Club Committee

Minutes of Committee Meetings 2003 - 2004

• 14th June 2003
• 5th October 2003
• 12th Novermber 2003
• 14th January 2004
• General Meeting, 9th May 2004

Present: Dan Holland (DH), Aileen Dennis (AD), Andrew Lea-Cox (ALC), Rachel Munro (RM), Iain Edwards (IE), Matt Byrne (MB), Honey Duan (HD), Chris Dunleavy (CD), Abbie Aiken (AA), Tom Coker (TC), Tom Silvey (TS), Danae Hadrill-Barratt (DHB), Jo Sampson (JS), Alla Doubrovina (AD), Dave Minch-Dixon (DMD)

1. Trailers

With the changes in legislation regarding towing trailers and the expected absence of JPD next year because of trialling, the issue of who could tow boats was a concern. The general idea is to find a willing Fresher who is likely to continue rowing and is willing to put in the time commitment to get the necessary qualifications and tow boats. It was agreed that the boat club should subsidise the cost of this and DH said that Dr. Kingsbury (NK) had agreed to this. The approximate cost of the course would be £300. The person involved would have to be responsible, have a suitable car in Cambridge and have a tow-bar (which we would most likely have to provide ~£160).

One suggestion was Chris Mycroft - DH to action

HD had to leave

2. Lower Boats Captains

DH: We need to sort out the Freshers' Squash, something for the Freshers' Handbook and the BA handbook. The flyers under the door worked very well last year and should be repeated. The possibility of having stickers and posters was also discussed.
JS: Said she had access to poster-printing facilities.

It was agreed that printing should be done by members of the committee and friends rather than commercially because of costs.

The squash should be in college, if possible in the Old Kitchens on Wednesday 8th October. The only problem about this is the question as to whether college will allow us to serve our own drinks at the squash - RM to action

It was decided that we should have a BBQ at the boathouse, which was a success last year. No date was decided, but it was agreed that this should happen once people know where the boathouse is and have started rowing. - RM to action

A formal hall should take place on the Thursday of the second week (16th October) with everyone meeting beforehand for drinks. It was suggested that the best way of doing this is if everyone got drinks from the bar and then moved up to the JCR so all the rowers could congregate.

It was agreed that cocktails were the best form of alcohol for events (and perhaps beer for the BBQ) and Alco pops were the way to lose money!
DMD: Lives in Belgium and travels to England in a large vehicle, so could purchase alcohol at vastly reduced prices from the continent. - RM and MB to liaise and inform DMD about what is required so that we can have a stock for Freshers' events and Boat Club dinners (in particular Fairburns Dinner)

ALC: To look into budget for Fresher events. It is certain we will make a loss on the Freshers' Squash, but will attempt to make up for it at the BBQ.

It was agreed that we should advertise Freshers' events on the website and more importantly advertise the website address prominently on everything and get novice e-mail lists set up promptly. - IE to action

CD: Suggested it would be a good idea for novices to learn to scull in the viruses we can use from Cantabs (and haven't been doing recently). There was general agreement that this would be a good idea but the problem of coaching was raised. DH said Iain Law was willing to teach some people to scull. Those seniors who are experienced at sculling would be other possibilities.

Novice Coaching:

DH: Asked to be reminded to liaise with Steph about coaches.

It was suggested that for at least the first week, alternating tubbing and erging sessions be run. There was divided opinion about sending novices out in eights as soon as possible as this is what they want to do, but concerns were raise as to the usefulness from a coaching perspective of throwing people straight into an eight before they had learnt the basics (as is much easier in a tub).
ALC: Should make use of bank tub whilst tubbing/erg sessions are occurring.
TS: Bank tub was sunk, so we are not sure of its current condition - DH to investigate
Senior members of the club would be relied upon to teach the novices the basics.
DH: JPD is willing to coach on the Monday (I assume this means 13th October)

LBCs to action:-
Book WLT for novice introduction session (including videos of Bumps/Olympics/crashes etc…)
Have a LBCs meeting to discuss these issues (especially coaches, coaching (eg. everyone teaching the same style of rowing), novice meetings etc…) and report back to the Captains and Secretary

3. Other matters arising

RM: Suggested that receipts from any purchases made on behalf of the boat club by committee members be sent to the Secretary so that we have a more rigid system for monitoring debts of the club to various people.
ALC: This system is adopted by most other university clubs and seems to be a very good idea, given our recent problems with owing people lots of money. - ALC to action

AD: The arrogance and politics that have plagued the Boat Club this year must be wiped out completely so as to avoid the problems of this past year. Everyone was in agreement.

The current condition of the boathouse is dire and it was hoped that as the fellows have been using the boathouse recently, they would recognise this as well. ALC to discuss this with NK.

RM: Asked whether we could purchase another cox box, as we only have 4, out of which only 3 are working properly.
MB (I think): The only time when we use all 4 is in Bumps.
DH: NK is unlikely to agree to a purchase of another cox box. The green cox box will hopefully be repaired as soon as possible
RM: Suggested then that a signing in/out system be implemented for the use of cox boxes. This allows coxes to check which cox boxes have recently been used and therefore be more likely to run out of battery power. This also serves as a record of usage of the cox boxes.
Some concern was raised as to some people who may think they are above this system. Some way of enforcement should be implemented.

ALC: Confirmed the function and usage of the pacecoach. It is a very expensive and useful piece of equipment and should only be used by the top crews (to whom it will be most useful) with the permission of the Captain.
Andrew Fisher (AF): Remarked that some clubs have a coxing captain and that this may be an option worth considering.
It was generally agreed that we need to work hard to encourage new coxes and to coach them properly.
ALC: Suggested we ask senior coxes in the boat club to assist with this and that we have some 'training sessions' with videos of bumps etc… with talks from some experienced coxes with some tape recordings (Steph Richards has recorded some of her coxing)
RM: Agreed to play a prominent role in coxing recruitment.
- LBCs to discuss

4. DoNM

DH: Wishes the new committee to arrive back in Cambridge on Saturday 27th September, in time for a meeting at 18:00 on Sunday 28th September in E1 GC.
ALC and AD will be absent because of a field trip.
DH: Requested that all committee members be contactable and checked their e-mail regularly. - Someone to take minutes of next meeting as ALC absent

5. Points to address at future meetings

• Security of boathouse when Freshers are around - programming buttery cards
• Sort out locker system
• Attempt (again) to organise Mercer regatta
• Implementing signing in/out system for cox boxes
• Launch
• Who is our safety officer?
• Equipment purchases
• Plastic tub?
• Updating name-boards in boathouse

Present: Dan Holland (DH), Aileen Dennis (AD), Andrew Lea-Cox (ALC), Rachel Munro (RM), Iain Edwards (IE), Matt Byrne (MB), Honey Duan (HD), Chris Dunleavy (CD), Abbie Aiken (AA), Tom Coker (TC), Tom Silvey (TS), Danae Hadrill-Barratt (DHB), Jo Sampson (JS), Alla Doubrovina (AD), Dave Minch-Dixon (DMD)

1. Lower Boats Captains

The need for good advertising and recruitment of novices was raised, especially the desperation for coxes. Andrew Fisher has agreed to be 'Coxing Captain' (this is not a committee post) and take charge of coaching new coxes.

Women's LBCs have already started organising coaches; Men's LBCs need to do the same.

HD: Suggested having a session for both men & women on Tuesday after the Freshers' BBQ at Burrell's Field.

It was agreed that guides will leave from Great Gate every half hour from 2:00pm (LBCs to organise rota) and Freshers should be given a tour of the boat house and a session on the ergs and in a tub (if possible). Other seniors who are available should go down to the boathouse at some time in the afternoon to help LBCs.

CD: Will organise list for signing up at the Chaplain's squash and will include a column for those expressing an interest

WE NEED COXES

HD: Men's LBCs have assigned jobs:
CD: Scheduling
DMD: Socials
HD: Coaching
TC: ?
DH: Women's LBCs should do the same so we know who to contact for different things.

ALC: Need to be very careful about security, especially when loads of novices about. Lower boats captains need to be responsible for letting novices into boathouse and make sure boat bays, balcony sliding doors and main entrance are shut and locked before leaving. This applies to anyone should they find themselves the last to leave the boathouse. (And turn of the lights, please)
Beware of suspicious youths (especially one in a grey hoody) and empty syringes & needles - report to police.

2. Social Events

Chaplain's Squash:

Need some people behind desk taking names and e-mail addresses, others just wondering around handing out stickers and recruiting. Everyone in club kit.
HD: Will get Will Thorne's blades to put behind desk in OCR
RM: Will have sweets (and alcohol?) at desk to encourage Freshers to do the right thing.

Need sign-up sheets and pens (CD?)
Be all set up by 9pm

Cocktails:

RM: Needs help moving alcohol etc. (Monday afternoon) to WPR. Hasn't got Dean's permission yet, because he is not around - will try to do so tomorrow (Monday)

Will have someone at the top of the stairs noting names of seniors - charge of £3 to go on end of term bill.
Tables at bottom of stairs to sign up Freshers and arrange outings. Advertise the guided tours to the boathouse on Tuesday.
Agreed to have music, but only at background volume (possibly previous bop lists?) - IE/TC to action?

BBQ:

RM: Asked if we wanted a BBQ - YES!

Monday 13th October starting at 5:30pm.
SCCBC want to share BBQ - agreed that we would charge FaT Freshers £3 and Seniors £4 cash on the door and this would cover food and 2 free cocktails. Numbers of SCCBC Freshers will be taken on the door and Cats will be charged accordingly. Cats need to give a rough estimate of numbers so we can plan food & drink. RM to action
Will need to start BBQs (loaned from TCSU) earlier and probably have a large amount of food cooked by 5:30. Most people to arrive about 4:30 - RM to organise and e-mail committee.

Club Formal:

Sunday 19th October, 7:15, lower JCR - need to remind Freshers to buy tickets on Friday 17th.

Committee Formal with Homerton:

Tuesday 14th October, buy one guest ticket, they buy wine

3. Early morning outings

AD: Pointed out the new CUCBC rule that only one novice boat per club would be allowed on the river on any one morning. LMBC are not happy with this rule and were we willing to complain with them.

DH: Didn't see much point in objecting, it is sensible to limit the number of novice crews allowed on the water in the early morning when other senior crews want to get some training done. There are already too many boats on the water in the mornings.

LBCs need to agree a schedule, possibly based on the numbers of men/women novices and plan any early morning novice outings accordingly.

4. Early morning marshalling

ALC: We have been assigned marshalling slots, and members of the committee should not need to do more than one early morning marshal duty this year. It was agreed that LBCs should be exempt from the rota this term, and volunteers were agreed:

Date	Name	Marshalling point	Lighting down
9th October	Matt Byrne	1	06:47
23rd October	Andrew Lea-Cox	2	07:10
5th November	Aileen Dennis	1	06:33
19th November	Rachel Munro	2	06:56
3rd December	Iain Edwards	1	07:16

[The bizarre jump after 23rd October is due to the switch back to GMT]

The basic idea is turn up at Goldie boathouse a good 20-30 minutes before lighting down and collect the reflective bib and clipboard from our pigeon-hole (bring a pen!) and get to your marshalling point about 15 minutes before lighting down.
Marshalling point 1 is just downstream of Churchill boathouse, and point 2 is somewhere around the road bridge just downstream of Downing boathouse.

Note down all the boats that go out, especially those that boat without lights and before lighting down (beware of some town crews that boat in the dark). It's a good idea to check with the other marshal that you've both seen the same boats (this avoids us getting fined!). A new and very important rule with immediate effect is that there is to be no noise upstream of the P&E before 7:30 or this could result in a ban on early morning rowing for all crews. This means no coaching from the boathouses to the P&E, and cox boxes turned down very low - NO SHOUTING! Fine all loud crews. Also no novice crews before 7:30 or 15 minutes after lighting down, whichever is later.

Remain at your post until about 8:45-9:00 when most people have come back from their outings.

5. Expenses

ALC: Requested that any of the committee wishing to spend money on behalf of the club should approach him first and keep receipts. No receipts mean no proof of purchase and no money! People will not be refunded unless the transaction has been approved.

6. Accounts

ALC: Gave a summary of the financial situation. We are not sure what the situation is, partly because of the precious secretary's incompetence and also Barclays Bank's incompetence. As a result the pieces have to be picked up and we should be wary for the coming months until we have received money from the ST and college accounts department.
Any creditors of the club are asked to bear with us until the situation is resolved and we are very grateful to them.

ALC: Stated his policy on the openness of boat club accounts. He feels that should someone feel interested enough in boat club finances, he or she can by all means meet with the secretary and go over the books. Anyone who is not really interested, but just wants to be difficult is guaranteed to be bored senseless and confused by the complex nature of the accounts.

ALC: Also stated that he feels no need to hold Open Meetings as nothing productive ever seems to emerge from them. It would be far more worthwhile to advertise the AGM more widely and try to get all members to express their views and concerns about how the boat club is being run at that meeting. No objections were made.

7. Fairbairns Dinner

ALC: Has booked the same caterers as last year, but has yet to confirm a venue. The menu will be much the same as last year with a cheaper option and a more expensive option. There can also be a vegetarian option if necessary.
ALC will try to get the ST to allow us the use of the boathouse again, but should this fail, he will try to book the athletics pavilion at Wilberforce road, although they may object to having outside caterers in. We shall keep our fingers crossed for the moment.

RM: Suggested the Guildhall as an alternative venue.

8. Captain's comments

DH: We are getting a new pair, which will probably be named after Amartya Sen as he is retiring as Master of Trinity. HRH the Prince of Wales will name the new coxed IV on 25th November; Clarence House is sending people to plan the event on 30th October although this won't affect anyone in particular. It would be nice if Michael Longford were able to come and name the other IV at the same time, and there would be a huge party afterwards. The First and Third Association should be a major source of funding for this event and may lead to other possible funding.

The issue of painting the boathouse was brought up, as it would be an embarrassment were it to still be in its current state at the time of the boat-naming. DH says that the Clerk of Works has been very slow at responding to the maintenance requirements of the boathouse. The current bad state of the showers was also mentioned, and ALC will talk to the ST and Iain Law (IL) about this a.s.a.p.

DH: We still have no-one who can tow trailers as JPD is unlikely to get binned for a while and even if we were to get one of the committee licensed, we would have to hire cars/vans or put them on JPD's insurance and this would be costly. It was agreed to worry about this more once the 'novice nightmare' had quietened down.

DH: The situation with cox boxes is that 3 are away getting repaired, leaving only 2 at the moment. The key to the padlock has been broken, and it was agreed that we should get a coded padlock as this would be safer than leaving keys lying around the boathouse, even if lots of people knew the code. (ALC/IL to action)

RM: Insisted that we need a signing out system for cox boxes, saying who took which cox box out when and for how long and when it was put back on to charge, as it is very unhelpful if cox boxes fail in the middle of races. There seemed to be general agreement to this. (Someone to action - RM/HD?)

The word lockers was mentioned. Some of the women found out that they apparently do have lockers but no keys. ALC to recall all the remaining men's locker keys, get any missing keys cut from the master keys, and re-distribute them accordingly.

IE: The lockers in the weights area are currently filled with water bottles that need to be got rid of. It was agreed that we should attempt to make a little money out of them. (RM to think how)

9. Dates of main races this term

University IVs: 3rd November
Novice Fairbairns: 4th December
Senior Fairbairns: 5th December

DoNM: Undecided

Present: Dan Holland (DH), Aileen Dennis (AMD), Andrew Lea-Cox (ALC), Rachel Munro (RM), Iain Edwards (IE), Matt Byrne (MB), Honey Duan (HD), Tom Coker (TC), Danae Hadrill-Barratt (DHB), Jo Sampson (JS), Alla Doubrovina (AD), Dave Minch-Dixon (DMD)

Apologies: Tom Silvey (TS)

1. Agreement of minutes of last meeting

Everyone (out of the few that actually read them) agreed with the minutes of the meeting on 12/11/03.

2. KSS

RM: Had just received quotes for the entire kit order and was to send out an e-mail shortly. The kit order feature is up and working on the website.
AMD: Asked if it was possible to have pictures of the kit on the website alongside the order information.
RM: Will take photos of the kit when it arrives and they will then go up on the website. She will also send out details for the sizes of JL kit [as they tend to model their sizes on the average sumo wrestler].
ACTION: IE to update website as required

RM: Had heard from 25 people showing an interest in a trip on the riverboat Georgina. A total of 80 people are required for the booking on Tuesday 27th January. 4 cocktails are supplied as part of the ticket.
ALC: Asked if they were proper cocktails, not Boat Club ones.
RM: Yes, they have a bar onboard. The occasion is open to people outside the Boat Club as well, and RM suggested opening the invitation to other clubs like Tit Hall and Pembroke.

There was an unsaid agreement on which college RM would like to invite!

DH: Asked whether we could have another social event, like the laser quest.
RM: Could organise another laser quest evening, as some people were a bit confused by the meeting time at the previous one and it is cheap (£2.50 per person).

3. Women's Captain

AMD: Nothing to report.

4. Men's Captain

DH: Nothing to report.

5. Secretary

ALC: Early morning marshalling is upon us. The following volunteered - people became more eager as they realised the emerging pattern!

ALC: Will e-mail and remind people, given the forgetfulness of some people with regards to this meeting.
AMD: Asked whether she was still going to receive the fine for forgetting to turn up last term.
ALC: Laura Sutcliffe did not want to be paid last term, so she may have been compassionate, possibly because she was being entertained frequently by our Captain?!
DH: Revealed that alas she was still going to charge us.

ALC: Was going to bring along the financial statement but forgot it and said he would put a summary in the minutes:

Profit: £348.55
Debtors: £3282.64 (people who owe us money)
Creditors: £2090.95 (people who we owe money to)
Cash: £3232.77

So basically we're in a good position.

MB arrived with a lame excuse.

ALC: Wished to re-activate the KSS & JT accounts so that it would be easier to track where the boat club's money is going. The KSS account needs signing over from IE to RM, but the JT account is still in Sophie Rickards' name, so she will have to be contacted to fill in the relevant forms. The secretary should also be put as a signatory on both accounts (although the KSS and JT would be the ones to sign cheques), so the secretary can monitor the cash flow in all the boat club accounts and include them in financial statements.
ACTION: IE, RM & ALC to sign over KSS account
ALC to contact Sophie Rickards re. JT account

DHB arrived with an even lamer excuse.

DH: Does Neil [Talbott] still owe us money and ARA cards.
ALC: Yes, £215.65 and numerous messages have been left on his answer phone and with his parents. The mission continues…

ALC: Filled in the club water safety audit. We need to make sure the novices are aware of what to do if they capsize and they need to be proficient swimmers.
DHB: Said that the novices all signed a form saying that they have been briefed about what to do if they capsize and saying they can swim sufficiently.
ALC: The first aid kit needs checking more often, as it is currently empty. It was agreed that no plasters/tape should be supplied as people abuse them (apart from the fact that legally we shouldn't supply them in case little Johnny is allergic to Elastoplast).

ALC: Invited any members of the committee yet to sign the membership book to do so. The majority of the committee proceeded to sign it.
ACTION: ALC to organise for new members to sign the book

[There followed a discussion between AMD and DH about who (with reference to ex-novices) could go out in a scull and who could banksteer.]

6. JT

MB: People are eating sufficient lard and the JT's lard float is being re-built slowly but surely. MB will organise a photo-viewing session when the proofs from last term arrive.

ALC: Said he had received a video of the rushes from Anglia TV of the boat-naming ceremony and will attempt to transfer them onto his computer so they can be made available to members on the website.
DH: The naming of Amartya Sen and Michael Longford will occur on a weekend in May Term, as this is the only feasible date that Amartya Sen can do.

MB: The boards in the boathouse will be done soon.

7. Webmaster

IE: Purchased a new hard drive for the boat club computer. The server crashed over the holidays and Martin Peck kindly came in to fix it. The mobile bumps reporting will continue this year and IE will upload the results from the bank.

At this point, DH realised he had signed the membership book twice.

8. Other matters arising

AMD: Asked whether the racks could be repaired to make it easier for the women to get their boats out.
ALC: Explained that spare parts for our racks are now unavailable and we would have to replace them. This is an issue to bring up with the ST.

RM: Asked what was happening with the cox boxes, as there is currently only one headset that works.
ALC: Explained that Andrew Fisher (AF) who had said he would be at the meeting was going to propose a plan whereby the club should purchase a number of headsets (as they are not particularly expensive) and give one to each cox once the pay a deposit (about £25). This would make coxes take better care of the equipment and not yank them out of the boat by the headset.
JS: Expressed concern that if someone who does not usually cox were to sub in to an outing, they would not have access to a headset. Likewise if a cox's headset broke.
DH: This problem could be overcome by Iain Law, and/or the Captains also having a headset which people could borrow. AF was supposed to be meeting with DH after the meeting to discuss this matter further.

AD: Told the committee that the monitor on one of the Concept 2 ergs does not work, even when you change the batteries.

9. DoNM

No exact date was reached, but it was agreed to hold one in the weeks running up to bumps.

The following is an account of the proceedings from my viewpoint. I have tried to keep the information as accurate and detailed as possible and welcome any corrections. [Words in square brackets represent information not said in the meeting]

Present: Dan Holland (DH), Aileen Dennis (AD), Andrew Lea-Cox (ALC), Jo Sampson (JS), Honey Duan (HD), Rachel Munro (RM), Matt Byrne (MB), Iain Edwards (IE), Justyn Maund (JM), Neil Copland (NC), Sarah Kummerfield (SK), Henry Clouting (HC), Dan Walker (DW), Dan Newton (DN), Pia Schaefer (PS), Zoe Michlig (ZM), Ailanore Harper (AH), Lilie Weaver (LW), Richard Bullock (RB), Chris Mycroft (CM)

Apologies: Andrew Fisher (AF), Tom Coker (TC), Danae Hadrill-Barratt (DHB)

Matters Arising:

Officer's Reports:

KSS report - Rachel Munro

RM: Has expanded kit order and developed an online order system with the help of IE to assist the kit order process. Some prices have been raised to subsidise race kit eg. hoodies, rugby shirts etc. which have all been a great success.

We have had a variety of social events (Fresher's cocktails, BBQ, Fireworks party, club formal, STCS cocktails, Drumps, Bops), all of which have been financially successful and lots of people attended.

Women's captain - Aileen Dennis

AD: Did not have much to add to the speech she gave at the dinner, much to say that the women have had a fairly good season so far, the 1st VIII going up one in the Lents and the 2nd VIII earning their blades. Another fantastic result was obtained by the scratch WEHoRR crew, who came 115th and were the 8th Cambridge college crew.

Men's and overall captain - Dan Holland

DH: We have purchased a new pir (stet) - Amartya Sen and a new 4- is on order.
DW: Asked what the plans are for new boats.
DH: This is a problem, because of the amount of damage incurred this year. We were going to buy a new novice 8, but this will probably be put on hold as we can manage with what we've got.

Men's lower boats captains - Honey Duan

HD: The Men's Lower Boats have generally achieved good results, with the 4th VIII getting blades in the Lents (and the 3rd VIII obtaining spoons!)
HD: Expressed her concern that there is now only 1 effective LBC in both Men's and Women's clubs and this is obviously an issue.
DW: Asked why they quit.
HD: They all signed up knowing it would be hard work, but there was a lack of communication between people and things were assumed to be done by others when they weren't.
RM: Warned candidates for LBCs about the large workload and to be fully prepared.
ALC: Yes, there is a large workload, but don't let that put you off, because you can still get a lot of satisfaction from seeing people learning and achieving.
HD: Brought up the coxing nightmare we have experienced this year [thus ensued a detailed discussion on coxing, such that I have made it a new point]

Coxing

AH, PS & ZM: Say novice coxes were under too much pressure.
DH: Usually LBCs do most of the coxing.
HC: This was tried a few years ago and didn't work because LBCs weren't very good at coxing. HC suggested the best way was to put novice coxes with senior rowers and vice versa and that we aim to train more coxes than we have crews so that we can decrease the workload on coxes.
RM: Although the new coxing system was a good idea, it wasn't done particularly well this year; the mentoring system was good to start off with, but there wasn't enough communication between mentors and mentees and not over a long enough period. It is very beneficial if novice cox goes with seniors because they don't have to deal with crashing into the bank etc…
[- general agreement].
SK: Knows experienced coxes who didn't continue because they were often called upon at very short notice, which was not only annoying, but difficult for grads, because they have to plan ahead. There are also no real incentives. SK also knows a couple of grad novices who wanted to cox and have ended up defecting to another club or stopping because they didn't get enough coaching.
DW: Thinks LBCs should learn to cox
ALC: Agrees in that it also gives LBCs an insight into what coxes have to think about and deal with so it will help with their novice coaching
JS: We need better communication and can't assume the coxing captain will do all the looking after coxes.
RM: Asked what the role of coxing captain is.
DH: Unofficial post because not voted, but AF suggested what post should entail:

• To recruit coxes for the Men's and Women's Boat Club, both for senior crews and for novice ones.
• To coach the coxes, to give them advice, and to encourage them.
• To assist lain and the Captains in selecting the coxes for the different crews.
• To pass onto coxes the advice of their crews and coaches.
• To be responsible for the electronics required for coxing and coaching.
• To represent the interests of coxes at committee meetings.
• Summary: To assist in all aspects of coxing within "First and Third" and to provide coxes with the ability to make their collective views known to the Boat Club.

Women's lower boats captains - Jo Sampson

JS: We had a very successful first term - 3 strong novice VIIIs, with wins of both Queen's Ergs and the Novice Fairbairn Cup. However, there was a poor return rate of novices in Lent term. They could have made the transition for novices into senior rowing better, incorporating them with seniors on a more regular basis. This was partially because of the distinct lack of coxes.
SK: Asked about the situation with cox boxes
DH: Cox boxes were being constantly broken, especially the headsets and this was mostly due to carelessness on behalf of coxes. The new headsets were bought in the hope that coxes would 'adopt' a headset and would be in charge of taking care of their own headset. Unfortunately, they haven't been working very well.

Secretary's report - Andrew Lea-Cox

ALC: As some of you may remember, two years ago, the club finances were in considerable turmoil, with over £2000 worth of debt. Paul Whiting did a first-class job of picking up the pieces and started proper double entry accounts. Unfortunately, things were messed up again after Paul's resignation, although no unnecessary debts were acquired. ALC has done his best to return things to normal and has continued the process of keeping full, detailed accounts.

Every term, ALC has shown Dr Kingsbury a financial statement of the previous term. He has been keeping in regular contact with the catering department and members' accounts to assure that the catering bill and members' bills are settled efficiently. ALC gave a brief summary of our financial situation: At the beginning of Michelmas Term our net bank balance was £2422.96. Our current net balance is £2880.51.

ALC thinks it is very important for future secretary's to continue this system so we can avoid another disaster, which can so easily occur with such a frequent turnover of the committee.

ALC was very pleased that we were able to use the boat house for the Fairbairns Dinner and I thanked the club for their exemplary behaviour in what was a slightly awkward venue. He used the same catering company as last year and we have developed a strong link that is hoped to continue and allow us to get a discounted rate in future.
The Lents dinner was less successful and although those who went had an enjoyable time, many people found the price far too high. The Lents dinner will always be the most expensive dinner, mainly because college have an exorbitant £3.50 corkage charge per bottle, effectively forcing us to purchase college wine. ALC has spoken with Mr Reinhardt and he has been very receptive, agreeing to negotiate a cheaper option for next year. The Mays dinner shouldn't be such a problem as we are exempt from the corkage charge.

Race entries are becoming more efficient now that many can be done online or via e-mail, but ALC suggested that in future, captains should decide at the beginning of the term who will require ARA membership for the coming term, as we are currently prevented from entering some races because people have not sorted out membership in time.

DW: Asked what exactly had been messed up after Paul Whiting resigned.
ALC: Explained that although no money was lost, no proper records of transactions were kept and this broke the continuity of records kept by Paul which is so important to keep going to ensure that any disasters don't happen in the future.
AD: Asked where the profit comes from.
ALC: Explained that this was a difficult issue. He did not want to give the impression that the club is secretly making a profit off members and is willing to go through the accounting system with anyone who is really interested. There were however certain things like dinners that have to be budgeted for and a price decided before final numbers of those attending are known. In the case of last Fairbairns Dinner, ALC budgeted on approximately 50 people attending and it ended up with almost 70 people attending, so a slight profit was made. Other examples that make profit are events like Second Trinity Challenge Sculls, organising transport and towing to away regattas, kit orders and lard.
RM: Asked what the situation was with regards to sponsorship.
DH: Replied that he was currently working on the situation and that there was a good case for increasing sponsorship. Some clubs get much more than us and we could possibly get more sponsorship by personalising equipment eg. ergos and blade looms. DH explained that it was a tricky situation, because most of the club's money comes from the Black Prince Fund, which was set up by old boys of the club, so that there wasn't any need to have sponsorship. However, they are increasingly realising that it is becoming much more expensive to run a boat club nowadays and sponsorship is actually required.
HC: Asked how much the club gets per year from the Black Prince Fund and Mercer.
DH: The amount from the BP Fund depends on the stock market and can vary between approximately £5 000 and £10 000. The amount from Mercer is usually in the region of £4 000 - £5 000.
DW: Are we looking to get sponsorship from other companies. We should stress the success of the website and its popularity during Bumps week in particular.
DH: Said this was one of the main reasons he was trying to push for more money.
RM: Added how difficult it is to raise sponsorship as she has found out from her experience with the May Ball Committee.
ALC: Explained how Trinity Hall BC's recent sponsorship deal was very lucky and it is not usually that easy to get sponsorship from companies.

Junior treasurer's report - Matthew Byrne

MB: Lots of lard was sold and lots of people bought photos. As a result, a reasonable profit was made.
AD: Asked whether the profit shouldn't go back to the members.
MB: Explained that the photos only made a profit because enough people ordered that we got a discount from JET Photographic.
ALC: Explained that one part of getting the club's finances back together was to build up a float (£1 500) for the JT's account, so that in future years, the club will not have to rely on the kind donations of some members of the club (notably Matt Byrne and Dave Minch-Dixon). MB has done a fantastic job at getting the lard float back up and is confident in getting close to the target by the end of this academic year. The same principle applies to profit from kit sales and social events going towards a KSS float.
Once the floats have been established, any profit will go to the Secretary's Account and will go towards subsidising dinners and social events for members. Unfortunately to do this, members will have to be prepared to make some sacrifices at the moment to ensure that in future years, members can benefit. As it stands, some of this year's profit will go towards subsidising the Mays Dinner and garden party.
DN: Made a good [albeit rather cliché] comment: "The more you put into the club, the more you'll get out of it".

Webmaster's report - Iain Edwards

IE: Thanked those people who contribute to the website, posting race reports etc.
ALC: Thanked IE for his fantastic work on the website this year.
PS: Was unhappy that MSN details were available to non-members.
IE: Said that this would be sorted [It has since been fixed].
RM: Raised awareness that we may not be complying with the data protection act and this could have serious consequences, so we need to take appropriate action to cover ourselves.

[I have looked into the appropriate legislation since and the salient points we need to comply with are:

• We must allow individuals to decide themselves how much information to provide you, especially if we are going to publicise it on a website, even if it is effectively an intranet (closed group).
• We must keep the information up to date (or better still, provide facilities for the members to keep it up to date).
If they ask, we need to be able to explain to members exactly how the information you keep on them is used and processed. (We can charge them up to £10 to do this)
• We must take reasonable precautions to protect this private (and confidential) information. If the information is not too sensitive then password access to the site may be acceptable but it should not be a common password that is not changed regularly.
• The personal information should not be any more than is required and should not be kept any longer than is necessary.
• The information must not be transferred out of the European Economic area.

ALC: Also asked whether the website welcome page could be slightly altered so that it is more obvious to non-members how to enter the sight, because the less computer-minded individuals can get the impression that it is a members-only site if they don't realise you have to choose your menu viewing preference.

Other matters arising

AD & JS: Both have worked to improve the attitude towards the Women's BC and do think that they have improved the rift between the Men's and Women's BCs. They feel like they are having their commitment questioned and don't like being looked down upon. There is an atmosphere in which some of the women feel like they are always under fire and we think it is perpetuated unwittingly by both sides.

[At this point, Captain Din's phone rings and he leaves the room to answer it. The meeting is suspended for the duration of the telephone call]

JS: Believes the problem roots from bad communication. There have been too many incidents where someone does not like what is going on and doesn't express their views, but rather posts snide comments on message boards and the like. We need more open and constructive criticism.
It sometimes feels like the women are continually having to prove their worth and the problem seems to be twofold: Firstly, the women are too defensive and are asking for criticism. Secondly, the men don't realise that the women are feeling disrespected/attacked, and sometimes aren't overly sensitive.
However, race days are really enjoyable because of the brilliant atmosphere of support that emerges from the club. On race days we are a club, and it's great.

ZM: Expressed that she felt it was important to have fun as well as row at a senior level.
DN: Despite looking good in his one-piece also wants to have fun.
ALC: Believes that many of these incidents have been blown out of proportion by excessive bitchiness on both sides.
DW: Thinks that jealousy on both sides of the club is also a contributing factor and that we should socialise more as a club.
HC: Feels that the fundamental problem is that young male athletes want to banter. The men need to restrain themselves and the women need to take things less seriously.
PS, ZM & AH: Expressed their concern at the big rift between the novices and seniors.
RM: Said that part of the problem was the lack of attendance from members at social events, where several times, we were outnumbered by several other clubs. RM suggested that we should also try to get non-boaties to social events to show that we are not that abnormal.
HC: Said we need some incentive to encourage people to come.
JS: [Getting back to the point] Thought that people's defensive attitude was enforced by lack of communication and a problem with authority. This isn't helped by the fact that most of the committee are 2nd years.
AD: Stressed that we need to give people the desire to row, because she for one has certainly lost that desire.
AH: Felt that the Captain needs to have authority and without wishing to cause offence, felt that this may be what is lacking.
RM: Thought it was not so much what was said, but the way it was said. We need to cut out the aggressive, derisive comments by passing complaints through the proper channels.
AD: Says that several posts on the website had to be removed, because they were deemed inappropriate and offensive and this is completely unnecessary behaviour.

Membership book

Those who hadn't yet signed the membership book were able to do so.

Elections

Members were reminded that the elections were to be held in the WLT at the same time next Sunday.

The meeting closed.