Presidential welcome

Ronnie Goldie, club President, was unable to attend. Vice-president Sandy Walker took the chair and opened the meeting.

Apologies

Apologies for absence from the meeting were received from a number of members.

Minutes of last year’s AGM

Last year's minutes (available on the private area of this web site) were read and approved.

Matters arising

A number of items from last year's meeting appeared to have made little or no progress. Most were discussed in detail under AOCB.

Presidential report

Ronnie sent he following message to the meeting:
"Apparently, others in the rowing community reckon that Glasgow Rowing Club is full of 'old people' and scullers. Well I disagree with that perception of our Club. Yes, we could do with some young oarspeople in their late teens and twenties, but that could be said of many other clubs and I am not only talking about rowing clubs.
"I believe we have a group of people who work hard to run a club which in this day and age is doing rather well. Have a look at the Captain's report and you will see the details of the successes we have had, the activity in the club. Look at our accounts and you will see a £25,000 turn over from a club with about 50 members. Think back to the Club BBQ in August - it didn't make a lot of money (it wasn't designed to !) but it was great fun and the weather was good .... and we launched three new boats.
"Yes, we have a great deal to be pleased with.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the club Committee members and others in the club who work continuously for the good of the others in the club. The ladies (and gentlemen) who work so hard at regattas, Strathclyde Park catering and bar deserve a special mention.
"I was delighted to see the number of club members who 'got involved' with so many aspects of the FISA Masters event in September. The club's reputation was certainly enhanced following that event....and who knows there might yet be a financial benefit to the club for our efforts !
"Most of you will know that my mind is on other things at present and that is the reason I have been missing from the clubhouse for the past few weeks and why I am not attending the AGM. I trust you will understand and with good work from the NHS over the coming weeks I hope to be at the club well before Christmas.
"Kenny has advised me that he will be proposing me for the post of President for the forthcoming year. If that is the wish of the meeting, then I am delighted to accept the position and look forward to 2005/06 and all the activities within the club."
Ronnie
01/11/05

Captain’s report

Henry was also unable to attend, working and living in London now. He sent his report which was read on his behalf: 

"Firstly I would like to apologise that I make this report in absentia. Ending the year 400 miles away from the club never even crossed my mind 12 months ago.
"I do not think it is appropriate to list the year’s results at the AGM as they are all available in the Committee Meeting Minutes but I believe that a number of people need to be congratulated for their performances this year.
"Alastair Warnock has again led the line for the senior members of the club. He was unfortunate not to be selected for GB Final Trials this year and followed a good winter with a number of good results in Scotland, down South and abroad this year. These included making the semi-finals of Henley for the second year in succession.
"Jonathan Stevenson has made continued steady progress this year, winning a number of races and finishing 4th in Mens Open 1X at Scottish Championships. He is made the semi-finals of Lightweight Sculls at National Championships and attended GB Assessments for the first time.
"Daniel Prescott continued where he finished off last year. To win your first GB Assessment is a very impressive achievement and he followed up a good winter with wins at National Schools and National Championships later in the season. He also performed creditably in Mens Open 1X at Scottish Championships and gained selection for three different boats at the Home Countries match in Cardiff.
"Watching Alastair, Jonathan and Daniel finish 1st, 4th and 5th at Mens Open 1X at Scottish Championships will be my lasting memory of the season – a sign of the quality of sculling in the club at the moment.
"However the people who deserve the most credit this year are the Veteran C 4+, namely Alastair Browne, Kenny McMaster, Tony Kerr, Andy Cameron and Denise Browne. Even although I suspect they might be disappointed with a few of the results later in the season, they had some impressive results including beating many crews significantly their junior over the course of the year. I commend their commitment to their training this year and I hope they see the year as a success. 
"The strength of depth in the Veteran squad continues with a number of good wins by Peter Trenchard and Martin Gechonis. Numbers continue to remain healthy in the squad as it consistently fielded an 8+ throughout the year and two at the Tideway Veteran Head in March.
"The Novice Women’s Squad continues to grow steadily this summer, which has been encouraging, and Lindsay Dick has come through a difficult year to post impressive results in recent weeks. I wish everyone the very best for the next season. 
"The coaching again has been outstanding and I would like to thank George, Kevin and Sandy for their time and effort this year. The club is very lucky to have coaches of this quality working with the athletes. I would also like to thank Paul Ingram for his work with both the Veterans and the Women’s Squad this year.
"Away from racing both the club’s Head Races went well. The 4s Head in November was slightly down on numbers compared to previous years but that can be put down to a general slump in numbers racing in 2004-2005. Smooth organisation and forward planning meant that it remains, in my opinion, the best administered event in Scotland each year. The Small Boats Head also went ahead and ran smoothly considering the absence of several key club members. 
"The club again did the catering at Strathclyde Park Regatta. This is very important to club funds and I would like to thank all those who helped, especially ‘the ladies’ who this club would struggle without.
"The club purchased 3 new boats this year and a couple more were refurbished. Refurbishment of the club’s weights facilities is in progress as well and Ronnie Goldie should be commended in particular for being instrumental in much of the fundraising for all these purchases.
"In general I feel the club has had a reasonably successful year and all the members should take credit for this. However, to continue a theme you have all heard many times, still too much of the club’s work being undertaken by to few members. They do a fantastic job and make running a club look a lot easier than it actually is. It would not take a lot of effort from a few others to reduce what is asked of these people.
"In terms of my own performance this year, a combination of my back injury and my departure from Glasgow reduced the impact on the club I had hoped to make, both on and off the water, and I apologise to you for that. I had intended to make a number of changes to help improve the age profile of the club but the challenge now is for someone else to take this project forward.
"There is no quick fix to the problem and it will take a concerted effort over a number of years, however I still believe that the universities is the way forward to bringing new young members into the club. I spent the year working hard to improve still further our excellent relations with the major university clubs and we should continue to be encouraging new graduates to join the club.
"To do this it must be remembered that university clubs are very different to other clubs in that much more is done for the students in terms of the organisation of squads and training. Therefore more structure should be put in place into our squads in terms of coaching, training programmes and race calendar planning if we are to encourage graduates to join the club.
"A quick word of caution though, I suspect a lot will be talked tonight on the subject of recruitment of new members, however in my opinion just as important is to continue to improve the facilities and opportunities available to the existing members. The people in the room tonight should not be neglected in the attempt to increase membership.
"To conclude I would again apologise for my non-attendance tonight and for my departure from the committee. I wish the club and all of its members the very best for the future."

Treasurer’s report

Kenneth Macmaster presented the club's accounts for the year and projected income/expenditure for next year and explained in more detail some of the more significant events related to expenditure. He concluded there was no need to increase subs in order to support the day-to-day operational costs.

Secretary’s report

Stephen Goldie explained that he would be stepping down from this post as he felt his time was limiting his commitment to the tasks. He felt that communication to the membership had improved in his tenure. The meeting agreed and thanked Stephen for his efforts.

Changes to the Constitution

This item was discussed early as it would affect the setting of subscriptions. The proposed alterations to the constitution were approved (also available on the private area of this web site).
Specifically, there are two new membership categories: Graduate - to cost the same as Student - and Family - which will consist of one full adult sub and subsequent family members paying half of the normal subscription for their membership category

Subscriptions

The rates of subscriptions remain as they were last year. The boat racking cost also is unchanged. The full list is here on the web site.

Election of office bearers

The list of office bearers for 2006-2006 can be found here on the web site.

Any other business

The following items were discussed in some or less detail (as the clock moved closer to 10 p.m., AW's interjections to move along became more and more insistent and the quality of discussion proportionately less coherent).

1. Showers

2. Security and general tidiness of the boat house

3. Safety policy

4. SARA AGM

5. GRC Fours Head of River 2005 (26 November)

6. Catering at Park regattas

7. Fund-raising and functions

8. Training/equipment/ventilation

9. Future boat purchases - size of boats

10. Web ideas

The meeting concluded at 10:01 p.m. with a 'hearty' vote of thanks to the chair.