm that will be between the canal and the bypass.

Futures Committee (Fund Raising)

The Futures Committee collective view is that we should wait until we have completed the purchase of the land before starting fund raising - this is so that we are not trying to sell something hypothetical.

We are pursuing 2 possible sources of funds to help with the land purchase and initial development.

There has been a meeting with the City Council Leisure Services department and we received some advice on how we should be preparing to bid for lottery funding. One message was that we need to get our strategic plan in place so that we are ready to make bids for grants if the opportunity arises. We have been offered help in polishing the plan once we have developed it.

When we come to bid for funds we need to be able to show that we have a record of helping ourselves to improve and that our plans are sustainable. Immediate steps to be taken are:

Develop a rowing plan eg how do we expect individuals to develop
Develop a blueprint for the Club eg how many and what type of members do we expect to have Search the Internet for funding opportunities
Regular publicity

Futures Committee (Constitution)

After discussion, agreement was reached on: the proposal for an alternative committee structure; to split the rules into separate "constitution" and "rules"; delete the requirement to hold Club races; a new class of "Associate Member" to include parents of Juniors Under 16; a proposed fee structure for Associate Members; Associate Members to be able to vote at General Meetings and stand for office subject to the Committee having less than 50% Associate Members; changes to the wording of the rules for the Special Fund; a new rule requiring members to help run the bar and help at other events.

It was agreed to hold the SGM to vote on these rule changes on Saturday 10th September at 10.00am.

Regatta Committee

Difficulties in running the regatta due to the construction of the new bypass were discussed. It was agreed that we should go ahead with the Regatta but we may need to limit entries.

Deirdre had met the WAGS Safety Adviser to discuss the Head and the forthcoming regatta. It was suggested that we revise our risk assessment and safety plan, otherwise there were no problems.

The Pub&Club regatta had been successful, profit was £550 plus bar profits. There was difficulty in getting enough coaches and there were fewer entries than usual.

Captain's Report / Rowing Committee report

The Rowing Committee had met to discuss an incident in which 2 boats collided causing damage to Au Pair. (Au Pair has been repaired at Monkton Bluefriars at a cost of £100.) Gill has issued further instructions for steersmen of coxless boats. The Rowing Committee also discussed future requirements for new equipment.

The outboard motor on the launch has been damaged and repair / replacement of the engine will cost £1600. At the moment we are renting an outboard at a cost of £40 per week. It was agreed that we had to go ahead and replace the motor. If we can get a statement from A&D Marine and/or the manufacturer that the damage must have been caused by a collision, Stephen will put in an insurance claim.

Gill reported that the seats from Double Gloucester were stolen at the Nat. Champs.

The boat naming was held. The number of people present was disappointing - in the end we left too little time between deciding the date and the event itself. The Mayor attended and we had some useful publicity in the Citizen. We still have to arrange the naming ceremony for "Adrian Wilson".

Wins:

S3 2- at Monmouth, Monmouth Sprint, Hereford, Ironbridge and Llandaff (G. Hill, A Squire);
S2 2- at Llandaff (P Hanagan, G Houghton);
WN 4+, WS4 4+ Monmouth Sprint (K Longstaff, L Pugh, A Miguel-Lopez, S England, cox P Hills); WS3 4+, WS4 4+ Reading, W4- (Gold) at Nat Champs. (J Cogger in a composite);
WS3 2x Ironbridge (S Cook, N Ross);
N 4+ Llandaff Sprint (C Pendry, N Light, L Serafin, S Samuells, P Hills (cox));
Mx S2 8 Llandaff Sprint (D Locke, C Joseph, H Russell, J Brecknell, P Hanagan, G Houghton, G Hill, A Squire, P Hills (cox));
WJ 4- Silver at Nat Champs (R Eeles, F Craig, E Guy, M Clayton);
R Woods and M Pollard won S2 2x at Metropolitan Regatta and then went on to reach the semi-finals of the Double Sculls Challenge Cup at Henley RR.

Jenny Cogger has been selected to represent GB in the Coupe De la Jeunesse.

Secretary's Report

Stephen and Gill had discussed whether to apply for a variation of opening hours under the new licencing regime and concluded we should not seek a variation at this time. We will be able to run all our current events with the possible exception of the Pub&Club regatta for which we might need a Temporary Event notice at a cost of £20.

An application has been made to the Magistrates to renew the Club's licence, the application will be heard on 2nd August. The application for the Occasional Permission for the Regatta will also be heard on the 2nd.

Treasurer's Report

During discussion of the damaged outboard motor, Caroline noted that there have been several cases of significant expenditure being made without getting quotes and seeking approval. In future, she will not sign cheques for expenditure that she has not been informed of in advance.

The accounts for last year have been audited.

Membership

New members: Flaurent Ciracq, Kim Drinkwater, Heather McNally, Gerry Dominey, Steve Mandeville, Jennifer Curtis (all Senior), Tom Cibulskas, Mark Fitten (Junior), Kirsty Turle, Marina Popov (Junior U16) were accepted as members.

Caroline raised the cases of members who are paying monthly and failing to set up standing orders. The Committee re-confirmed that while monthly payment had been set up to help members, the payment method had been limited to standing order because allowing multiple methods of payment would make the Membership Secretary's job too difficult. Anyone who failed to pay by standing order for August and subsequent months would be deemed to be in arrears and consequently not allowed to use Club equipment.

Safety

A letter has been sent to BW (concerning an incident on Saturday 22nd January) explaining that we did not believe our boats had been involved in the incidents as described and also quoting our navigation rules as they apply to passing red lights. The response from BW said: "Your advice to members seems perfectly reasonable and I am glad that you think that this incident did not involve members of your club."

Deirdre suggested that we require coaches to sign out the safety launches, showing time out and time back. This would allow us to know when the outboard's need servicing.

Fund Raising Committee

The 200 Club winners for June were: M Cummings; K Browne; D Squire

The Dinner/Dance will be on Saturday 8th October.

Publicity

Gill will organise the handing over of the sponsored erg cheque to the James Hopkins Trust.

WAGS

Regatta dates for next year have been submitted.

Premises

Mark said that he often arrives at the Club to find windows and doors left open or unlocked. The club should be locked whenever there is nobody present, even during outings. There have been occasions when non-members have been found wandering around the premises and no members are present. He will produce a checksheet to remind the last person out of all the things that need to be checked.

Concern was expressed that some past members still hold keys to the Club. Stephen will check the membership list against the keyholders list and write to past members who still hold keys.

The Fire Extinguishers have been serviced and the Club inspected by the Fire Service as part of the Club's Licence renewal.

AOB

Richard noted that members are still showing a lack of care for equipment. He felt that we need to make individuals take responsibility. The Rowing Committee were asked to come up with suggestions for how to put this into practice.

Date of next meeting: Monday 12th September 2005 at 7.30pm.

Date of SGM: Saturday 10th September 2005 at 10.00am

Date of AGM: Monday 3 October 2005 at 7.30pm