February 2002 - Newsletter
Notice of Annual General Meeting
The Annual General meeting of the Cygnet Rowing Club will take place at
the Civil Service Boathouse on Sunday 24 February 2002 at 1.00pm.
The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 21 February 2001, of the Special General
Meeting held on 1 July 2001 and of the Ordinary General Meeting held 14 October 2001 will be displayed on the club notice board for pre AGM viewing together with the Agenda
Committee of Management Annual Report - 2001
The Committee herewith presents its one hundred and twelfth report, which is for the year ending 31December 2001.
Annual General Meeting -Held at the Boathouse on Sunday 25 February 2001.
Was attended by the senior Vice-President F E Bull, Vice-President and Chairman M A Arnold-Gilliat, Vice Presidents Dr R P du Parcq, R E Lambe, P L Rawkins, N J Wylie and E C Ford. Captain A Cox, Deputy Captain, D Grimshaw Vice Captain, P Leffler and eleven other members. Apologies. for absence were received from P A S Sly, L Huggett and Miss M Israel.
Mr Sly was re-elected President as were the existing nine Vice-Presidents. N J Wylie was elected Chairman, R E Lambe, Hon Secretary, Dr R P du Parcq, Hon Treasurer, W R Arthur, Hon Assistant Secretary, D Cooke, Hon Assistant Treasurer and I Stevenson Social Activities Co-Ordinator. Committee Members elected were P L Rawkins, I Golder and S Dargan. F E Bull, M A Arnold-Gilliat and R E Lambe were re-appointed Trustees and M Burman and T N Davison re-appointed Honorary Auditors.
Both the Captain and the Safety Adviser Dr M N Jackson made reports. The Annual Accounts were presented and adopted. Mr Wylie thanked Mr Arnold-Gilliat for his 18 years of loyal and devoted service.
Special General Meeting - held at the Boathouse on 1 July 2001.
Attended by the President P A S Sly, Vice Presidents F E Bull, Dr R P du Parcq, M A Arnold-Gilliat, P L Rawkins, N J Wylie, E C Ford, R E Lambe, Captain A Cox, Deputy Captain D Grimshaw, Vice Captain P Leffler. And nineteen other members. Apologies were received from K P Jeffs and Ms M Israel. The meeting was principally concerned with amalgamation.
Ordinary General Meeting - held at the Boathouse on 14 October 2001
Attended by the President P A S Sly, Vice Presidents F E Bull, V H Reeves, Dr R P du Parcq,
M A Arnold-Gilliat, P L Rawkins, N J Wylie, E C Ford, R E Lambe, Captain A Cox, Deputy Captain D Grimshaw, Vice Captain P Leffler and thirteen other members. Apologies were received from
S Keogh, K Keogh and D Jillings..
The Meeting was principally concerned with Amalgamation, the election of the new Captaincy and the 300 Club Report and Accounts. Vice President Vic Reeves proposed that there should be two votes of thanks for the retiring Captain Mr Cox. One for his four years as Captain and a second for all his work on the 300 Club. This was agreed with acclaim. Regrettably there were no nominations for Captain, Deputy Captain or Vice Captain.
Club Management
Six committee meetings were held during the year with a 74% attendance record compared with 60% in 2000. This was excellent and reflected the important nature of discussions, including the merging of the two clubs. Reports were received from all Officers and a full range of management and administrative matters discussed.
The Captaincy
At the Ordinary General Meeting no nominations for the Captaincy were received. As a temporary measure these duties were carried out by a number of senior members. Ms M Israel a coxing Club member volunteered to become Captain. The first woman to hold this post in Cygnet's 112 years history. At a committee meeting held on 2 December Ms Israel was co-opted as Captain and Mr K Keogh co-opted as Vice Captain. Mr Golder who was already a committee member became Deputy Captain.
During the season, in fully open events, the Club was successful in three Fours, three Pairs and three Sculling events. Various Heads of River were also entered. The successful crews are listed at the end of this report. The 'Business Houses Head' was organised by Vice President Paul Rawkins. Twenty crews started, the winner being Powerhouse Engineering.
Amalgamation
This item was discussed and reviewed at all committee meetings and also at an SGM and the OGM. Other meetings held included a Joint Committee Meeting of the two clubs and one of the two Treasurers' teams. The discussion documents, which had been issued to all members and friends, were reviewed and voted upon. The members of the BBLRC accepted the content in full including the name Cygnet Barnes Bridge RC. Cygnet members voted 25 to 3 with 1 abstention for amalgamation but not for the rest of the package. It was also accepted that the project was financially viable.
The majority of middle and older Cygnet members were not happy with the proposed change of name. At the OGM in November it was voted that it should remain Cygnet RC by 13 votes to 11 with 2 abstentions. Two other proposals that it should be Cygnet Barnes Bridge RC or Cygnet Barnes Bridge RC reverting to Cygnet after two years were each defeated by 15 votes to 11. The Secretary was instructed to advise the BBLRC of this decision and to await their reply; which to date has not been received. The Secretary has been informally advised that the BBLRC was unlikely to vote again on the subject of the name.
The Boat Buying Programme
For these purposes the Club remains vitally dependent on support from a variety of sources including 'Friends', the 300 Club and the Bungalow. If a merger comes about it will be necessary for the joint club to raise £12,5000 each year thus depending even more on fund raising activities. The Treasurer Dr R P du Parcq will present the audited annual accounts at the Annual General Meeting.
This is the major source of fund raising. Mr Cox had reported that it had been a very successful year with a pay out of £3000 and a profit of £3171.63. For the first time the number of tickets sold had been over 600. A new bank account had been opened paying a much higher rate of interest. For the coming year the prize structure had been revised giving ten monthly draws of £25, £40, £60 and £100. There were extra prizes of £100 at Christmas.
The Website
Mr M Collier became the Editor (Webmeister!) of the Website in succession to Mr Shea. Not only informative with minutes etc but also amusing. There are many photographs of Cygnets not only on the water but also at play. All members and friends are urged to log on to www.Cygnet-RC.org.uk.
The report will be presented by the Bungalow Secretary at the Annual General Meeting.
Not a very active year for Cygnet organised events. The Bungalow Barbecue was held on 18 August and attended by well over 60 people and of course made a profit. The joint Christmas party on 16 December was not as well attended as in recent years. Cygnet members were very supportive of two BBLRC Dinner/Dances held at Thames RC.
Help from older members as well as from the young active rowing members is essential for the efficient management of club matters. These volunteers help by assisting with coaching, maintenance, gardening, administration and keeping the premises in good order. The Committee thanks all of these and hopes that they will continue their support during the coming year.
In some ways a traumatic year for the club. There were strong divisions between the younger active rowing members and the majority of middle and older members regarding the name of an amalgamated club. It is hoped that these differences are now being healed. An active Captaincy is preparing for the coming season. A few less wins than in recent years but there is optimism regarding the future. It has been a tough year for the new Chairman but he has survived, treading a well-considered path between old and new. The younger active members have strong views but so also do the older members who are still active in club matters if not necessarily on the water. Your Secretary remains an optimist.
Cygnet Rowing Club Wins 2001
St Neots Regatta (Saturday) - Mixed Senior 1 Fours, Norris (BBLRC), H Sanderson (BBLRC),
D Lindley (Cygnet), S Keating (Cygnet), R Wilson (Cox, BBLRC)
Putney Town Regatta - Senior 2 Coxless Four, Stephenson, M Baldwin, D Cooke, I Golder (steers)
Barnes and Mortlake Regatta - Senior 2 Coxless Four, I Stephenson, M Baldwin, R Neaverson, I Golder (steers)
St Neots Regatta (Sunday) - Elite Coxless Pairs, G Estcourt, S Morgan
Peterborough Spring Regatta - Senior 2 Coxless Pair,S Keating, D Lindley
Richmond Regatta - Senior 2 Coxless Pair, S Keating, D Lindley
Hammersmith Regatta - Veteran B Sculls, D Jillings
Twickenham Regatta - Veteran E Single Sculls, N M Jackson
Putney Town Regatta - Veteran E/F Handycap Sculls, N M Jackson
Captains Reports
From Alan Cox - Captain 1998 - 2001
The 2001 racing season had been a difficult and frustrating one. After a well attended winter training season and in spite of having a large pool of oarsmen on the books getting representative racing crews out has proved devilishly difficult. Coaching has been identified as a major source of weakness and I urge the committee to do whatever it can to rectify this. I owe particular thanks to my assistants David Grimshaw and Peter Leffler, and to Iain Golder for the considerable efforts they have made in organising, towing, mending etc over the past year. I hope that they have not been put off, and that they will continue to play key roles in running Cygnet in the short term and a merged club in due course. I'd also like to thank Neil Jackson for his work and advice on the safety front, and the committee as a whole for their support over the past three years.
From Marjorie Israel - Captain
The winter training season is in full swing, with land training during the week, and rowing at the weekends. Thanks to our illustrious Chairman's efforts, the squad (some 20 rowers) has been receiving regular coaching, which is indeed a great sacrifice to the coaches in the current weather conditions. We regularly have two eights going out at the weekends, which bodes well for the future. Sadly, we did not manage to get crews out for the Quintin Christmas Puddings race, because this was planned for the weekend immediately before Christmas, when most of our members had other commitments.
We are currently trying to get more coxes involved in the squad, as both your current and previous
Captains need a bit of a breather now and then from
coxing. Work commitments seem to be getting in the way now and then,
so if all members could make an effort to lure either experienced or
inexperienced coxswains to the club, it will be good for all of us.
Captains' Reports (Continued)
I would like to thank Alan Cox and his teams for having
fulfilled the task of Captain for such a long time. Now that I have
taken over, I realise what a big task it is, and I would challenge
any active rowers to step forward and take over from me later this
year. It is indeed hard work, but something that I believe has its
own rewards as well.
300 Club Wins - The Christmas
Draw
November I Stevenson (£25) G White (£40)
S Morgan (£60) D Gavaghan(£100)
(346) (129) (315) (556)
December M Mahony (£25) D Grimshaw (£40) J Williams£60) M Burman (£100)
(172) (567) (86) (422)
Christmas Specials T Senior (£200), £100 each- C Rushbrook, N Jackson ,D Cooke, J Carney .
The Club Historian Writes:
100 years ago events on land at Cygnet were dominated
by changes at the very top of the club hierarchy, as one president
stood down and another stood up to take his place. The incumbent,
Sir
James Whitehead, Bart., a very famous figure in the City who had at
one time (1889) been Lord Mayor of London, announced his resignation
due to ill health. He was replaced by the equally illustrious R B
(Ethel) Etherington Smith, his election being unanimously agreed at a
general meeting at the Duke's Head, Putney in December 1902.
Etherington-Smith had the most distinguished rowing career of any
Cygnet member before or since. He rowed in the Cambridge crews of
1898,1899 and 1900, winning the last two including one against his
brother who was rowing in the Oxford crew in
1900. 'Ethel'
subsequently went on to row in the Leander crews of 1901-06, winning
the Grand Challenge Cup three times and the Steward Challenge Cup
twice (rowing with Guy Nickalls). The crowning glory was a win in the
eights at the Olympic Regatta of 1908 at Henley. And so, for the next
10 years (until his untimely death from blood poisoning in 1913) the
Club had at its head a great and versatile oarsmen who umpired,
coached, chaired club dinners and concerts and, of course, gave
generously to club funds.
The Business House Head
This year will be held on Sunday 17th March at 1.15pm.
So turn out in great numbers and make a special and fun club day of
it. Entries from overseas crews are expected. It is already known
that Akzo Nobel will once again be staying at the Bungalow. A
hardy lot these Dutchmen!
A Coach Remembers Tanganyika (and Rowing)
Many of you will remember Mike Longford who coached us (very successfully in the 70's). He has written a book called "The Flags Changed at Midnight" telling of his ten years as a District Officer in Tanganyika in the 50's. Those interested in Colonial History (and rowing) will find it fascinating. It seemed that all oarsmen that he bumped into were splendid chaps and the rest bounders! - Peter Sly
(Gracewing Publications, 2 Southern Avenue, Leominster, HR6 0QF £25.00)
Ian Faucet - Congratulations to him on being made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the New Years Honours list.
Doug Hutchins
Sadly Douglas Hutchins died in Christchurch Hospital on 2nd of January after a short illness. He joined the club in October 1950 and was active in rowing and club activities for all of the past 51 years. He had officiated at regattas from Richmond to Evesham and also in Heads of the River. He was a member of the Putney Town Regatta Committee from 1958 until he moved to the coast in 2001. I will always remember him as a good friend and great and witty companion. Although he never became a Vice President or have a boat named after him (He would have felt both honoured and amused) he will be long remembered and sorely missed by all his friends. Ronnie Lambe
Are always due, please return this tear-off slip with your cheque to: the Treasurer, Dr R P du Parcq,
152 Castelnau, London, SW13 9ET. Active Members - Members of the Civil Service Sports Council - £140, Others - £165, Club Friends - Suggested Minimum - £15 - Enclosed my subscription £???..
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REL - 29/9/01