Club Committee

2009-2010 Manifestos

Richard Fletcher - Men’s Captain

I began rowing at the King’s School Chester when I was 14, which I continued through school rowing in the 1st VIII and reaching the final of the PE at Henley in 2006. After arriving at Trinity I joined the boat club and moved directly into the senior squad. Rowing and competing for First and Third has been the great privilege of my time at Cambridge so far. I believe that FaT should expect nothing less than to be the undisputed dominant force in college rowing and intend to facilitate this via structured training, lots of racing and the right atmosphere within the club. I have been a rower for 8 years and am totally passionate about the sport.

I believe that there are three aspects to captaining a boat club effectively. Firstly, there is performance. Rowing is predominantly a competitive sport and our aim is to win. I believe that over the next year the club must consolidate its enviable position on-Cam - I would like the general consensus amongst college rowers to be that if FaT have entered, the race is on for second place. It is also crucial for motivation at the upper end of the squad and for general development as rowers to increase further our influence off-Cam. Secondly, there is enjoyment. All of us row because we find something about it fun and rewarding and the club should facilitate participation levels from once-a-week outings right up to competition at national level. It is also crucial throughout to engender an atmosphere of shared endeavour and club unity, via both social events and training as a squad where practicable. Thirdly, and most importantly, there is rower development. Cambridge college rowing is notorious for cyclic success from an individual club. The typical pattern is to enjoy a few strong years followed by the top end leaving and nobody coming up from below to take their place. This situation must be avoided if the club’s success is to be lasting.

Performance

The men’s club has seen tremendous success in the last three years - indeed the most successful three years in the club’s recent history.

1. It is vital to continue this trend, and coaching is clearly a major factor in this success. The influence of Ming, Tom Rose and Jon Davies cannot be overstated - they have helped to turn the men’s side from a typical, middling college club to a committed, focused team with clear aims and a desire to win and set their sights ever higher. Having spoken to both Tom and JPD it looks like JPD will only be able to coach the odd week as he is moving to London. Tom Rose may also be moving away but this should be clear by the end of term. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them profoundly for all they have done for the club. It seems likely that we will need to change the coaching arrangement we have enjoyed so far. Contrary to popular opinion the club does NOT have a large coaching fund to hire an external coach. I would like to expand the role of Iain in coaching the men’s side - he took M1 for several outings this year and I believe that his contribution would be very valuable. He expressed a desire to have a set coaching schedule of several outings a week rather than the odd one here and there - this would provide continuity. It looks like we will also have to rely more on guest coaches. I will do all I can to provide consistency and direction in coaching.
2. Miles make champions. We must train hard to win, and so land training is vital. A detailed training plan would be discussed with the relevant coaches, but I anticipate a focus on long ergs and weights during the winter and more lactate/sprint work in the summer. I would also like to make sure that the approach to ‘UT2 technical’ outings is appropriate - we should be able to make technical changes whilst pulling hard too. If we are going to row for 16km on the water we should aim for significant fitness benefit alongside technical development.
3. One aspect of the club that stood out to me when I joined was the minor role small boats played in the training plan. I believe that outings in singles, pairs and fours must be increased in order to raise the level of rowing in the club. Not only do they accelerate the development of individual ‘boat feel’ but they help to establish a uniform club technique as one is forced to play close attention to how others are rowing. They also allow competitive work to enter weekly training. I would like to split water sessions in Michaelmas (and if successful, Lent) term into two categories – half of the outings would be in small boats and half in eights. The small boat outings would have clear outlines as the VIII outings do, with some sessions being technical and others entailing pieces on the water, ideally against other club boats. Crews would be assigned on arrival ATBH. My vision is one in which the coach could allocate any two people to a pair and them to go out and row it effectively. In M2 it may be more beneficial to split the eight into fours as these provide greater stability but the ethos remains the same.
   The standard objection to this is ‘but lots of rowers are not good enough to row a small boat and get any useful technical or training benefit’. I disagree. Whilst training for SBR, Phil and I had several sessions of competitive work alongside John Main, Tom McT and Alex Wood (in various pairs). All three noviced this year yet I am sure would agree that these sessions were of immense benefit to all.
4. M1 would naturally look to retain both Headships but mainly focus upon increasing our influence off-Cam at both head races and summer regattas. The HoRR result this year was fantastic with M1 finishing 53rd (the next Oxbridge college finished 140th). The crew would seek to improve this result, and interval times indicate that high 30s is attainable.
5. With regards to M2, after selection I would like to meet with the crew and discuss what they want their goals to be for the term. Training could then be focused on that aim - for example, in Lent term M2 has two main options: to go up as far as possible in bumps or to race seriously at HoRR. It is arguable that a slightly different approach is needed for each. It is vital for morale and fulfilment that a crew has goals that they personally want to achieve.
6. I would like the upper boats to enter as many off-Cam races as is feasible, providing new goals and a change of competition. Highlights would include Fours’ Head, Head of the Nene, Head of the Trent, HoRR, Nottingham City Regatta, Wallingford Regatta and Met. Alongside entering eights into these events I would like to have fours and pairs entering too - learning to race small boats competitively is a vital aspect of development as a rower, honing mental strength and also the ability to feel how the boat is moving and adjust one’s rowing accordingly.

Enjoyment

1. Happy rowers make fast rowers. In the upper squad I believe fairness and mobility are vital to an open and healthy club spirit. Selection will aim to be as open and objective as possible - our priority is to field the fastest crew. Crew selection will of course have significant coach input but I would like it to be based roughly upon erg scores as these provide a black and white initial ranking and refined via seat racing.
2. As mentioned for M2, once crews are selected I would seek to sit down with each crew and decide what their aims for the term are. Training could then be structured to fit these goals.
3. The social side of rowing is important - obviously swaps are a common feature but curries, drinks evenings, pub meets, BBQs etc are vital for breaking down barriers between crews and keeping camaraderie strong between as well as within crews.

Novice development

The time to bring up novices to first boat standard is not when the upper squad becomes weak and needs new recruits. We must seek to establish a solid base of new rowers during periods of strength so that upper squad replacement is a continuous process rather than a sudden jump. This also creates more technical consistency.

1. Try to merge training as much as possible e.g. circuits, ergs together.
2. Greater role of M1 rowers in coaching lower boats.
3. A more integrated social scene as mentioned.
4. Training camp. I would like to organise a week away before the start of Lent term and am looking to do this in Chester. This would provide an excellent river (CUBC trained there before the boat race for two years and the GB Junior Squad train there). Keeping it in the UK will keep costs down and mean people can commit to it later in term. This would increase the number of keen novices present - I would like to get as many novices along as possible to improve squad cohesion and integrate newies into the upper squad. The wide river would also facilitate seat racing which is difficult to organise on-Cam. And of course, the week would provide a fantastic social setting for all to enjoy! Being from Chester I know which clubs to contact regarding racking.

Not having official committee experience at First and Third is not something that I believe will hinder my performance as Men’s Captain. I was in charge of coaching NW1 for two years, which involved organising training, races, and liasing with committee members and I organised boat hire for Henley 2008. I have spoken to Florian and Ming about the role and am confident that I can do the job well. I believe that the strength I would bring to the role of Men’s Captain would be my depth of experience in racing and training.

Overall Captain

If elected overall captain I intend to focus principally upon financial issues. The club must remain highly pro-active in the quest for sponsorship as this provides a vital source of regular income. I have met with Dr Kingsbury and looked through the club finances - as things stand we can pay for general running of the club (race entries, repairs, boathouse costs etc.) and break even. Any equipment purchases would need to come from donations or sponsorship - I think this highlights just how important finding some is. If this is not forthcoming (which seems likely given the current economic situation) I would put together a sensible spending plan (new women’s blades and sculling blades being obvious items) and send out an appeal to the First and Third Association. I would also seek to keep in touch as much as possible with old boys. The club of today rests on the shoulders of the hundreds who have made up the boats and committees of yesterday. The old boy network is a crucial pillar of support for the club whether it financially, vocally or just providing a floor to sleep on and we should strive to keep ties strong.

Proposed by: Florian Gruessing
Seconded by: Gonzalo Garcia