Club Committee

20014-2015 Manifestos

Catarina Tavarela Mendes - MLBC

I'm a second-year Arch and Anther, which means I have a very flexible timetable. Since Michelmas of my first year, I've coxed both senior and novice crews. I've loved my time with First and Third and, through helping out with coxing and bank partying the novices this Michelmas, I feel I have the organisational skills and passion necessaries to contribute to the creation of successful novice crews. If necessary, I will show my commitment by even allowing the novices to treat me by a nickname and not my actual name, which no one can pronounce.

Recruitment:

• Make flyers and posters before the start of freshers' week
• Recruit freshers at the Chaplain's Squash
• Get new members from other years as well
• Make sure Boatie Cocktails are a success through proper advertising and persuading the freshers to join FaT by giving them free alcohol
• Dissipate myths about rowing and emphasise the different levels of commitment available
• Organise a flexible tubbing timetable
• Encourage senior rowers to be involved with tubbing sessions
• When possible, minimize the number of morning outings and, when inevitable, make them more bearable by providing pastries at the end
• Ensure maximum keenness by getting the lower boats to do as many races as possible

Training:

• Compose a coaching plan before the beginning of term
• Set up crews as early as possible to promote team-spirit and consistent training
• Get senior rowers to coach to give good technical advice and promote unity between upper and lower boats
• Aim to have a fairly consist coaches
• In liaison with the Coxing Captain, arrange specific coaching for novice coxes and have coxing selection as early as possible
• Promote the use of a system to be used by coaches, both at the boathouse and at home, so that they can have access to a summary of previous outings and corresponding results
• In order to work with different availabilities, have outings in tubs or fours with a bigger focus on technique
• Ensure muscle flexibility exercises are done at the end of every outing
• Arrange erg sessions in groups to make it more fun thus increasing interest and turnout
• Organise mini training camps in Cambridge at the end of Michelmas and Lent Term
• Encourage the novices to trial for upper boats both in Lent and Easter Term

Social:

• Promote bigger interaction between the senior and lower boats as well as between the men's and women's crews through pub crawls, formals, etc.
• Arrange swaps with other boat clubs
• Organise crew pastas with the novices