Club Committee

2001 - 2002 Manifestos

John Earl - Manifesto for Men’s and Overall Captain of 1st & 3rd

Men’s Captaincy

1.1 General Approach

Recently, the relative dearth of successful triallists from 1st & 3rd has led to a string of fairly strong Fairbairns and Lents crews, together with relatively disappointing Mays performances. In the coming year, through taking a longer—term view in training, coaching, and personnel management, I want to improve the performance of all the club’s May boats. I also recognise that the run-up to the Fours, Fairbairns and especially the Lents will be crucial for translating the success of this year’s ex-novices into a new group of truly first-boat standard oarsmen. I regard the recapture of the Lents headship as a difficult but achievable goal on the path to the Mays.

1.2 Coaching and Training

I have spoken to Iain Law, the boatman, and he has expressed a desire, which I support, to take a more active part in standardising coaching practices and training programs for all crews, and making crew selection more open and accountable. His input should provide multi-term and -year continuity, featuring a gradual transition from steady-state fitness building work in winter to speed work in the summer. Iain is first and foremost a boatman rather than a "head coach"; yet I hope he will have sufficient involvement as an authority figure to make rowing in 1st & 3rd crews attractive to incoming schoolboy rowers and others wanting a structured environment.

I also favour Iain’s suggestions of more frequent 2K testing (eg fortnightly) for better planning individuals’ training, wider use of small boats (singles, pairs, doubles, quads) especially among beginners (building on my initiative for last year’s novices), and more internal sparring, especially among lower boats oarsmen in small boats in Lent and May tems.

Although I shall draw on the same group of unpaid coaches as the last couple of captains, I will work closely with Iain to make sure these coaches know before they start exactly what needs doing - he has agreed to assist new coaches on their first outing with a crew. This should help make coaching more consistent and hopefully more useful, reducing the influence of our unpaid coaches’ varied backgrounds. At the same time, I want to save money elsewhere (see below) as necessary to pay for the provision of higher—quality coaching, especially at start-of-term training camps and for the top May boats.

1.3 Personnel Management

Sadly, our biggest problem in the Mays has been to get enough oarsmen from the library and into boats. This results from undue focus on the Lents (so that people find themselves lagging academically), a perception that rowing takes too much time, and inflexibility about commitment levels. Somewhat less off-water training time should be spent more effectively. On-water training time must become more efficient, through better punctuality at outings, reduced in-boat chatter, and fuller use of the whole river (lock to lock). I will actively encourage oarsmen to stay on top of their academic work in the first two terms so that revision does not unduly detract from training in May term; this can come only from being flexible and open about setting commitment levels.

1.4 Personal Notes

I matriculated in October 1997 and have rowed or coxed for 1st & 3rd crews in every term since. I coxed at first, but I started rowing in Michaelmas 1998 and since Michaelmas 1999 I have been selected for the first boat. I have considerable experience as a 1st & 3rd officer, as Secretary for three terms (1998—99) and as a Lower Boats Captain for four (1999—2000). I was Internet Secretary for CUCBC in 1999—2000. I am just completing the fourth and final year of the undergraduate engineering course and will be starting work on a PhD on digital watermarking in August.

Next term I will trial for CULRC. I fully intend to make it to one of the Henley races in March/April 2002. However, if I am binned, then I will join a 1st & 3rd crew at the earliest opportunity, to row at the highest level I can, subject to fair crew selection.

2 Overall Captaincy

2.1 Overview

Having served on three 1st & 3rd committees, I am familiar with all the committee’s operations, and as such am well-placed to oversee them. I was here during the negotiation of the current sponsorship deal and am looking forward to the important project of securing our next one. Having been a CUCBC officer I am familiar with the Cambridge rowing establishment. Finally, I am committed to a spendthrift policy of buying little new equipment and instead focusing on human capital.

2.2 Spending Plans

Although there is apparently scope for buying a new 8+ this year, I intend to forego that. I will buy a few new spare blades to fill out existing sets, and possibly a second-hand set of macons: My top purchasing priority will be improving the range of land-training equipment at the boathouse, although subject to further research I want to buy two or three more pairs of sculling blades (possibly macons).

I will buy a second-hand leg extension/curl machine, another 100 pound weight for the leg press, and some more free weights to fill out the present complement. Also I’ll consider a weights stand for safer free-weights bench-press. Although we have enough Concept IIC ergos for normal conditions, a club RowPerfect would be a very useful addition to our training equipment.

Overall I want to spend the money we save, by reining in spending, on quality coaching for both men’s and women’s top crews for our termly training camps. There will be a training camp on the Cam in September for a week or two before term starts for all experienced oarsmen and women; and training camps off the Cam for one week prior to each of Lent and Easter terms. I think these training camps are the best single opportunity we have to improve our rowing, hence we need consistent, quality coaching, hopefully from a launch.

2.3 Committee Management

The committee is a team and should operate as such. I want to see more cooperation between men’s and women’s lower boats teams to help build a more mature relationship between the men’s and women’s boats at all levels. To help improve openness, I will hold a weekly hour-long committee surgery on Monday evenings in my room, which members of the Committee will be expected to attend regularly, if only for a few minutes, to check in. The first surgery of every month will be open to any interested members of the club who have questions for committee officers.

Proposed by Guy Taylor
Seconded by Will Thorne