Manchester Canoe Club
Newsletter May 2009
Contents
- Boxing Day Race
- Chairs Chat
- Boat Hire Charges
- Private Boat Storage
- Club Safety Equipment
- Summary of AGM
- 5 Star Training with Prince Voltan
- Events up and coming:
- Newsletter
I know we are in April, but as it has not been said yet…Happy New Year to all!! It would seem this is the first newsletter of 2009! (to which my apologies go out to all). So firstly it would seem right to finish up with the final event of 2008…the Boxing Day Race
Boxing Day Race – 2008
Dave Bradshaw
Only a small contingent of die-hards made it out for the Boxing Day Race this year. Maybe it was the cold and the lack of water. Half of us raced down, and the other half cruised down, some in open canoes.
We started the race below the horseshoe weir, the low water meant that there was danger of WWR boats getting broken, not that we had many. The cruisers mostly shot the weir, which must have annoyed the angler trying to fish in the weir pool, but he didn’t say anything – he was seriously outnumbered.
The cruisers set off down the river, and then we got the race under way. I timed the starts from my boat, and finally set myself off, taking the start board down the river with me. A few minutes later it was all over. I can’t remember who won, it might have been Mark Davies, but I know that Paul Kelly won the C1 class, beating me by a healthy margin. We had passed all the cruisers on the way down, and they rolled in later. Mince pies were eaten in the club house, washed down with a cup or two of mulled wine, then it was off to visit Gaz in the pub where he lives and works, the Marple Tavern. At least I won the darts.
Chairs Chat
Mark Davies
Working Days
Path work-days that have kindly been organized by Clive have now been advertised on the club website forum. One has already taken place but further dates are planned:
- 18th April
- 16th May
There is a 3 point plan to improve the site for everybody this year:-
- Renovation of main steps (i.e. to middle pool)
- Improvements to bottom pool steps.
- Minor / essential maintenance to onsite paths (e.g. chicken wire on bridge.)
WITH YOUR HELP we can get the above 3 jobs done this year with more to be confirmed for later in the year so everyone has a chance to help out and do their bit for YOUR club. Paddling at the site on these days whilst others are working would not be appreciated.
River Lights Upgrade
Once the paths have been done, as a priority, the committee has agreed that that club should go ahead with a river lighting upgrade proposal. This will involve going ahead to provide a demo light at the middle pool water as soon as possible. After which details and costs will be finalized for the upgrading to go ahead on the rest of the river after the paths have been done and before the end of September 2009.
Boat Hire Charges
The committee would like to reiterate what the boat charges for club boats. These charges have been well posted throughout the club house for a number of years and apply to all members, including club coaches working at the site. They apply to all boats in the main club house store and open boats only.
- £3.00 per session for members (includes boat and all kit).
- £5.00 per session for non-
members (includes boat and all
kit).
Available for 3 sessions before you are expected to become a member. - £1.00 any kit hire, excluding boat.
- £6.00 per day boat hire (members only).
- £25.00 per week boat hire (members only).
To take boats off site they must be booked out with the equipment officer (Michael Stringer) prior to them leaving the site. It has always been the policy of the club to encourage members to purchase there own boats rather than rely on club boats.
Private Boat Storage
Gill has now taken over the management of member’s boat storage at the site from Michael Camden. To reflect the extra storage space that open boats take up compared to kayaks the committee is increasing the storage charges of Canadian boats from £20 to £40 per annum, kayaks to remain at £20 per annum. If you would like information regarding storage of you boat on site please contact Gill.
Club Safety Equipment
The committee has noted that there is not much club safety equipment available on site, and what does exist may not be fit for purpose. A minimum level of equipment is needed for the site, and members / duty officers need to know where it is stored. Michael Stringer (Equipment Officer) has been given £100 budget to ensure club site has adequate safety equipment (throw ropes etc.).
In January the AGM took place at the clubhouse; here is the summary of what was discussed:
Summary of AGM
3 Election of Committee and Officials
3.1 The following committee members and officers are standing down
- Simon Harper – Secretary
- Andy Emuss – Committee Member
- Michael Cambden – Committee Member
- Ian Carpenter – Equipment Officer & Site Manager
- Kelly Paddock – Committee Member
3.2 Committee Positions —
Elections
- Chair SH Nominates MD, CW seconds, Carried.
- Secretary GD Nominates GR, PK seconds, Carried.
- Committee GD Nominates IK, DW seconds, Carried.
- Committee CW Nominates MS, GR seconds, Carried.
- Committee IC Nominates SH, DB seconds, Carried.
- Committee DB Nominates DJ, IK seconds, Carried.
3.3 Officers Positions — Elections
- Equipment Officer — MS Volunteered and Accepted
- Site Manager (Grounds) — IK Volunteered and Accepted
- Volunteer Co-ordinator — GD Volunteered and Accepted
- New Members Officer — SH Volunteered and Accepted
- Training Officer — MS Volunteered and Accepted
- Open Boat Touring — GD Volunteered and Accepted
- Touring Officer — Unfilled
- Youth Representative — Unfilled
Officers nominated and those willing to serve another year were declared elected, the meeting thanked the retiring Officers and Committee members for their outstanding effort during the previous year/s.
4 Motions
M01 Proposal - GD:
GD proposing at the AGM that we have the newsletter in online version and not printed out and sent to people. Most people nowadays have access to the internet and a printer and if they want a hard copy, are able to print it themselves. To allow those without computers I would propose we had an opt in system to receive the newsletter in paper format. This could possibly cost a little more for membership to cover the costs (not thought that one through - so don’t jump on me). Currently the newsletter being printed and sent out is costing the club quite a bit (figures can be discussed at the AGM). Additionally it is taking a lot of people’s time printing / folding / sending - in today’s technological days this is a waste of time and money, which could be spent on more important things such as making paths safe etc. Just a little warning, Time is the major issue, if we don’t go for the online option, we may find ourselves without a newsletter at all. REMEMBER PEOPLE ARE VOLUNTEERS - NOT PAID - THEY DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING. If you strongly object to the above, I hope you have a solution that doesn’t involve other peoples time. The various ways of having it online can be bashed out with the IT people, but the principal of online rather than paper based is the important one.
Discussion: RS Postage and printing a major cost. PK We used to enclosed membership renewals, will this be a problem? MoS Peak paddlers are totally electronic and it works really well. Proposed: We move toward an electronic version, while still being inclusive. Vote Unanimous Actions Details worked out in committee.
M02 Proposal - RS:
The committee wish to put forward a motion ‘The club sets up a trust to administer the assets formerly held in the Maurice Rothwell Trust, and appoints suitable trustees.’ Vote Unanimous. Amendment DW that committee appoint an initial set of trusties, and to take professional advice (this latter PK) Vote Unanimous
7 Date of Next AGM (MD)
Date set as Friday January 22nd 2010 19:30.
Date Accepted.
8 Presentation of Trophy for Service to the Club (MD)
Committee would like to present the trophy to Dave Bradshaw – for his long running efforts with the junior squad and by way of these efforts revitalising the clubs slalom focus.
Reports were also sent in from the varying committee members, these have also been included with this newsletter.
5 Star Training with Prince Voltan
Dave Bradshaw
The three of us set off boldly in pursuit of danger and new experiences in the remote moors of the West Country. All was going well until suddenly the car was struck by lightning and we crashed into a strange laboratory run by the mysterious Dr. Zarkov!....
Before we had a chance to recover he had bundled us into his spaceship and soon we were in orbit around the planet earth. Unfortunately Zarkov was not such a great driver and we drifted into another universe ruled by the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Under questioning we all refused to reveal the true nature of our mission. Ming was not so happy about that and vowed to destroy the Earth. Something had to be done.
We escaped to our original destination leaving Zarkov to find new transport he had located on planet Ebay. We arrived in a strange place full of strange people talking in strange tongues. The car park was full of four-wheeled vehicles carrying brightly coloured plastic tanks on their roofs. We soon found their leader, Prince Voltan, a man with a huge grin who spoke with a booming voice interspersed with loud guffaws. Voltan explained that we in a place of limbo, between the easy and carefree life on the Loop, and the horrors of the Upper, where men were men, and women were from New York City. Our mission was to prove ourselves by demonstrating our abilities on the Upper.
Voltan carefully guided us through the Mad Mile, stopping frequently to explain the dangers we were facing, and how we were to ensure each other’s safety. We were joined by Fico, a young fly-boy well versed in the New Skool ways, bouncing off and over the great lumps of granite that littered the floor of this raging torrent, while we carefully picked our way around them.
Eventually we arrived at Euthanasia, where the water was funnelled down a steep ramp and up against a great wall of rock. As is his wont, Fico dropped off the side right into the maelstrom. But Zarkov had a trick up his sleeve, he knew of a sly route away from the boiling waters of the main line. A tricky entry leads to an easy slide to the left. Not to be outdone, Flash Gordon followed the same line, cheered from the sidelines “Go Flash go! Go Flash go!” and executed it perfectly. This left Prince Barin to attempt the same line. Unfortunately it did not go well, he collided with the guardian rock at the entrance to the side chute and slid backwards into the turbulent waters and disappeared from sight. A tremendous struggle ensued, and the Prince emerged triumphant.
- Flash Gordon – Mark Davies
- Prince Barin – Ashlee Dack
- Dr. Zarkov – Paul Kelly
- Prince Voltan – Stuart Woodward
- Narrator – Dave Bradshaw
- Fico – Unknown Alien
The characters featured in this are completely fictional. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. No similarity to any person either living or dead is intended or should be inferred.
Events up and coming:
Marple Slalom 25th/26th April
Div 3/4
The event is held at the clubsite, so a nice slalom to take part in if it is your first as you know the site – so no excuse! All volunteers are welcome, and very much needed, for judging, control, canteen and safety cover – any help will be much appreciated. Dominic Wells is organising the event so contact him if you think you could be helpful, and also to put in your entries.
Alton Towers Trip 16th May
Rachel Bradshaw is organising a trip to Alton Towers! Everyone is welcome, just for a bit of fun . The tickets are slightly cheaper for groups than singles so shouldn’t cost too much. Contact Rachel if you are interested, either via the bulletin board or Facebook if you’re on there, or if you see her at the site let her know you are interested.
C1/C2 training sessions Monday evenings
There have been several slalom events that have taken place, I don’t have any lovely write ups about those events from anyone (hint, hint guys!), but have seen some photo’s on the website
Newsletter
From the summary of the AGM you will notice that we are proposing that the newsletter, in this day and age, transfer to the internet! To be an on-line newsletter and do away with paper, posting costs and also volunteer’s time. The on-line version will be printable for those who do wish copies to be printed, however we do appreciate that not everyone may have access to the internet and therefore will continue to want it posting to them.
There is a slip at the end of this newsletter which will allow you to ‘opt in’ to continue to receive the newsletter by post, should you strongly disagree with it being on-line only or not have access. Please complete the form and return to me.
All other paperwork, such as membership forms/renewals, membership log book updates etc will continue to be posted to members. Next newsletter, which will be on- line, will go out at the end of June. Please send anything of interest/write ups to me by the 26th June.
Remember it is your newsletter, if you want it to be kept interesting, and not just full of the stuff we have to tell you about, then please do send things in.
newsletter@manchestercanoeclub.org
