Annual General Meeting

THURSDAY MARCH 18th 2010 at 9 P.M. at the Club.

1. Election of the President – Ian Knight is proposed by the club committee
2. Apologies for absence
3. Minutes and matters arising from the Special General Meeting on 25th June 2009
4. Reports
   1. Hon. Treasurer – report and presentation for acceptance of the Annual Accounts for the year ended 31^st August 2009.
   2. Rowing Report
   3. Hon. Secretary
   4. Fund Raising
   5. Planning
   6. Building and Premises
   7. Bar
   8. Social
   9. Communications
5. Any Other Business
   1. Land and the indoor rowing centre
   2. Junior Rowing

Members wishing to suggest an item for discussion should have advised the Hon. Secretary beforehand on 020 8979 7161 or preferably in writing to 22 Vine Road East Molesey Surrey KT8 9LA or by e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

E M Bates, Hon. Secretary 8th March 2010

Much to the relief of athletes and coaches, the 2010 February Assessment for GB hopefuls was changed from Boston to Dorney Lake;  the venue for the 2012 Olympic Regatta. The three hour trudge for one long race, usually in standing waves, was altered for three races in a regatta format after a time trial to gain semi-final rankings before racing for final slots. Molesey Boat Club had athletes competing for both Senior and Under 23 vests; some as Caversham combinations, some as club combinations or composites and others in their singles.

Molesey Captain Andrew Triggs-Hodge and his perennial partner, Pete Reed from Leander, faced a spirited challenge throughout the regatta from ‘Alex and Alex’ of Leander Club/Reading Uni but the world silver medalists managed to win the Time Trial, Semi and A Final in commanding fashion over the two oarsmen from the World Championship winning four. A late pairing of Tom Solesbury and Tom James came together after their respective partners fell by the wayside and the Molesey duo finished 5th in the A final, ahead of the other Molesey duo of Mo Sbihi and James Foad. Mo and James, after placing 9th in the time trial, raced their semi-final with a well timed finishing sprint to beat a smooth looking Cambridge pair for the last A final spot in a very tight race. Sadly Ben Smith’s partner, Burkitt of OUBC, was already coming down with a virus and after a promising 8th in the time trial they fell by the wayside in the semi final.

Racing at Henley is always entertaining, whether in July or in February!  Molesey’s Club Squad decided to use the three divisions last Saturday as solid training sessions, each boat concentrating on their specific training over the last few months.  Many of the men’s squad raced 3 times in one day.   For a lucky few they had the golden touch with Tom Haworth, Tom Cunliffe, Jake Lea-Wilson & Nick Clarke winning in each race.  This is a strange accomplishment given that the first win of the day (IM1 4-) was in fact 3 seconds slower than the second win of the day (IM1 4+).  It seems the coxswain (Nicola Quinn Pyatt) managed to hold the steering straight allowing Nick Clarke to concentrate on rowing rather than writing his name in the Thames. 

The Golden Four (as some people now refer to them) were joined by Jack Shepherd, James Brown, Aaron Wilkins and Myles Neary (who had won a pot of their own, IM2 4+) to complete the hat trick of wins (IM2 8+).  At which point club coach Ed Green was heard shouting “You didn’t win by enough!”

But margins of wins aside, perhaps the most impressive feat is that almost all Molesey crews finished in the top 3 of their categories.  The day was the first opportunity for the squad to race at an open event this season and provided evidence that the training is having a positive effect. Next up is the Reading University Head where the squad will be looking to improve in the 8 on the way to the big one, the Head of the River Race where the squad will be looking to make it’s mark against crews from the whole of the UK