Bournemouth University Boat Club

Bournemouth Boat Club are the very first Sports Club of the Year

Sports Club of the Year
Bournemouth Boat Club

“Approaching its 21st year, Bournemouth University Boat Club (BUBC) is proud to still be one of the universities most recognized and established clubs. The longevity of the club is a testament to the dedication of each member, and their desire to always do more.

From September 2013 the elected committee had only two returning members. Our President – Clive Green and our Men’s’ Captain- Joseph Watson who led an inexperienced committee into the year with high hopes. Facing an initial financial debt of over £400 they also tackled the challenge of a newly wedded coaching couple leaving, leaving only one remaining coach. The committee therefore went above and beyond their roles and responsibilities to implement financial plans alongside providing a strong presence at Fresher’s Fair to strengthen each squad’s pool of talent.The committee came to an agreement that £120 annual membership was enough to be self-sufficient yet competitive. They were highly aware that cost can be a barrier to the participation of new students and so, despite the debt owed, they committed to ensuring and communicating value for money.

Many other problems needed solutions throughout the year, the boat club lost their beloved boat maintenance officer, meaning they had no-one to tow the trailer or keep our combined assets worth over £30,000 up and running. However the committee rose to the challenge once again. Our President drove the trailer, despite having no experience, and put in place log books and plans meaning that, with students’ initiative, they were very quickly able to maintain all our assets themselves.

The club managed to sign up over 180 people on their contact list for presentation the week following fresher’s fair, and had over 100 people attend the presentation. With keen interest demonstrated by the questions and discussion on the night, the club felt confident going into three weeks of taster sessions that followed. The Boat club are one of very few clubs at BU that offer the chance to ‘try before you buy’. They feel this allows the students to make an informed decision and confirm their interest without having to stretch their student budget or pay membership only to have to claim it back if the club isn’t for them.

The club also provided transport free of charge through the SUBU mini buses during the taster period, which was a key contributing factor to the high attendance. Not only were the committee training at 7am for 2 hours, they also drove the SUBU minibuses to pick people up! Student members felt especially valued due to the extra effort in logistical planning to ensure the club could reach more students. The committee would also stay behind to coach the new cohort of students. This meant not leaving the boathouse until 2pm every Saturday and Sunday. This is a testament to the lengths the club will go to for its members and success.

Having a strong presence on campus through all modes of communication is key to attracting the right athletes, as well as promoting the hard work and great results BUBC delivers. That’s why BUBC over summer created a new website (bubc.co.uk) with everything and anything all members and associates would need to know or might just be interested in. It is updated and managed regularly by all members of the club.

The club also understands the importance of the wider community. The BU Boat Club has also established many close connections with local schools including Winton Media Arts College and Canford School. Members of the club help coach students using both school facilities and sharing equipment from the Union. This has helped to create strong and close relationships with both schools, leaving a positive and lasting overall impression of Bournemouth University Students.

The club is also continuously working to set up new fundraisers and charity events, as well as helping with volunteer projects. The large membership at the Boat Club, along with the large Alumni community allows the Boat Club to remain well connected within internal and external networks.

With a £2,500 grant from free-your-fitness and £500 from Sportivate, and the help of Mike Burke (head of sports) at Winton Arts Media College, the club could afford to hire the hall for their land training sessions on Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Any money raised and unspent this year will be brought forward making this a sustainable investment from which next years’ members can benefit. The boat club always ensures that all members are equally treated and continually seek to improve the club for the benefit of the members.

The boat club also help coach the school students on the rowing machines and have put on a training course over the Easter holidays that will not only raise funds for BUBC but also champion the sport of rowing at an early age.
Some of the seniors help coach at Canford School, with one having a part-time job under Canford School’s head coach – Ian Dryden. Ian has coached at Cambridge University, and also coached nationally in Australia. Alongside our volunteer head coach Jonathon, we also recruited another coach called Alan Kirkpatrick. Alan is a lecturer at Bournemouth University and has previously won the boat race with Oxford. His experience and belief in the club’s potential has been game changing.

On a lighter note, the club socializes after each race and ensure to provide non-drinking socials including meals out and paintballing, which is a real step forward for those students not interested in drink-culture. Friendships formed at BUBC last a lifetime, with Alumni still in contact regularly and a huge turnout for the Boat Club’s Annual Dinner.

This years’ Annual Dinner includes; A 3 course meal, Awards, Presentations and even more memories to take from this year, which is entirely organised by the students.

Our remaining aim is to qualify boat squads for the respectable Henley Royal Regatta in June. The most prestigious rowing race any crew can enter. Something BUBC certainly can achieve.”

Nominated by Emma Hiscutt, Student

What some of the judges said…

“Met by a lot of challenges in terms of resourcing and finance and so tackled this with ‘Try before You Buy scheme’ to make rowing accessible. Work with local arts college and schools to open rowing to a wider demographic. One of the few nominations that had a focus on successes as a club, striving for a place at Henley which is great to see.” Alec McKenzie, Endsleigh

Some comments from the night…

Sports Club of the Year award goes to @SUBUBournemouth #NUSAwards14

— NUS UK (@nusuk) July 3, 2014