AGM 2026 Update

Please find below summary of the AGM held on 20 October. Please Note: This post also ncludes the speeches from the Chair and Youth Coordinator so is an extended post

AGM Tues 20 Oct 1900-2100

At New Inn, 222 Wimborne Road, Oakdale, BH15 2EL

Our AGM was held on Tuesday 20 October and all club members were invited. A majority of Committee members and Club members were in attendance with representatives from all areas of club activity totalling 38 attendees. The New Inn provided the private room Free of Charge.

The Agenda for the AGM

1. Serena Field – Chair presented a report of the work over the year; Julie Thomson presented a report of the Junior activity for the year. Both will be published separately, for those that could not attend.

2. The accounts of the Club were presented with a short summary of the expenditure and income generated. The Current bank balance of £8662, which excludes a separate contingency account for fixed outgoings such as container fees and insurance. General expenditure includes gig, oar and cushion oar repairs and maintenance as well as consumables for lifejacket servicing, gig pins, tallow, and bailing buckets etc

Club membership is at 78 adults and 13 juniors, with income highly dependent on rowing fees. With winter, this income drops due to rows being cancelled due to weather/safety restrictions until annual fees come in again in April. During this year Shells has generated income from breakfast baps and £1035 from the pub quiz nite. Additional income has been raised by Amanda and the bottle opener / art sales and Gina’s Sauna sessions.

New expenditure includes spend on our new Container that Serena successfully secured at the Marina. The Container was Free of Charge but there is a land rent to pay the marina. Two grants amounting to £3500 have been received and these will be channelled towards modification of the Container doors.

3. The officers and Committee for 2026-27 year were elected. All previous committee members that are standing again, were confirmed and Michelle (Shells) Bailey for Social Rowing Captain was uncontested and confirmed.

Men’s Captain, which was contested was voted in through secret ballot held at the AGM. A Q and A session was held prior to the vote and this was found to be engaging and informative and welcomed by those attending. The result of the vote (for which all members, excluding junior, can vote) was Adele Reynolds 17: Dave Fassam 18. Congratulations to them both for their preparation and statements submitted and their engagement in the Q and A session. The votes were counted and verified by Jo Gibbs and Sean Palka. The club is lucky to have had two great candidates and the vote result demonstrates the respect that is held for both candidates.

We are still looking for a Safety Officer and all Safety actions will be covered by the Committee in the interim.

Chairperson – Serena Field

Secretary – Ruth Gentry

Treasurer – Jo Gibbs

Ladies Captain – Bel Noyes

Men’s Captain - Dave Fassam

Junior Coordinator – Julie Thomson

Membership Secretary – Chris Coker

Safety Officer

Welfare Officer - Nicky Booth

Bosun - Paul Callaghan

Marketing Officer – Alina Stavarache

Social Rowing Captain - Michelle Bailey

Head Coxswain – Gary Hancock

Note: Whilst the Vote was counted Ruth Macpherson presented her new Travel Company, Not Just Travel. As a part of that business offer Ruth has kindly nominated PGRC to be a recipient of a portion of commissions that are generated.

4. Constitution Amendments

The following changes were proposed at the AGM

a) adding a reference to our own safeguarding policy at 6.0 and 6.3 was approved

b) requiring Junior Coxswains to be DBS checked at 6.2 was approved

c) clarifying the secret ballot at 9.2 and 10.21was discussed with good challenges raised. The change proposed enables the secret ballot to commence ahead of the AGM and to include all members i.e. not only those in attendance at the meeting. This was approved by a majority of 19 for and 8 against.

d) adding the Youth Coordinator role as a committee role at 9.19 was approved ,

e) expressing a quorum for Committee meetings as a minimum of 5 members at 10.21 rather than a straight majority was proposed and discussed. It was recommended from the floor that if there was not a majority attending the meeting and a matter arising required a vote, that such vote should be held outside of the meeting so all committee members were included.

The draft document and final document will be published separately.

AOB.

A discussion on advertising and promoting Gig Rowing in particular for Junior and Men’s crews was raised. Lizzy Amos, who produces a number of local news for a 16k readership has offered the club free advertising, which will be timed according to the requested of the Junior Coordinator and Men’s captain.

The Christmas Party was discussed and Shell’s proposal for a Boat Party was well received.

A question around Social Rows was raised as much of the AGM discussion had been around racing, in part due to the Men’s captaincy vote. It was noted that Social rows are sometimes not taken up by sufficient crews and that SportMember may not be being actively used by Social Rowers. FaceBook will continue to be used to advertise rows with SportMember used for booking attendance requests

Thanks to all attendees for turning out on a wet and wild Tuesday evening and to all those that contributed to the presentations and discussions.

Chair Speach

⭐ Poole Gig Rowing Club - Chair’s Report, AGM - 20 October 2026 Serena Field, Chair

Good evening everyone, and thank you for coming. This is my first AGM as Chair. I began last year as Ladies’ Captain and stepped up when our previous Chair stood down. Tonight I want to take you through the highlights of the year and, most importantly, say some thank yous.

⭐ Thank yous

Ruth, our Secretary, has done a sterling job. Many people don’t realise the sheer volume of communication that comes in: regatta requests, confirmations, changes, and chasing responses so we’re booked into the events we want. Over the summer it gets very busy. Ruth is looking for helpers next year, so please do have a word with her.

Our captains are the heart of the club. Bel has fielded superb ladies’ crews, often with three crews out on both a Monday and a Saturday. That’s a lot of juggling and admin every single week. Henry has had a tough year for men’s numbers, but he kept going and pulled together a squad for the Newquay Regatta. We had a fantastic weekend with really positive vibes for the year ahead. Thank you, Henry.

And Julie, our Junior Captain, took on her role as a non‑rower, not an easy thing to do. Thank you so much for what you bring, and congratulations to her daughter Amelia on outstanding performances at county, and national championships.

A special thank you to Gary, who has quietly and consistently supported our beginner training and foundation rows. He has been instrumental in welcoming new members, giving them confidence, and helping them take their first steps into gig rowing. That early experience shapes whether people stay, and Gary has made a real difference.

Paul, a new member, has stepped up as Bosun. He’s new to gig rowing and brings business experience and a calm head. We need more people to support him, so please do.

Thank you to Alina for keeping our marketing going.

And a very big thank you to Jo Gibbs, our Treasurer, for keeping the finances on track. Our running costs are high and pretty much match our income, and I know it worries Jo when the pot gets low just before membership renewals. Improving the club’s finances is a priority for the coming year.

Thank you to Nicky for working quietly and diligently as our welfare officer, we don’t always get things right as a club and Nicky help to keep us on track.

Thank you to Chris Coker who stepped up as membership secretary at a time of change, thank you for your patience and support as we work our way through Sportmember and how we introduce new members.

We say farewell on the committee to Joe Blackburn. Joe brought humour, musicality and downright quirkiness, a different side to the club. Nobody who saw the David Bowie row will ever forget it. We’re missing you, Joe, and hope to see you again in the coming months.

⭐ The year on the water

We attended all the key events. We fielded two crews at Three Rivers, and two ladies’ crews at the Isles of Scilly World Championships. These are new crews, finishing in very respectable positions. It takes a couple of years to build a crew, so that’s exciting for next year.

We also went to Swanage, Super Vets, Weymouth, Lyme and Bridport. We can hold our heads high: excellent finishes, consistent rowing, great attendance.

A big thank you to everyone who makes those days possible: towing boats, maintaining them, taking the Gazebo, and giving support.

A round of applause for everyone who raced for the first time this year: Tayab, Kate, Tracey, Chris and Vincent. It’s a big step, and you put your hands up, well done.

We’ve also seen great rowers come up from the juniors into our adult crews: Lily, Kai, Liz and Lucia. And this weekend, Kai and Henry won gold in the under‑25 open crew at the county championships. Brilliant.

And I want to give a special mention to our juniors who took part in the Atlantic Challenge in Denmark: Lily, Akai and Mason. Two weeks of endurance rowing, international competition, and sheer grit. Their achievements were outstanding, and they represented Poole with maturity, resilience and pride. They are the future of this club, and we couldn’t be prouder.

⭐ Assets and the plan

The club has great assets: two beautiful wooden gigs, three plastic gigs, and fantastic marina facilities. We’re spoiled with showers, toilets and dry feet.

The wooden gigs suffered in the hot summer, and we weren’t as good as we could have been at looking after them. A concrete step: get them in the water at least once a week in summer, and in winter judge how wet the weather is and still get them in. Keep the wet hessian in them. Tim at Western Point Classic Boat Builders has helped us, and the plastic gigs are running better after anti‑fouling. That was money well spent.

The container has been a slow burn, but the grant money is in and work has started. Within a month, I hope we’ll be storing oars, cushions and life jackets in it, which is better for our kit over winter.

As a founder member, I’ve seen how this club has grown year by year. We are incredibly well‑equipped. We don’t need more boats; what we need is more coxes, more rowing, and a clear understanding of our capacity. If we get our coxing strength right, everything else follows: more sessions, more development, more opportunities for juniors, under‑25s and men. That’s where our focus needs to be.

Our two‑year strategy is about stabilising the club: recruiting coxes and building capacity before we grow numbers. Our priority is young people, under‑25s, and men, to rebuild our men’s race squads. Recruiting men is a challenge for most gig clubs, apart from Falmouth, who have about six men’s race squads. I don’t know what it is about Falmouth, but six men’s squads is showing off.

Julie is looking at their academy model and a grant application, so we can learn from what others do. With the energy and commitment of whoever takes on the men’s captain role, I hope we grow the men’s squad this year. I’m also super excited about the youth squad and under‑25s.

And I want to say this clearly: I don’t mind who becomes Men’s Captain. It’s not about the individual, it’s about the effort we put in together, the support we give each other, and creating a real sense of team. Whoever is elected will have the full backing of the club, because that’s how we move forward.

⭐ SportMember

Thank you for engaging with SportMember. I haven’t had many complaints, and it makes the coxes’ admin much easier. If you’re getting too many notifications, bring your phone over after this meeting, or find me after rowing, and we’ll turn them off.

⭐ Fun and close

And the fun: bacon butty and coffee mornings, open days, Pirates Day on the Quay, and the Great River Race in London with our race crew and our Yabba Dabba Doo Flintstones crew. Austin and his gang rowed Ocean to City in a four‑oared gig, which I’d describe as a bold choice. I’m excited to see where our adventure rowers go next year.

I think we’re having an impact as a club. Let’s do it all again next year, and do more. Thank you.

Youth Coordinator’s Report – AGM 2026 - Julie Thomson

Growing our junior section and building our future

Our ambition has been to introduce young people to gig rowing, develop skills and confidence, create opportunities to compete and build friendships, while nurturing our future adult rowers, coxes, and club leaders. Since last year’s AGM, we have worked hard to strengthen the section, and I am pleased to report some real progress.

We have introduced new policies, a more youth-focused strategy and an improved onboarding process, developed in consultation with young people and families.

Recruitment through word of mouth and social media resulted in twelve taster rows. Unfortunately, two larger recruitment events were cancelled due to persistent, bad weather, but we have welcomed three new youth members this season. We now have ten young people rowing regularly, with a strong core of experienced and developing rowers, and a positive, welcoming atmosphere.

We recorded 29 weeks without rowing, due to historical issues, cox availability and, most significantly, unsuitable weather. However, we provided 33 separate training opportunities, supported by five coxes giving their time.

A particular thank you to the coxes who have taken rows this year, and especially to Bel, and to Matt Suter, whose return to the junior section in April was especially important. Us working together has enabled more regular rowing, recruitment opportunities, regatta attendance and an overall better experience for families.

I have built relationships with counterparts at Jurassic League clubs, allowing us to create composite crews for Lyme Regis and Weymouth regattas. I described our first outing at Lyme as “herding cats”! But getting young people rowing, gaining experience, developing skills and having fun is exactly the point.

Swanage was our favourite regatta. We fielded a strong Poole-only crew on a longer course with turns and finished second between Swanage A and Swanage B. With four of our rowers under 14, this was a particularly pleasing result, bringing very big smiles from the crew, Matt and me.

The rest of the regatta season was quieter, with exams, commitments and weather affecting attendance. However, the achievements of our Atlantic Challenge participants were a real highlight and a fantastic example of what young people can achieve with the right support. Huge thanks to Bel for her time and dedication with that. Current youth member Mason Walker was a key member of the crew, and his progress and connection with the Olympic pathway are equally exciting. His attitude and enthusiasm for every opportunity are exactly what we want to encourage, demonstrating the potential within our youth section – he is an excellent ambassador for the club.

County Championships and Junior Internationals

Our training then focused on developing newer rowers while stretching and challenging those trialling for Dorset or aiming for the Junior Internationals. Six young members were considered County standard, although Marley and Noah’s U14 Boys category could not progress due to insufficient crew.

Poppy and Amelia represented Dorset in the U14 Girls, Phia in the U16 Girls and Mason in the U16 Boys. All won silver medals, while Mason also raced up to U18 and secured bronze. It was fantastic to see our young people representing Dorset so successfully and building relationships with their county crewmates.

The following day, we fielded a full Poole crew at the Junior Internationals, with three of our strong U14s rowing up and one newer recruit experiencing competitive racing for the first time. Congratulations to Amelia, Poppy, Mason, Vincent, Phia and Marley, who finished eighth out of 39 crews overall and third out of 11 in the U16 Mixed category, narrowly missing the silver by just one nail-biting second.

It was a fantastic achievement after two long, demanding races, and a brilliant way to finish the season, demonstrating strong rowing, teamwork and club spirit. These results are about much more than medals. Every young person who improves their technique, gains confidence, supports a teammate or develops a lasting love of rowing contributes to our club’s future.

The team behind the team

The youth section relies on a wider network of support, and I want to thank everyone who has made this year possible. Matt’s commitment as Youth Cox Lead has been invaluable, alongside Bel who provides different perspectives, tips and drills with her wealth of experience. Henry has provided inspiration and valuable adult support, and our other adult support rowers have been vital in getting multiple boats on the water and enabling sessions to accommodate different abilities.

Thank you also to our parents, drivers, pontoon supporters, thinkers and tinkerers, and to Nicky as Club Welfare Officer. Whether you have helped with transport, planning, logistics or simply stepped in, it has made a difference. The youth section needs more adult involvement and planning than some other sections, and we have felt genuinely supported this year.

Looking ahead, we want to develop this network through Youth Ambassadors, mentoring, and stronger links between juniors, U25 members and adult rowers. We also need to develop more coxes and volunteers so that young people can learn from others and eventually support the next generation.

Priorities for 2026/27

Our priorities are to strengthen recruitment, develop our second-row strategy and deepen connections with local schools, youth groups, and other Jurassic League clubs.

We are developing a learning ladder and skills pathway, with young people directly involved. We also hope to offer more social and team-building activities, alongside fitness, technique, stamina and strength sessions, including land-based training when the weather prevents rowing. We need to put those no-row weeks to better use!

We are exploring funding for training, equipment and facilities, including a draft Sport England Movement Fund application focused on 11–25-year-olds. Suitable equipment, affordable kit and hardship support can help remove barriers to participation. Safeguarding, welfare, accessibility and inclusion remain central. We want every young person to feel valued and supported, whatever their experience, confidence, circumstances or medical needs.

Two of our club athletes demonstrate this particularly well. One of our U14 rowers, recently diagnosed with epilepsy, has continued to train and compete at the highest level, representing Dorset at the County Championships and winning medals at the Junior International Championships. Further up the club, one of our U25 rowers is also demonstrating what successes can be achieved while managing type 1 diabetes.

Both are impressive athletes and sportswomen, showing that rowing offers physical fitness, camaraderie, belonging, purpose and the confidence to pursue ambitions without allowing a diagnosis to define you.

Our long-term ambition is a thriving junior programme with the coaching, equipment, volunteers and community connections needed to grow sustainably. The committee has been extremely supportive, and I thank them for that. Ultimately, however, the youth section is a shared responsibility: recruitment, fundraising, volunteering and welcoming juniors into the wider club - all matter.

Conclusion

Rebuilding has required hard work, patience, and trust, and we should be proud of everyone who has continued to invest in our young rowers. We have welcomed new members, retained a strong core, created training and racing opportunities, and celebrated some outstanding performances. We have more to do, but we have a stronger foundation and a clear direction.

Youth are not simply the future of Poole Gig Rowing Club; they are an important part of its present. Strong youth programmes benefit the whole club, and we must continue committing the time, resources and collective effort they deserve.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year, and a thank you from myself and Matt to our juniors for their enthusiasm, resilience, and willingness to learn. They are brilliant young people, and they are the reason we do this.