President: Thomas Hallett
Hi, I'm Tom and I'll be President for VMBC for the 2013-14 season. I'll be ensuring that the club remains a "worthwhile sporting organisation with fitness and enjoyment at the forefront" as set out in the constitution. I'll also be representing the club to external entities such as Durham College Rowing (DCR), North East Rowing and British Rowing.
With all squads at nearly full capacity, I'll be looking to further utilise our current resources along with looking into securing new equipment for the club. My main aim will be to keep equipment up to the high standards required for our seniors to train with. I'll also be looking to formalise an Alumni organisation to ensure a strong future for the club.
On the rare occasion I'm not down by the river I study Mechanical Engineering.
Any members, new and old, are more than welcome to get in touch via email by clicking my name above.
Mens Captain: Patrick Clark
Hi everyone, I'm Patrick and your men's captain for the year ahead. I started rowing at York, and joined VMBC in 2011. I've been loving it, and hope you will as much as I do! :)
My job is to organise and plan land/water training, coaching, coxes and races for the senior men's squad. Whether you want to row competitively or casually, sweep or scull - I am here to help you achieve your aims.
If you have any questions or problems, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Other than that I hope you have an oarsome (oh dear :)) time on the river and with Mildert!
Womens Captain: Eleanor Willett
Hello, I'm Ellie and I'm VMBC's Womens Captain 2013/14. I started rowing when I came to Durham in 2011, and have loved every moment of it. I'm looking forward to getting more involved with the running of the club and hopefully improve what it already a great squad.
As womens captain I will be organising water sessions as well as land training. Any level of rowers are welcome, whether you want to row competitively and aim for the first VIII or a social rower and enjoy the wonderful sport. CGS (Cocktail and Gossip Socials) will be arranged termly or more often if we are in need of some more bonding.
Please come and chat to me if you have any questions and concerns, I will always be happy to help.
Novice Development Captain: Thomas Arney
Hi, I'm Tom, your Novice Development Captain for 2013-2014. It's my job to run the Novice Squad: if you're completely new to rowing, I (with the SCO) will organise your training according to British Rowing best practices and get you out on the Wear in the club's boats. Hopefully you'll be up to the senior squads' standards (if not better...) within two terms.
I'm also responsible for organising the coaches and coxes for the Novice Squad, so if you're a senior who wants to share the wisdom you've learnt with next year's novices, just ask!
Coaching and Safety Officer: Harry Inman
I'm Harry, your Coaching and Safety Officer for 2013-14. My job is twofold. Firstly, I assist all three captains in organising coaches and coxes for VMBC's outings on the Wear, as well as providing sufficient training for these individuals to do their job to a high standard. Secondly, my job is to keep everyone safe; making sure that everyone knows what they need to know in order that we can enjoy the sport as much as possible.
Coxing and coaching are great ways to expand your knowledge, and give something back to the club.
Contact me or one of the captains if you'd like a chance to coach or cox, or would like to know more about it - whatever level of experience you have. Have a look at the Resources page to see some of the material we use for coxing and coaching, to get a feel of it. I know it's unlikely, but if there are any safety queries which people have as well, get in touch.
Safe.
Treasurer: Emily Clark
Hi, I'm Emily and I am the VMBC treasurer. It's my job to keep on top of the many transactions in and out of the boatclub. I organise race entry fees, deal with any expenses claims and keep the cashbook updated. As treasurer I'm responsible for collecting your membership, race and stash fees. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or just catch me at the boathouse!
Secretary: Daniel Thompson
Hello!
I'm Dan your boat club secretary for this year.
As the secretary my main role is to support the president and both captains in club and competition administration. This ranges from collating race entries and organising rowers and equipment on race day, to taking minutes at exec meetings and being the public and British Rowing contact for the club.
I will also be sending out the clubs weekly email so get in contact if you want to include anything! If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to drop me an email, catch me around college or the boathouse.
Enterprise Officer: Frances Nuttall
Hello there,
My name's Fran and I will be your Enterprise and Alumni Officer for this coming year. I am currently a third (nearly fourth!) year mathematician and have been rowing for the club since I came to Mildert. I have loved my time at VMBC so far and as I see the club growing and becoming more competitive, I hope this next year will be even better!
There are three aspects to my role as Enterprise and Alumni Officer. Currently we are being sponsored by Ernst and Young, so I would like to maintain the sponsorship we have there as well as looking out for other opportunities to secure sponsorship. I will also be responsible for holding fundraising events so you will see me running VMBC stalls throughout the year. The final part of the role is organising events for our Alumni; fingers crossed the Novice Cup isn't cancelled or postponed until February this year!! (Or am I tempting fate already?!)
The club is growing fast, so it is becoming more important we have enough equipment for everyone to use. I will do my best this year to secure any sponsorship and raise money for the club. Here's to a successful year ahead :).
Social Secretaries: Rebecca Thomas Rose Earland
Hi everyone!!
We are Becky and Rose, and we are the boat club social secs for 2013/14. Our role is to organise all the social events within the boat club and get everyone involved! We have some great socials lined up which we hope everybody will enjoy. VMBC is well known for having some of the best socials so come along and join in the fun! xxx
Boatmen: Jonathan Sanderson Hugh Mccrea
Hi everyone, we're Hugh and Jon, and we are your boatmen this year!
The primary role of boatmen is to ensure all the equipment we use is in rowable condition. This involves pretty constant maintenance of the boats to keep them in shape, and (hopefully) infrequent larger repair jobs when something get broken. You also have to keep the boathouse tidy, and well stocked with spare parts.
The Wear is a hazardous river, so you're never short of anything to do, and the variety of the role keeps it interesting.
The position is suited to people who are practically minded and enjoy problem solving on a limited budget. It's a great way to get to understand more about rowing boats.
Remember, look after the boats, and they'll look after you on the water!
Webmaster: Eliot Voelker
Hey Guys,
I'm Eliot, currently in the first year of my Computer Science BSc. I am VMBC's Webmaster.
My job is to keep the website running. This includes a variety of things, but the main part of my job involves the outing sign up and account registration [at the moment].
There are a number of ideas that I have, and a list of things that I am going to try to get around to [mostly cleaning up code behind the scenes].
If anyone has any ideas for the website or stuff you would like to see, send me an email or tell me face to face (or carrier pigeon, I'm not fussy).
If anything is broken, or isn't working properly please let me know ASAP and I will get on it as soon as I can.