Club Committee

Minutes of Committee Meetings 2007 - 2008

• 21 June 2007
• 22 September 2007
• 29 September 2007
• 14 January 2008
• 26 January 2008 - General Meeting
• 13 March 2008
• 27 April 2008
• 11 May 2008 - AGM

PRESENT: Harriet Booker (HB), Adam Csenki (AC), Charley Bates (CB), Thomas O'Neill (TN), Hannah Jackson (HJ), Rachel Croft (RC), Magnus Jones (MJ), Liz Hill (LH), Bryn Garrod (BG), Harry Braviner (HB), Ming-Chee Chung (MC), Charles Franklin (CF), Emma Leadbetter (EL), Ji-Jian Chow (JC)

APOLOGIES: Alex Sye (AS)

1. Kit

Committee kit to be ordered before the vac, so as to have it ready at the start of Michaelmas Term. HJ TO ORGANISE

2. Freshers' pack

Info about the Boat Club needs to be included in the Freshers' Pack. CB TO ORGANISE

3. Freshers' Week ents

We need TCSU's plans and dates for Freshers' Week, so we can start organising events. JC TO SPY ON TCSU AND REPORT

4. Up and down dates

Committee members should try to be back in college a full week before the freshers arrive, if possible. Leaving and returning dates to MJ asap please.

5. Coxing skills

The LBC's need to learn basic coxing before the start of Michaelmas. To be sorted at the end of the summer.

6. General thoughts about the summer

Ideally, we want to get as much done over the summer as possible. By the time people come back, we need to have a list of tubbing coaches, a plan for tubbing, all fliers and posters sorted, etc. Before summer, all the commitee members should make sure they have had a proper hand-over with the previous incumbents. The MLBCs and WLBCs need to get together and organise unified recruitment of coaches etc.

7. Next Meeting

The next meeting will take place in the week before Michaelmas term, date to be confirmed once all return dates are received. MJ TO SCHEDULE

Present: Thomas O'Neill [TON], Ming-Chee Chung [MCC], Emma Leadbetter [ECL], Adam Blacklay [AJB], Charley Bates [CB], Rachel Croft [RC], Hannah Jackson [HJ], Magnus Jones [MJ], Bryn Garrod [BJG]

Apologies for absence: Harriet Booker [HB], Charles Franklin [CF], Adam Csenki [AC], Harry Braviner, Ji-Jian Chow [JJC], Liz Hill [LH].

1. Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the previous committee meeting held on 21 June 2007 were confirmed to be an accurate record.

2. Captain's Report

MCC said that he and HB had sent out emails asking for coaches to volunteer for the senior squad, and that they were still waiting for replies. MCC was confident that there would be no detrimental shortage of coaches for the senior squad. A detailed training plan for the senior men had been written and was being implemented. For the Michaelmas term, this plan calls for the rowers to train in Ivs and VIIIs. Depending on the number of keen non-trialling rowers, 2-3 IVs or alternatively two IVs and one VIII will be used. A minimum of two coxes will be required.

3. Secretary's Report

MJ said that he could not yet report on the state of the Boat Club's finances, as the accounts from the previous year were in some disorder. The situation was compounded by the fact that the previous secretary had suffered a computer crash which wiped out the accounts for the long vacation. MJ revealed that he intended to move the Fairbairn's Dinner to the University Arms. It was generally agreed that this was a good idea, but that costs must be kept down to attract novices to the dinner. Various ways of achieving this were discussed. MJ mentioned that the club's copy credit system had become operational - the current committee members can now copy documents for the boat club free of charge at the library. MJ gave the committee a basic overview of how the club's finances work, and asked to be notified as soon as possible of which races the club would enter. MJ also warned that morning marshalling times would soon be allocated.

HJ asked what time the Fairbairns dinner would end. MJ said that he would email her the details later.

4. MLBCs' Report

TON said that, thanks in part to ECL's sterling efforts, some coaches had been found. The MLBCs' plan was for Seb to coach the first Novice VIII, Dan Jane to coach the second Novice VIIII, Chris Dunleavy to coach the third or fourth Novice VIII and the MLBCs to take care of the rest, perhaps with help from Will Laffan and others. TON said that the MLBCs have a rough plan for the term. The plan involves novices tubbing for two weeks (until Oct 21), with remedial sessions in the following week along with sessions in IVs or VIIIs. The MLBCs hoped to have crews for Queens' Ergs (on Oct 30) which roughly corresponded to the final crews, which would be announced on the Friday or Saturday immediately following. Each crew's coach would decide which race to enter. The first and second novice crews would probably enter everything, with the lower crews skipping the Winter Head.

5. WLBCs' Report

RC said the women had more coaches than they needed. Any two of Strawson, Fletcher and Bryn (depending on was binned) could coach NW1. Dami had been approached about coaching but had not responded - if she was keen she could share with Hannah or Jo. Sarah Stoneman and the WLBCs themselves were also available.

For Freshers' Week, RC said, posters needed to be made and printed, so that they could be posted under people's doors on the Friday or Saturday before the Freshers moved in. Before Chaplain's Squash (on the Sunday), signup sheets were to be made. Fit boys in lycra would be used to lure recruits at the squash. By the Boatie Cocktails (on the following Monday) tubbing signup sheets should be prepared – this would be one afternoon's work. The day after, the LBCs would go door-to-door with these sheets to pick up stragglers.

RC planned to email tubbing coaches later this week to get their availabilities. For each session, five coaches would be employed: one to meet and walk the freshers to the boat house, two coxes and two coaches on the bank. Tubbing sessions would take place on an hourly rotation, with each session invonving ten minutes on the erg before going on the water.

CB intended to email Homerton about the tubs as soon as possible. She strongly recommended a social meeting with the HCBC committee as well, to ensure good relations between the clubs.

The WLBCs intended to select crews for Queens' Ergs by making the novices do 500m tests. These would be made available from 15 October on a voluntary basis, and become more or less compulsory from around the 20th.

The following work distribution had been agreed: AS to sort out coaches, CB to do formal swaps, RC to arrange outings and keep track of paperwork, and LH to provide general backup.

It was decided that CB and TON would attend the LBC coaching course (held on 1 and 2 October). CB was to make sure to do lots of networking with various MLBCs. The LBCs resolved to organise their own tubbing session during this week, to try things out, clean the boat house and learn basic coxing skills.

CB and MJ agreed that the boat club poster sent out to graduates should not be in colour, as this would be an unnecessary expense.

MCC asked what drinks would be provided at the Boatie Cocktails.

HLJ said she'd organise this, without CNF's help as he was absent. AJB suggested she make bucket cocktails, buying the booze from Cash & Carry as it was cheapest that way. The May Ball, he reminded, was also selling off excess alcohol.

HLJ and AJB debated alcohol prices.

6. KSS Report

HLJ reported that committee stash would be available on Friday, in time for the arrival of the freshers. Cocktails had been discussed already. Costs for the Bop would be around £30 for hiring the WPR, and porters at around £50 per night. HLJ reported that she had no KSS stuff as yet, as HB had not handed it over. She planned to organise a formal swap with Homerton and a club formal around weeks 4-5. This suggestion met general approval.

HLJ suggested that the club could buy yellow socks in bulk and then sell them to the novices, making a small profit. It was agreed she should research this option to see how much money could be made, and proceed if she considered it worth her time.

At this point, BJG arrived.

MCC said that he had contacted JPMorgan about money for kit, but that they had not yet replied. He promised to forward their email to HLJ when it came.

RC said that she had booked the Winstanley Lecture Theatre for Sunday evenings 5.30-7, on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th of October. Weekly novice meetings would be held there until the crews were set.

The WLBCs mentioned that the women's club might bin Uni IVs this year.

7. Coxing Captain's Report

ECL reported that she reckoned she'd need 7 senior coxes this term. There was little prospect of her getting this many. She had had little response to her emails during the summer. It looked as though there would be only one or two coxes for the women, and three for the men. Several senior coxes had left, given up coxing, gone trialling, or grown fat.

It was suggested that MCC might surrender Will Laffan for re-training as a cox.

ECL's aim with regard to novices was to recruit ten new coxes. She had notes, written by Dom Hockley, on how tubbing coaches could spot candidates for coxing. These would be posted in the boat house. ECL would hold a meeting on the Saturday of the first week of term, for any candidates who had signed up.

ECL would operate a 'buddying scheme' for which she had three or four senior coxes available. In week 3, she would try to arrange short novice outings coxed by senior coxes. At the end of term, it would be nice to have novice coxes do outings with senior rowers.

BJG pointed out that a part-time student had joined Trinity and was a competent cox. MCC said he had been in email contact with her.

ECL explained that her aim for developing senior coxes was to watch one outing for each cox, and provide feedback. MCC might be able to help with this. ECL and Iain were planning to look at the cox-boxes in the coming week. ECL hoped to assign one cox-box to each crew as soon as possible, as this would ensure errors were reported early. Iain was going to buy rigger-jiggers in bulk.

8. Webmaster's Report

BJG stressed that when getting freshers' email addresses they must be Hermes addresses.

MCC accused Bryn of tardiness in addressing the junk-mail issue.

BJG made excuses, spouting meaningless technobabble.

ECL asked whether there would be a freshers' page or link on the website. BJG said that LH had agreed to write one.

AJB asked whether Sam had explained to BJG the relationship between computers and servers. He was silenced by MJ.

9. All Other Business

CB revealed that she had in her possession a big box of stickers, which could be put to good use.

ECL reminded the committee that Bonfire Night was on November 5.

MJ explained the early morning marshall system, and promised to start pestering people to sign up in short order. MCC reminded him that LBCs are usually exempt.

TON asked how many novice boats would be allowed to go out for earlier. BJG told him he'd be informed on the LBC coaching course.

10. Date of Next Meeting

It was agreed to hold the next meeting on Saturday 29 September, at 6 p.m. in Q6 Great Court. All committee members will be in attendance at this meeting.

Present: Bryn Garrod [BG], Ming-Chee Cheung [MC], Harriet Booker [HB], Magnus Jones [MJ], Adam Csenki [AC], Thomas O'Neill [TON], Ji-Jian Chow [JJC], Elizabeth Hill [EH], Hannah Jackson [HJ], Charley Bates [CB], Alex Sye [AS], Rachel Croft [RC], Emma Leadbetter [EL].

Apologies: Harry Braviner [HB], Charles Franklin [CF].

1. Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting were read. It was noted that, although the minutes made no mention of this, apologies had in fact been received for the absence of AS.

2. Chaplain's Squash

RC explained that the Squash table would need a pair of sculling blades from the Boat House, a flag kept in MC's room, boxes of Haribo which had been ordered by HJ, tubbing signup sheets and stickers. RC to fetch the blades and flag. The rest was already prepared. The plan for the squash was for RC and EL to man the stand, while the rest of the committee would show up (wearing stash) around 9-9.15 to show support.

HB asked whether a supply of biros had been organised. LH to buy biros.

BJ suggested that a stiff drink was good mental preparation for the Chaplain's Squash experience.

[Harriet's phone rang, and the committee waited as she received and sent a text]

3. Boatie Cocktails

HJ said that the cocktails were prepared - the room had been booked, the dean had given his permission, porters would be in attendance, and drinks had been ordered from Tesco. The cocktails would run a slightly larger loss than usual as the lack of a car had prevented her from shopping at the Cash & Carry. She planned to charge senior rowers £3 to enter the party room, with three people at the door. One would collect money from the seniors and two would brandish signup sheets and stickers.

RC asked whether the freshers would be allowed to sign up inside the party.

EL opined that signup sheets ad the door would be intimidating, and deter freshers from entering the party.

HJ suggested that freshers be lured in first, and then signed up as they left. The sheets, she said, should be kept inside and moved to the door at 8.30.

RC recommended that the sheets be kept inside the actual WPR so they could not be seen from the staircase. Seniors should be charged and stamped at the bottom of the stairs

HJ said that she had been provided with music playlists by HB. All committee members would attend the meeting, except BG. As MC and HB would be in a meeting, they would not help with the setup.

[All other committee members volunteered to do anything]

HJ asked that everybody convene at 6.30 for setup, and stay for a half-hour cleanup after the party.

RC said that EH had prepared the signup sheets. AC's stickers would be handed out to remind freshers of what they had signed up for, and email reminders would also be sent.

[AC demonstrated the nifty nametags he had made for the LBCs to wear.]

4. Other Fresher-related things

MJ reported that he had sneaked along to the BA society garden party, and had already met several grads who were keen to row. He suggested that they be recruited primarily via email.

HB revealed a daring plan to infiltrate the post-BA Dinner carnage to recruit BA's. She herself would attend the dinner, and would then radio in reinforcements, in the form of a few hand-picked operatives who would engage the grads using a soft-sell approach.

EH, ever practical, asked if this meant that the grads' tubbing times would be arranged around those of the undergraduates.

RC said that on the contrary, the grads would be tubbed after submitting their availabilities at the first Sunday meeting. This would put the grads about a week in arrears of the others.

RC went on to report that there had been a reasonable takeup of tubbing coaches. Once times had been sorted out, further coaches who had expressed vague enthusiasm would be approached with a view to filling the remaining slots.

5. Early Morning Marshalls

The following marshalling slots were allocated: Friday 5 October at 6.40 - MCC. Wednesday 17 October at 7.00 - BG. Friday 2 November at 6.28 - MJ. Tuesday 13 November at 6.46 - HJ. Thursday 29 November at 7.11 - EL.

CF and HB did not sign up for marshalling and would consequently be punished in the Lent Term.

6. Boat House safety

MJ to talk to college nurse about new First Aid kit, making sure to ask for extra plasters.

MJ told the committee about Iain's suggestion that some lockers be moved into the main room of the boat house. Each crew going out could put their valuables in one locker, and the cox could take the key.

RC suggested moving the lockers on the Tuesday before tubbing.

HB reminded the LBCs to discourage the tubbers from bringing valuables to the boat house.

In response to a question, RC explained that there were liability issues involved in taking the freshers' belongings along for outings in a bag.

RC suggested that during tubbing, one locker could be used, the key to be passed between the coaches on duty in the boat house

RC and CB revealed that they had prepared a checklist for tubbing, as well as the so-called ‘not-dying sheets'. Half of the LBCs, it was found, had undergone CRB checks and were therefore authorised to coach minors. Anyone looking suspiciously small was to be queried as to their age.

HB ordered that the safety board in the boat house be cleared, and that updated emergency contact numbers be posted. MJ, RC, EL and AS to do this after 11am tomorrow. MJ to check the contact details held at the plodge.

AC mused that photos of the committee members on the website might not be a bad idea.

7. The Gym

MCC said that the rowers needed to do weights, and that we should prepare to induct people into the gym.

MJ explained that this was difficult, as this would require training, and in any case the gym had no staff on duty. Therefore it was dubious from a health and safety standpoint. He outlined Iain's plan for the gym, which involved getting rid of all the old equipment, welding the weights to their bars, tearing out the ‘step-up bench' and installing new machines.

HB suggested that this plan be implemented post-haste.

JJC to be Gym Officer. His duties to include contacting the works department about removing the ‘step-up bench' and the cupboard doors, and to seek out cheap nearly-new weights machines. These machines to include bench press, bench pull or seated row, lat pull, shoulder press, leg press and hamstring curl.

[JJC's phone rang, but to his credit he did not answer it]

7. Culling of email lists

HB said that the lists must be culled, to remove all squads not presently active. BG to do this. BG also suggested getting rid of the Tyrant Pichel.

8. Financial status

MJ reported that the Secretary's account currently had an acute cashflow problem, but that this would be resolved by the middle of next week with the payment of the college bills. This resolution would hopefully leave the account with the required float, and also allow the JT account to be replenished and the lard cupboard restocked.

9. All Other Business

MJ explained that signatures on the accounts could be changed as soon as CF returned.

TON asked when the LBC course would take place. MCC thought it would be on the following Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon.

RC told TON not to bring a tub to the practical session, but return to get one if instructed.

HB warned against sending the Coastal IV or any other non-tub craft to the course without Iain's express permission.

HB explained the new policy on coxless boats, agreed with Iain. All coxless boats except single sculls would require a banksteerer to go out. No dispensations would be allowed.

MCC asked HB how the kit order was going.

HJ told him that she intended to set a kit order deadline for 15 October, and send out an email about this in the next few days.

HB reminded HJ to get a new quote from the kit company to check prices.

HJ said racing kit would arrive by 22 November, in time for Scarlett Johansen's birthday. She said that she was considering setting up an online crewroom. However, the kit company had recommended that she do this during the Christmas vac and run a trial during the Lent Term.

HB said that a great advantage of an online kit room was that it would prevent people writing cheques that subsequently bounced. She suggested that for this term, an effort be made to encourage rowers to pay for kit via e-transfer. BG to check that this option is prominently displayed on the website.

HJ wanted to compile a list of kit currently in stock, to put on the website. She said she'd email more details to BG.

10. Date of Next Meeting

No new date was decided, instead a further meeting would be convened via email when required.

Present: Adam Csenki [AC, Charles Franklin [CF], Liz Hill [LH], Rachel Croft [RC], Harry Braviner [HB], Alex Sye [AS], Ming-Chee Chung [MC], Emma Leadbetter [EL], Charley Bates [CB], Thomas O'Neill [TON]

Apologies: Hannah Jackson [HJ], Harriet Booker [HCB], Bryn Garrod [BG], Ji-Jian Chow [JJC]

1. Minutes confirmed

The minutes of the previous committee meeting held on 3 October 2007 were confirmed to be an accurate record.

2. Weight room

TON said that JJC had tried but failed to find anyone willing to sell second-hand weights equipment in the Cambridge area. The Works Department, however, were willing to assist in making the weights room fit for purpose after the current equipment had been disposed of. It was agreed not to buy equipment new, but to wait until a second-hand deal became available. It was further agreed not to dispose of the old equipment until replacements had been found.

3. Safety Officer Position

MJ explained that he wanted to amend the club's constitution, to create a position of Safety Officer. He submitted a motion for a constitutional amendment, which he explained would create the position but allow for it to be held concurrently with other committee positions in future years.

The motion to amend the constitution was passed unanimously.

It was decided that an Extraordinary General Meeting of the club should be called as soon as possible, in order to elect a Safety Officer. MJ suggested that the position would be suitable for an ex-novice. The LBCs agreed to ask around to see if there were any suitable candidates.

4. Early Morning Marshalling

The following marshalling times were allocated:

a.	Emma Leadbetter	- Tursday 22 January at 0723
b.	Charles Franklin	- Thursday 7 February at 0701
c.	Harriet Booker	- Tuesday 19 February at 0639
d.	Magnus Jones (as Safety Officer)	- Tuesday 4 March at 0610

CF asked exactly what was expected of Early Morning Marshals. MC referred him to Appendix F of the CUCBC Handbook. MJ reminded the committee that CUCBC was introducing new procedures for Early Morning Marshals, and that clubs would now be fined for failure to provide a competent marshal.

5. Lard Cupboard

CF told the committee that, after last term's efforts, the incidence of theft from the Lard Cupboard had decreased significantly. In Michaelmas term, although there was still some theft, the Lard Cupboard made a tiny profit, meaning that it was still viable.

6. CUCBC Website

MC told the committee that it had been announced at the previous night's Captains' Meeting that CUCBC now had a section on their website for each officer of a boat club's committee. These sections contained much useful information, and should be read.

7. Request for Funds

MJ asked that the captains tell him which races they were planning to enter in Lent Term, so that he could submit a request for funds to the Senior Treasurer.

8. Date of Next Meeting

It was decided that the next meeting be convened later in the term, when it became necessary.

Present: Magnus Jones (Chairing), Mark McKelvie, Sebastian Pancratz, Christian Mertes, Pedro Cunha, Richard Fletcher, Chris Dunleavy, Ming-Chee Chung, Will Laffan, Laura Engell Holm, Charley Bates, Caroline Young, Alexandra Sye, Sarah Stoneman, Kirsty Syder, Michaela van Rijn, Emma Smith, Danny McMillan, Kimberley Green, Alice Baghdjian, Catherine Cody, Rachel Frigot.

The meeting opened at 11.40 a.m., as soon as a quorum had been established.

1. Motion to amend the constitution

Magnus introduced the motion to amend the constitution that had been circulated via email a fortnight earlier. Noting that the proposed amendment had received the unanimous support of the Committee at a meeting held on 14 January, Magnus presented a 'plain language' version of the amendment, explaining that the practical effect of the proposed changes would be to create a position of Water Safety Adviser on the club's committee, with the duties of producing the annual safety audit, maintaining the incident report book, checking lifejackets and first aid equipment and reporting to the Committee on safety issues.

The assembled members voted on the motion by a show of hands. It passed with unanimous support.

2. Second motion to amend the constitution

Magnus introduced a second motion to amend the constitution. Suggested by former Overall Captain Erica Thompson, this new amendment would change the title of the recently created committee position from 'Water Safety Adviser' to 'Water Safety Officer'. This change, Magnus explained, would more accurately reflect the officer's position in the club/CUCBC/ARA hierarchy.

The assembled members voted on the motion by a show of hands. It passed with unanimous support.

3. Election of Water Safety Officer

The sole candidate for the position of Water Safety Officer, Danny McMillan, held a short speech. The assembled members then cast their votes either in favour of his candidacy, or to re-open nominations, by secret ballot.

Votes Cast:
Danny McMillan 17
Re-Open Nominations 0
Abstentions 5

The meeting closed at 11.55 a.m.

Present: Ming-Chee Chung [MCC], Harriet Booker [HCB], Danny McMillan [DMM], Ji-Jian Chow [JJC], Harry Braviner [HB], Liz Hill [LH], Charley Bates [CB], Bryn Garrod [BG], Magnus Jones [MJ]

Apologies: Charles Franklin, Alex Sye, Rachel Croft, Thomas O'Neill

1. Elections

MCC asked when elections would be held. It was decided that they would be held on the fourth Sunday of May Term, as usual, with the AGM to be held before that.

2. Weights room

JJC reported that he had sent out termly emails to see whether any second hand weights equipment was for sale in Cambridge. He had had no success.
MCC asked how much it would cost to outfit the weights room with new equipment.
JJC replied that he did not know but would find out.
HCB reported that rumours indicate the college gym is due for an extensive upgrade, with employees and everything.
MJ suggested that if the college gym was refurbished we wouldn't need a special one for the boat club.
DMM suggested buying the second-hand equipment from the college gym.
HCB said that getting new equipment might exacerbate health and safety concerns, so it would be better to use the college gym if it were made good enough.
MCC suggested that better inductions might address the safety issue.
MJ pointed out that as far as he is aware, the lack of an instructor on-site is also a safety problem.
HCB suggested that the boat club should look into getting consulted about the college gym.
JJC agreed to try and arrange this.
HCB mentioned that the bench in the boat house weights room is in need of urgent repair.
JJC said this could be fixed very quickly.

BG arrived, fifteen minutes late.

3. Boat for burning

MJ said that Charles Franklin was wondering where we could get a wooden boat, in case we needed to burn another one.
LH said she knew a CUCBC person who had offered to sell one to the club.
HCB pointed out that Lilie's dad still has our Karlisch.
BG had heard a rumour that the Karlisch was now repaired and rowable. He pointed out that it was unrestricted and heavy, and so of no use to the club.
MCC mentioned that the club is short on rack space as it is.
MJ suggested getting hold of the Karlisch and selling it.
BG agreed to chase down the Karlisch.

4. Photos

MJ said that Charles had suggested perhaps using Eaden Lilley for photos in future, as JET had recently missed two important photo session.
HCB said that Adam Blacklay had done some research on this, but hadn't found the switch worth it.
It was decided that Charles should ask Eaden Lilley for a quote, and then decide who to use.
MJ mentioned that Eaden Lilley's photos of Lent Bumps were of very poor quality.
HCB said that as a compromise, Eaden Lilley could be used for the ‘staged' photos which could then be mounted by JET.
BG remembered that Eaden Lilley had once taken a football team photo which he had paid for but never received.
HCB said that the Chemistry Society photos had been taken by Eaden Lilley, and it had worked well.

5. Log book

DMM raised the issue of how important it was that the incident log book was kept up to date.
MJ suggested that the best system for this was for rowers to email DMM after any incident - the physical report book was just an extra weak link in the reporting chain.
HCB said that if this would be the new routine, DMM must inform the rowers and also put up a sign to this effect on the safety board in the boat house.
DMM said that he also wanted to start keeping a log book of outings, as this is required by CUCBC and ARA rules. He had decided to put one in the crew room with the coxboxes, and make it the coxes' job to fill it in. He said he would email this information to the club at the start of May Term.

6. Training camp

The captains were asked to explain their training camp plans for May term.
MCC said that anyone interested in rowing in the Mays should come back to Cambridge in the week before May term. A training camp will be run, with a ‘first to third VIII squad' and a ‘lower squad'. This squad system would be discarded within the first fortnight of term. One crew will be sent to race in a regatta in Ghent at the start of term, and two crews will train for this event. A training plan for the first VIII has been written, which will be modified for lower crews.
HB said he would do this.
MCC said he would sent the training plan to the men's may term email list.
HCB said the women would also train on the Cam in the week before May term, and that next week she would send out advice for training during the vac. The women will probably train in one squad only, and will go to Peterborough one day per week.
MCC suggested going to Peterborough on weekends.
MCC said that there would probably be no Gents' VIII next term, though there might be a Grad VIII.

7. Sponsorship

MCC explained that First and Third will no longer be sponsored by JPMorgan, though the sponsorship contract covers the rest of the academic year. It is unclear whether we have received sponsorship payments this year.
MJ will check this.
MCC said it would be useful to get a new sponsor by May term. Organising this will require several people, to put together a suitable letter, send it to prospective sponsors and follow up with phone calls.
BJG volunteered to write the letter, but not make phone calls.
MCC said he would email BJG a letter he had from previously.
HCB, MJ, and CB volunteered to do phone calls.
CB promised to ask Hannah Jackson for help.
MJ said he would ask Emma Leadbetter.
MCC encouraged the committee to send suggested sponsors to MJ.

8. Aims of the Club

MCC asked what the club's long-term goal is - should we put more effort into off-Cam races and focus more on rowing outside the college bubble?
MJ pointed out that the College expects us to be very inclusive, and suggested that this was a matter for the Steering Committee.
HCB pointed out that there were suggestions at CUCBC level that college rowing is over-inclusive, straining the Cam's capacity too far. There is a sense in the college rowing community that novice uptake should perhaps be decreased.
HCB said, in answer to MCC, that a problem with having off-Cam goals is that this conflicts with the role of college boat clubs as feeder clubs for the university crews.
BJG said that if college clubs offered better opportunities and training, we needn't lose rowers to the university clubs.
CB objected that this would not be possible, as college clubs always have less resources and prestige than university clubs.
The discussion ended inconclusively.

9. Early Mornings

HCB explained the proposal, raised in CUCBC during the Michaelmas term, that the novice one-way system and spinning rules should be discontinued as they were complicated and confusing.
MJ and BJG expressed serious doubts that any normally-gifted human being could be confused by these rules.
HCB went on to outline the new proposed system, under which each college club would receive two passes to allow crews to row before 9 a.m. during Michaelmas Term. The two-crew maximum would not distinguish novices from seniors. Each club would receive two passes regardless of size, but these passes would be tradable for things like coaching and equipment lending. Buying and selling passes would be strongly discouraged.
MJ said that he thought it was totally unjustifiable to encourage trading of passes, but then discourage trading them for money.
HCB pointed out that in any case, a total of sixty passes would be allocated. The river is packed when there are 45-50 boats out, and in 2007 a typical Michaelmas morning saw 30-80 boats on the water. So the new system would have little if any practical impact on congestion.
MJ hoped that this system would be voted down, as it was poorly thought out and impractical.
BJG added that it would be an administrative hassle.
HCB said it probably wouldn't affect First and Third much, since we rarely do earlies anyway. It will be very harmful to colleges whose crews can only train during mornings.
HCB added that during term, a member of the public had been seen at Chesterton filming the rowers every morning, and there were rumours that an official complaint was being prepared for the County Council.

10. Date of Next Meeting

MJ said that he would call the next meeting when it was convenient for him.
MCC suggested that it should be at the start of next term.

Present: Ming-Chee Chung [MCC], Harriet Booker [HCB], Danny McMillan [DMM], Harry Braviner [HB], Magnus Jones [MJ], Rachel Croft [RC], Charles Franklin [CF], Hannah Jackson [HJ], Emma Leadbetter [EL]

1. Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the previous committee meeting held 13/03/2008 were confirmed to be an accurate record.

2. Officers’ Reports

HCB announced that the club had just received a new women’s pair and a tracer scull.
RC drew the committee’s attention to the fact that these were very shiny.
CF said that the lard cupboard had been stocked, but not with lunchables.
MJ announced that the club had made a £20 profit in Lent term.

3. AGM and Elections

MJ said that the AGM would be held in the OCR on Sunday 11 May, and the elections would be held in the Winstanley on Sunday 18 May. He advised the committee that, in keeping with tradition, their reports at the AGM would belimited to one sentence only.

4. Boat Burning

CF volunteered to prepare plans for a potential boat burning this term. MJ volunteered to find an appropriate boat. EL and CF agreed to talk to the May Ball committee to find out where it would be possible to burn the boat.

5. Sponsorship

MCC arrived.

MJ explained that negotiations with RBS over potential sponsorship for next year had ended inconclusively. MJ, EL, HCB, DM and HJ volunteered to telephone around to look for sponsors, using a list of potential sponsors to be supplied by MJ. MCC and EL agreed to talk to alumni about potential sponsorship plan.

6. Mays Dinner and Photos

CF said that he planned to have the crew photos on the morning of Saturday 14 March, and the club photo that night before the dinner. All agreed this was a good idea.
HCB suggested that the Mays Dinner should be held slightly later than last year, to give people more time to get back from the river. MJ agreed to organise this.

7. All Other Business

CF warned that lard theft was still a serious problem, and that the club had lost around £250 worth of lard in Lent term. No solution to this problem was agreed on.

8. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting to be held will be the AGM on Sunday 11 May.

Present: Ming-Chee Chung, Ji-Jian Chow, Pedro Cunha, Florian Gruessing, Emma Leadbetter, Harry Braviner, Charles Franklin, Liz Hill, Charley Bates, Rachel Croft, Sonya Milanova, Mark McKelvie, Harriet Booker, Danny McMillan, Jenny Lee, Magnus Jones, Tom O’Neill, Natasha Mennell, Will Laffan, Peter Ford, Julijana Gjorgjeva, Sarah Stoneman, Fiona XXXXX, Philipp Preiss, Albert Cheung

1. Officers’ Reports

Men’s Captain: Ming reported that things in the Men’s Club were alright.

Women’s Captain: Harriet reported that the women’s squad, though inexperienced, had performed well in races this year. She ascribed this to the skill of the club’s coaches, and thanked them for their help.

Secretary: Magnus reported that the secretary’s account had made a small profit so far during the year.

MLBCs: Harry reported that the men’s lower squad still needed to find more rowers for the fifth May eight.

WLBCs: Liz reported that novice uptake had been good, many novices had been retained in the lower boats, and they had performed well in races.

Coxing Captain: Emma reported that out of six novices coxes recruited, four had been retained. She said the club was in a good position as far as coxes were concerned.

Junior Treasurer: Charles reported that there had been some problems with lard theft, but that the money lost had been recouped from members.

Webmaster: Bryn reported that the server was still running.

Safety Officer: Danny reported that although there had been some minor incidents involving equipment breakage, the club’s safety situation was satisfactory. In response to a question from the floor, he confirmed that we were safe.

2. KSS By-Election

Sonya Milanova stood as the only candidate in the KSS by-election. Voting results were:

Sonya: 22 votes
RoN: 0 votes

3. All Other Business

No other motions were submitted.