Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Richmond Canoe Club Ltd Held on 2 April 2016 at 81-83 Petersham Road, Richmond TW10 6UT 1. Attendance, apologies and appointment of proxies: Those present: Will Absom Hazel Greasby Zugia Mcilhone Peter Barnes Colin Greasby Deborah Mendes Craig Barrett Tony Gregson-Newman Elizabeth Pearce Nicola Biggs Tanya Herwanger Mark Pearce David Blackford Jorg Herwanger Louise Phillips Lizzie Broughton Brett Irvine Caroline Pietsch Neil Camp Kasia Jendrusinka Peter Quibell E R Chester Tim Killip Elisabeth Sangouard Roger Crawford Ingrid Klite Tom Sharpe Andrei Dzyma Malek Labbane Coralie Vial Nick Edmunds David Leech Thomas Walker Heather Elliott Roly Lucas Tony Waszkiewicz Mick Fegent Euan Mackenzie Sharon Waszkiewicz Alex Flockhart Kevin Marsh Mike Webb Klaudia Galucka Sean Martin Paul Wells Chris Gavin Jack Wilshal Simon Wood Apologies had been received from: Mike Pigott, Neville Burton, Andrei Busuioc, Marcus Gohar, Marina Armstrong, John Racoveanu, Kevin de Klerk, Enrique Vallano 2. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 21 March 2015: approval of the minutes Was proposed by Colin Greasby, seconded by Sharon Waszkiewicz and agreed. 3. Reports: Membership Report: Total membership as at 1 April was 327. Breakdown was as follows: seniors 160, juniors 42, students 11, partners 17, out of port 9, senior + 3, Hon Life 9, life 26, child of seniors 19, and social 30. Treasurer’s Report and adoption of the Accounts for the year 2104/2015 Report appended. The Accounts had been circulated in advance of the meeting. Adoption of the Accounts was proposed by Simon Wood, seconded by Klaudia Galucka and agreed. Coaching Secretary: Jemima reminded members to advise friends and contacts wanting to kayak that the Club runs novice courses which consist of 5 weekly sessions run on Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings (starting at 4.30pm). Novices are advised that the Club is run by volunteers and that we are always looking for help on the water as well as in the Galley. Sessions from 7 – 8 pm on Mondays are being planned and help is needed with timing and safety. Following a question it was confirmed that the 5K time trial is open to any member. Commodore’s Report Report appended 4. Appointments Appointment of Auditor: The appointment of John Warren was proposed by Tom Sharpe, seconded by Hazel Greasby and agreed. Appointment of Honorary members The current holders of the following positions and their successors were nominated for reappointment as honorary members of Richmond Canoe Club until the 2017 AGM (without voting rights): Recreation officer of the PLA (Jon Beckett) MP for Richmond (Zac Goldsmith) Captains of Twickenham Rowing Club (Mel Mercer and Paul Wood-Robinson) Group Scout leader – Petersham and Ham Sea Scouts (Karin Noble) Official in charge of Thames Young Mariners Chairman of Edge (Edge Progressive paddling – operating Kew Bridge Canoe Club) Captain - Twickenham Sailing Club Chairman of Blade House Residents Committee – Matt Grimes The following who have given long service to the club are nominated for reappointment as honorary memberships without voting rights: Recreation officer of the PLA (Jon Beckett) Peter Davey Wendy Dodson Ramsey Gohar Brian Greenaway Doug Parnham Trevor Wetherall Roxanne Dunne The following who have given long service to the club are nominated for reappointment as honorary members with full voting rights: Peter Barnes Hazel Greasby Appointment of directors: Tom Sharpe proposed and Klaudia Galucka seconded the re-appointment of the following directors: Hazel Greasby, Sean Martin, Tony Waszkiewicz and Simon Wood. Agreed. Election of Committee: The following appointments were agreed: Commodore Tom Sharpe Vice Commodore Tony Waszkiewicz Secretary Mike Pigott Treasurer Hazel Greasby Rear Commodore Jorg Herwanger Membership Secretary Sean Martin Harbour Master Tom Walker House Steward Enrique Vallano Boathouse Secretary Peter Barnes Youth Development Officer Jeff Lindsay Coaching Representative (Novice) Jemima Johnstone Coaching Representative (Elite) Mick Fegent Racing Secretary Brett Irvine Marathon Secretary Will Abson Publicity Secretary Klaudia Galucka Social Secretary Laura Poblete 5. Adoption of Revised Articles of Association and Club Constitution The revised Articles of Association and Club Constitution had been circulated in advance of the meeting and Tom thanked Tanya Herwanger for all her work on these. The following were further changes proposed to the versions circulated in advance of the meeting. Articles of Association Section 22 Directors Remuneration This section describes how Directors can be remunerated for services they provide the club. Our directors do not take remuneration from the club, so it is proposed to replace this section with the following: “Directors are not entitled to any remuneration for their services to the Club as directors” Articles of Association Section 25 and Constitution Section 3.5 Termination of Membership Proposed addition of the following point: “Members are not entitled to a full or part reimbursement of paid membership fees when their membership is withdrawn or terminated” Constitution Section 3.3.b.vi Out of Port Membership was not defined in the old Constitution so a new definition has been drafted. It is proposed that the following sentence is removed from the definition: “The applicable membership shall be 50 per cent of the Full Adult subscription.” It was confirmed that once these amendments are adopted that the Club will be in compliance with current legislation. Information on the day to day running of the Club has been removed from the Articles and is included in the Club Constitution which means that changes can be made to the Constitution without reference to Companies House. The terms of membership have been clarified with full membership giving voting rights and associate membership none; out of port membership has also been clarified. Adoption of the amended Articles of Association and Club Constitution was proposed by Simon Wood, seconded by Colin Greasby and unanimously agreed. 6. Membership fees The only changes this year are to align the fees with the definitions in the Constitution. The Constitution defines the fees for Senior Membership, Student Membership and Family Membership as being half of the equivalent full rate. Membership Fee 2015/16 Fee 2016/17 Full Membership 145 145 Life Membership 1450 1450 Senior Membership 60 72.50 (65+) Student Membership 60 72.50 Junior Membership 60 60 (under 18) Family Membership 75 72.50 (Senior) Family Membership 30 30 (Junior) Out of Port 40 40 Membership Social Membership 30 30 Rack Fee (per Boat) 55 55 Adoption of these changes was proposed by Coralie Vial, seconded by Roly Lucas and agreed. 7. Other Business Security at the Club: There have been instances of items going missing from within the Club; recently this has died down but Tom asked for vigilance from all club members. There are new lockers downstairs, to be used for storing valuables; the key is to be returned after use. A proposal was made that all keys should be returned by midnight; the Club has a master key and has the right to open any lockers kept permanently locked. In addition the doors to the changing rooms are frequently propped open – they should be closed. If there is a problem with the door locks this should be reported to the House Steward (currently Enrique). The door to the carpark is new with a new keypad and that also should not be propped open. The code was given to those present. Club Kit: Buoyancy aids and seats It has been noticed that Club buoyancy aids, paddles and seats are being used in personal boats; these must be returned and are not to be stored in personal boats. If weights are used they are to be returned to their correct place in the gym; the gym is a shared facility. An embarrassing amount of worn clothes are regularly left in the changing rooms. Kasia Jenrusinka and Mike Pigott agreed to clear out such items frequently; they will be left initially in bin bags and then thrown away. Parking at the Club: We have limited car parking under Blade House and although it is recognised that we use more parking space than we are entitled to, it is not acceptable to block access. No parking is allowed on the ramp, in fact parking on the bottom of the ramp means that cars cannot get in or out. Parking at the Poppy factory is currently not allowed and members were asked not to park there or anywhere else on other people’s property. There is parking in River Lane and the Committee was asked to look into the possibility of parking at the Poppy factory. Safety on the water: i. Members have responsibility for their own safety and the safety of others. The river can be dangerous and using a buoyancy aid is an option. Coaches have discussed rules and if too many people are deemed to be at risk then these will be introduced. Juniors should not go out on their own unless they have permission in writing from their parents to do so. ii. Members were reminded to bear in mind other river users. Altercations with rowing boats were not acceptable. Although it was noted that members break the rules sometimes they were asked to steer clear of rowing boats, obey the rules of the river and keep right. Tom has met with the safety officer of the Rowing Club because the rowing launches do not obey the river rules. Tom is hoping to develop a canoeing version of the river rules, how to use the river safely. There is a need for flexibility – if coxless skulls are around canoeists need to shout and let them know that they are on the river. The BCU is looking for oversight of safety at races e.g. three people going on a safety management course.