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Cygnet
Cygnet Rowing Club
on the Tideway since 1890
CSSC Sports and Leisure

[new] Captain's Log: Issue 1

22nd July 2021

Good afternoon Cygnets, this is your Captain speaking!

Very pleased to be sending you my first Captain's log and with a very warm thanks to all who attended the OGM this week and for the welcome and the support to myself, Martin as Deputy Captain and Pete as Vice Captain.

We're really looking forward to leading the squad and working with you over the coming season and, as I said on Tuesday, building on the excellent platform that Cris and Beth, along with the wider coaching and captaincy has developed over the last season. We will start 2021/22 in a good position with the opportunity to grow, develop and improve from here.

A huge thanks to Cris, Sam and Martin and all that have been involved over the last year and several years carrying the club forward and for me to inherit an incredibly well organised and well performing team during what has been an incredibly challenging time for the club and us all. There is a huge amount to be proud of and an awful of gratitude from across the club for the achievements and your incredible efforts along the way. More on this later and hope you will all be able to join a toast to the season on Sat 28th August.

I will talk with you more about the priorities for next season in due course, once we've had the chance to do some initial planning, including engaging with you for feedback and guidance, to launch the new season in September.

Over the next few weeks my priorities are to: 1) finish off the summer regatta and LTR seasons strongly 2) lay the groundwork in terms of priorities and planning for the season ahead with the coaching and captaincy teams.

Important notices:

  • This weekend: very best of luck to the racing crews on Sunday, Andy, Matt G, Cris, Martin, Chris J, Tom B and Mustafa. I will be cheering you on from Devon (sorry I won't be with you in person but I am away at a wedding this weekend). Race well and bring home the pots!

Outings - as per Fitclub. Please remember time-keeping, it is essential all crews are on time and ready to row ahead of the briefing time. If you arrive early: open up, blades out, launch on the water.

  • Tomorrow: you will have hopefully seen my earlier message but the Boathouse will be closed to all members on Friday 23rd July. Apologies for the late notice and inconvenience, we were notified very late in the day by the filming company but the clubs will be compensated for the significant inconvenience.
  • Looking ahead: it is looking highly unlikely at this stage that Oxford City Regatta will go ahead and owing to the limited opportunity of racing and the likely competition at Henley T&V, we will not be attending on 31st July.
  • If there is sufficient interest, there is the opportunity to race at Peterborough Summer Regatta on Sunday 15 August. Please check fitclub and update your availability for Peterborough if you would like to race or are not available. We will make final decision on boats and crews next weekend, so please update availability no later than Friday 30 July.

Getting Involved and Contact Details:

  • The eagle eyed will have spotted the new Captaincy email address (cygnet.captain@gmail.com ) please use this or the squad/LTR whatsapp groups for getting in touch with any questions or concerns. Please do feel free to reach out to myself, Martin or Pete.
  • Steering: If you are interested in steering or know you have not yet taken your steering test, please get in touch to let me know and I will work with our Safety Adviser, Charlie, arranging the tests and getting you signed off. For those in need of revision (or a timely refresh if the navigation is getting a little wayward) https://boatingonthethames.co.uk/the-tideway-code-boating-on-the-thames/
  • Volunteering: If you are interested in being involved and looking for volunteer opportunities to help out on the social front or generally, please do get in touch, there's plenty to be involved in and the club runs / is at it's best when we have as many people as possible lending a hand. There will be ad-hoc opportunities as well as full-time positions - my ask is that everyone does their bit and helps out in some form.
  • Feedback survey: will follow in the next week or so - I'm keen to hear from you about your aims, aspirations and goals to inform the plan for the year ahead. If you have any thoughts in the meantime, drop me a line.

Dates for your diary:

That's it for now, excuse the long email (you'll get used to those) and as plans develop will be keen to have you all involved. In the meantime, wishing the racing crews every success and happy rowing to the rest of you.

Best wishes

Rupert

Author: Neil Pickford

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