Welcome to the April 2007 Issue of Perfect Balance

Perfect Balance is an electronic newsletter that we have issued from time to time over the last couple of years. This season it never got off the ground properly. But there are a few things we want to bring to your attention so read on …

Previous issues of Perfect Balance:

• September 2005
• October 2005
• March 2006

  2006/07 Prize Giving
  Saturday 5 May 2007 has been set aside for this. The final format has not been fully decided, but it will be different from previous years.

  Watch your email and club notice boards for details.

  Deidre Burke has said she will organise the actual prize giving portion of the evening and Tim Wilson has said he is prepared to help out with the social function. These people are happy to receive offers of assistance.

  Wellington Rowers Function Centre - New Manager Wanted
  Wellington Rowers Function Centre is the name given to the upstairs of our clubrooms. The hire of Wellington Rowers as a function centre is an important part of the club’s income – it regularly provides income of $25,000 to $35,000 for the club – income that would be part of subscriptions if Wellington Rowers was not available.

  Bill Grace has managed the hire of Wellington Rowers for the last 9 years. Last month Bill gave notice of his intention to retire from doing this effective from the end of May 2007.

  The club is therefore looking for a new Manager of Wellington Rowers Function Centre.

  We do not have a written job description, but if you think you may be interested please contact Laws, Ross, Laurie or Bill who will be able to tell you more.

  A commission may be paid to the new manager.

  Corporate Rowing 2007
  The Wellington Rowing Club has been running a corporate rowing programme for six years. This activity raises typically $8,000 to $10,000 per year for the club and usually bring between two and four new novices. Ideally it should raise the profile of both the club and rowing in Wellington’s corporate world.

  Corporate Rowing 2007 will take place between about early June and early September. We are looking for a volunteer to manage and promote this activity – more, better promotion would attract more crews which in turn would increase the funds receive and take pressure off subscription or other fundraising.

  Anyone interested in having a go at leading this year’s corporate rowing should get in touch with Laws or Laurie.

  Regatta Results
  Locally the club didn’t do too badly this season. On overall regatta points we won the Redding Shield, Porirua Goodwill, Queens Cup and Wellington Champs and came second (by six points) in the Mothes Shield.

  However compared to recent seasons the National Rowing Championships was not a hugely successful regatta for the club – 33 competitors from the club travelled to Lake Ruataniwha and competed in 32 events. Ten crews made finals (although none in anything smaller than a four) but only one medal was won – our men’s senior coxless four won a bronze medal.

  About 104 Wellington Rowing Club rowers from four schools competed at the NZ Secondary Schools Rowing Championships (Maadi) at Lake Karapiro. Of the 73 events entered 16 crews made ‘B’ finals (22% of events entered), and 2 made ‘A’ finals (3%). Best result was the 5th place for the Onslow U15 boys 8+, followed by 7th for the St Pats U18 2x.

  Eleven masters competed in the rowing at the NZ Masters Games in Wanganui and came home with three gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

  Plant Damage and Losses
  While the National Championships and Maadi may not have been as good as we would have like, our treatment of our plant over the last 10 months has been absolutely abysmal! Here are some statistics that make very sorry reading:

  • 13 boats badly damaged and sent away for major repairs
  • Cost of these repairs just under $10,000, with the bills for four boats yet to come (expected to be between $4000 and $6000)
  • 7 boats damaged but able to be repaired by club members in-house
  • 2 lost oars replaced at a cost of about $700
  • Three more oars lost but not yet replaced – replacement cost about $1,100.
  • A total of $27,000 spent on repairs and maintenance so far this financial year (which ends on 31 May) – about half of the subscription income and almost three times the budgeted amount.

  In addition there are now 15 life jackets in the shed, but we started the season with about 25 – at $100 each another $1000 walked out the door during the season. Also lost were the equivalent to almost three complete sets of lane numbers and enough boat ties to take a full trailer load of boats to a regatta.

  Not a very happy record, to put it politely. If we don’t want a large increase in subscriptions for next season we had all better come up with positive ways of improving on this for 2007-08.

  Winter Maintenance
  This year the club’s rowing plant will not be available for use from Monday 16 April for at least a month until everything has been maintain. Each squad within the club will be allocated plant to be maintained (boats, oars, ergs and coaching boats). Warrick and Laurie will coordinate the allocation.

  Although Sunday mornings will be set aside for maintenance, squads are free to do the work at a time that suits them. Details will be notified by Warrick or Laurie in a few days.

  125th Anniversary
  July 2010 will see 125 years since the formation Wellington Rowing Club. Although still three years away some form of 125th celebrations will be held – Mike Grace is already thinking about it, doing research into the clubs history, looking for old photos, etc. We’ll keep you posted in later issues of Perfect Balance.

  Annual General Meeting
  The Annual General Meeting of the Wellington Rowing Club will be held sometime during July. A date will be finalised soon and all members will be advised. This will be your chance to have a say in how your club is run. Be there or stop grumbling.