June Council – news in brief
Facilities – rowing’s legacy
As work continues on building a sustainable future for the sport the Chairman congratulated Council members for all that they were achieving with regard to the legacy of rowing. Over the last year she had visited a great number of clubs and boathouses and seen some exciting and innovative refurbishing and upgrades to facilities. Alan Meegan, British Rowing’s Facilities Consultant, was thanked for his exceptional support to clubs, and in particular for his work in helping clubs to achieve long leases.
Working with our Partners
The organisation of the World Rowing Junior Championships was an excellent example of successful partnership working. British Rowing’s volunteers were working alongside the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), and Rowing’s International Federation (FISA). There were a number of challenges but the sport’s volunteers were once again rising to the occasion, the training days had been well attended and received and everyone was looking forward to a very successful Championships.
International Events
The International Manager explained that the decision to withdraw the GB Rowing Team from Hamburg had not been taken lightly. The line-up for the World Rowing Cup in Lucerne has been published here.
London Prepares – LOCOG
Ann-Louise Morgan, LOCOG’s Director of Rowing, talked to Council members about progress at Dorney Lake, the Olympic Regatta venue. She explained that the capacity figure for the venue had been set with regard to the locality, access and security. LOCOG had to ensure that all who received tickets were able to get to the venue and see the full session of racing. Council heard that John Biddle, a name familiar to those in the Thames Region, had joined the LOCOG team as Technical Operations Manager for Rowing. Another eight roles would be filled in the lead up to the Games. Offers to those who had volunteered were expected to be made from October 2011.
Ms Morgan said she had received the questions about ticketing from members, forwarded by British Rowing. She said she had sent on the questions, and the clear messages that they contained, to LOCOG’s ticketing team. At this stage she did not have answers to specific questions but the disappointment expressed by many long-serving volunteers, coaches, registered members and employees was noted. The current plan was that re-sale opportunities would be rolled out in early 2012. Paralympic tickets would go on sale in September 2011.
After fielding a number of questions Ms Morgan was thanked for her presentation and for being an excellent ambassador for rowing.
Row for Gold
The National Manager’s proposals for a set of Row for Gold activities and events in the lead up to London 2012 were discussed by Council. The aims of Row for Gold encompass raising the profile of rowing as an inclusive sport, supporting clubs to promote rowing in their local communities, introducing new people to the sport and welcoming lapsed rowers back. Council members gave their support to the paper. The next stage will be for British Rowing to contact all clubs in July to see who would like to be part of Row for Gold. Resources, marketing materials and other support will be co-ordinated through club ‘Activators’.
Regattas taking place during July – September 2012 will also be invited to take part and those would become Row for Gold Regattas, again appointing ‘Activators’ to liaise with British Rowing over support, marketing, etc. A dedicated page will be set up on the British Rowing website.
Council also received reports from its Committees and Review Groups. The draft minutes of the meeting will be published in July.
