Index

1. Where is everything ?
2. How is membership handled and Private Rack Rental ?
3. How do I get in ?
4. What is expected of me as a competent member ?
5. What Rowing and Gym Equipment is available and how can I get access ?*
6. Boat Booking Policy*
7. Can I just take out a single or bow steer a double/quad ?*
8. How is the Rowing Club organised ?
9. How do I get to a Regatta or Head Race ?
10. What do I need to know about the Falcon Rowing Trailer ?
11. Do we have a launch and how do I get access to it ?
12. Can guests use Falcon Rowing Equipment ?*
13. Is Paid Coaching permitted ?
14. How do we decide who can use a boat if there is contention ?
15. What on earth is Captains Permission ?*
16. Can I let a non-member use my private boat as I am already a member ?*
17. Who do I contact if I am not sure what to do ?
18. How do I report rowing equipment problem / boat damage ?
19. How do I book a room in the clubhouse ?
20. Can I row in the Dark and How do I use Boatlights ?

 

FAQ's

Where is everything ?

The Site contains the Clubhouse, a separate compound for Canoes, two boating areas (one in front of the clubhouse and one in front of the grass), the grassed area, a path to the pedestrian gate from the car park, a fence around the site with two gates (a pedestrian gate and a car/trailer gate) and, by extension, the car park between the site and Meadow Lane. Geographically we refer to River Side, Road/CarPark Side, Upstream and Downstream to orient around the site. The pedestrian gate is in the Road side fence, the car/trailer gate is in the Downstream/RiverSide site corner accessed around the front of SeaScouts. The Canoe compound is on the Downstream side of the site. 

The Clubhouse consists of two floors, with the lower floor used for boats and kayaks and a gym, and the upper floor containing changing rooms&showers, the Main Hall and Social Space. Access to the upper floor is via the external metal stairs to the upper floor, located on the RoadSide of the Clubhouse, and via interior stairs from the Main Lobby, which is located on the Downstream side of the Clubhouse.

On the ground floor, the river side of the Clubhouse holds 4 boat bays, 3 of which (Bay1, 2 and 3) are dedicated to Rowing equipment, and 1 of which (Bay4) is dedicated to the gym - the Bays are numbered in ascending order from the Upstream side of the Clubhouse to the Downstream side. Access to Bays1/2/3 is via a door on the Upstream/Riverside corner, or a door under the external stairs on the Road side of the building. Access to Bay4 is from a door in the Main Lobby. Also in the Main Lobby are an accessible toilet and a women's toilet, as well as a lift up the second floor. On the RoadSide of the Clubhouse are the Kayak bays (also on the Upstream side) and a Kayak Equipment Store, locate just to the right of exterior metal stairs. These are all accessed using keypads with PIN codes that are specific to the Kayak membership and not provided to Rowing members - these are not enabled for the fobs.

On the upper floor, the changing rooms are accessed most easily via the external metal stairs and these then have access into the rest of the building via the toilet facilities attached to each changing room. The Main Hall is located on the riverside of the building, above Bays1,2 and 3 and contains Rowing and Kayak erg machines as well as cupboards with additional fitness equipment. The Social Space is located above Bay4, and can be accessed via the internal stairs from the Main Lobby. The Social Space includes a light kitchen facility generally available to all members as well as a full kitchen are which is secured from general access and an emergency box containing materials for hot drinks in the event of cold water immersion when the cafe is closed. In the Road side/Downstream corner of the upper floor there is also a dedicated rowing Erg Room containing the RP3 rowing machines.

 

How is membership handled and Private Rack Rental ?

New Members apply using the online form on the website - before proceeding the prospective member must go through an assessment whose purpose is to ensure there is a good mutual fit between member and club. This is typically looking at the type of rowing experience desired and whether the club can provide it. Once approved in the assessment the application will proceed and the prospective member will be invoiced for 12 months membership from that date - once paid they are a full member and will be provided with a Fob (if purchased), accounts will be created on the various IT systems, and provided with a welcome letter. No partial year membership models are allowed, and full payment must be provided up-front.

Membership renewal is done by invoicing the member the month before the membership expires, if not paid before that date then they cease to be a member and are not permitted on site nor use of the club equipment. If there are problems with payment please advise the Treasurer of this and whether the intent is to renew or terminate membership. This will always be for a 12 month period, no rebates are permitted except under exceptional circumstances and with the agreement of the Rowing Captain.

Members with Junior membership are treated as Juniors from club policy perspective, regardless of whether they are under or over 18. Student members must be over 18 and are treated as Adults from club policy perceptive.

Coaching membership entitles the member to use the clubhouse facilities but not the rowing equipment except where it is essential to their coaching activities. In the case of coaches that provide a significant amount of voluntary time to the club then there is some discretion as to the amount they would be charged and the extent they can use the rowing equipment when not coaching. This will be determined on a case by case basis by the captain.

Private Rack Rental

Racking can be purchased on a 12 month basis, generally aligned with the membership cycle. Racks can only be offered by the Rowing Captain, and only current members may have a rack. Racking rights may not be passed between members, when the current entitlement expires and is not renewed by the member, the rack returns to the management of the Rowing Captain and will be reissued according to club priorities at that time. No rebates (e.g. for partial annual usage) are permitted except under exceptional circumstances and with the agreement of the Rowing Captain. Selling your boat to another member does not transfer rights to the rack rental as well - application of use of rack must be done separately with the Rowing Captain.

 

How do I get in ?

The pedestrian gate and all external doors to the Clubhouse as well as the Main lobby door to the Gym  are controlled with an electronic door lock system, and members can purchase fob's from their Membership Secretary which will activate these locks. In general the fobs will only work between 5am and 10pm unless a special event has been organised, and there are two classes of fob - Adult and Junior - the main difference being that the Junior fob will not open the door into the Gym. Access policies are still evolving to meet the needs of the club, so currently the gate lock and Main Lobby lock will remain open Saturday and Sunday mornings, once a member has entered the site on that day, to permit guests to use the breakfast service offered from the Social Space, when it is open (typically not on Red/Black flag days)

The car/trailer gate is secured with a combination lock, the code is known by the Captains, ViceCaptain and Boatman as well as by members who regularly transport the trailer. This gate can be reached by turning off Meadow Lane at the SeaScouts, and driving around the SeaScouts building towards the river, leading to a small meadow where the gate is located in the RiverSide/Upstream corner.

 

What is expected of me as a competent member ?

We define a "competent member" as a member with several or more years of rowing experience, who does not require regular supervision from a coach. They should be familiar with how the club is operated (see these FAQ's), the key members of the Rowing Committee (Captain, ViceCaptain, Boatman, Water Safety Advisor, Welfare Officer, Membership Secretary), and able to do basic maintenance of the rowing equipment they are using including necessary correction for all items in this Boat Readiness checklist. They must always perform a boat safety check, and should always do a Boat Readiness Check, each time they go out on the water, even with equipment they are familiar with. They should always book boats out using the Boat Booking Sheet, even if they are using private boats, Any boats that are not operating correctly or are damaged beyond their ability to fix should be reported using the Boat Damage Form as noted below. They must follow the water safety guidance as posted on this website in the Falcon Boat Club Activity and Safety Handbook and should comply with the club wide policies and codes of conduct, all posted in this website here.

 

 

What Rowing and Gym Equipment is available and how can I get access ?

Rowing Boats. These include a mix of different categories of club fine shell boats, and number of private boats (singles and doubles) and a set of Club Touring Boats. The club boats may been booked using the Boat Booking sheet that is distributed by email every Friday afternoon to all rowing members - this includes a set of rules about different categories of boats (Adult, Junior, Adult+Junior, Captains Permission) and who can book them. A map showing what boats are located where is posted in the noticeboard at the back of Bay1 as well as in the useful links page (ffs) and instructions on what blades to use are posted on that noticeboard and with the blades placed in between the bays on the RiverSide. See section on Boat Booking below for more information on how to do this.

Ergs. There are 8 Concept2 ergs (located in Main Hall, above Bay1) and 4 RP3 ergs located in the Erg Room. As the Concept2's are in a shared space then they must be reserved using the Clubhouse calendar (see useful links page), typically this would be for squad session, whereas for individual users we normally expect them to check the calendar in order to avoid the booked squad sessions and just turn up and use an erg without needing to make a Clubhouse Calendar booking. For the RP3's which are in a dedicated space and are also in much higher demand, a tab has been added to the Boat Booking sheet, for the purpose of booking RP3's. Due to their design, it has been decided these should not be moved except in exceptional circumstances (ie with captain permission, or in the case where they will be used in 4-linked mode in a coached session). If they are being moved then ideally three people should be involved for each erg moved, with two carrying and one clearing the way through doors and such like.

Please note that due to congestion being experienced especially on the RP3's during times of river closure/restriction (red flag or black flag) we are asking members to be more considerate for bookings during the peak use period (8am to 10am) of each day, making only 3 such advance bookings in a week and limiting the session duration to one hour, preferably staying with the defined slots. It may feel like there is not contention but experience shows that this is not the case, instead that some members are too polite to challenge others members excess usage.

Gym. This is available to all Adult members, provided they have met the qualification criteria, please see the Gym page for more details.

There are other equipment(s) provided for the use of Kayakers - club boats, paddle and ergs - but these are not available to Rowing members unless they have also purchased Kayaking memberships.

 

Boat Booking Policy

Each Friday afternoon an email is sent, usually by the Vice Captain and sometimes by the AIR Captain, containing googlesheet links to the current and next weeks boat booking sheet. This sheet is structured with two tabs - one for small boat (1x & 2x) and one for large boats (4, 8, Touring). Each boat has a row in the sheet, with weight range and registration code, and is colour coded (white means shared use between Adults and Juniors, yellow means dedicated to Adults and blue means dedicated to Juniors. and green means Training boats). In addition some boats have a "*" after their name indicating they are Captains permission only use (or Head Coach, in the case of Junior boats) - see elsewhere in FAQ for the purpose and meaning of Captain Permission.

We expect that members book boats before use, and unbook if they are not going to use them. This helps to prevent clashes over use or leaving boats dry on racks when someone wanted to use them, and also allows the club to assess which boats are in frequent use and which are not, guiding us on where to invest and where to disinvest in equipment for the club. 

Shared Use Boats. One further aspect is the Junior Squad booking priorities - there are two types of junior rowing programs - the Annual Junior Rowing Programme (AJRP) which operates during state school term time only, and Junior Summer (or Holiday) Rowing Courses (JSRC) which operate mostly in the Summer but optionally in other holidays as well. For the AJRP, there are reserved slots in the booking sheet outlined in red, that identify when the coached sessions will run, and during these sessions Juniors have priority access to the the shared use boats. We expect these boat bookings to be done at the start of the week (by end of Sunday), so adults can see when shared boats are not in use and can then book them. However should Junior needs change, even on the day, they do have the right to ask the adult to release the boat if it has been booked in one of these slots. The club expects this to be done sensitively and only as a last resort and infrequently. For the Junior Summer Courses (and other holidays as relevant) there is no priority booking for Juniors - it is done on a first come first served basis - and the reserved slots identified for the Annual Programme no longer apply during the school holidays. Our experience is that conflicts can usually be managed with a constructive conversation between the two parties and a bit of flexibility on both sides - please escalate to the Captain or Vice Captain where this has not been satisfactory resolved.

Double Booking. One ask to members is to not double book boats - i.e. if you intend to go out in a four but are not sure everyone will turn up, please book the four as intended, then unbook it once you know its not on, and then book whatever small boats are available at that time. If you double book (or even just book the small boats "just in case") in advance you may well be preventing other members from legitimate use of the small boats. Given the irregular hours of many of our members you can never be certain there is no demand for a boat.

 

Can I just take out a Single, or Cox/Bow Steer a Quad/Double/Eight ?

Coxing is a critical skillset on the river, especially given the nature of the Isis and the presence of other traffic that may have varying levels of navigation competence at the 'steering wheel' - so its not just the ability to steer a good line, but also the ability to assess the other traffic on a particular part of the river and how to minimise risk of collision. A similar consideration applies for bow steering of doubles and coxless fours/quads with the added complication of having to row at the same time and looking in the wrong direction. For this reason we have particular criteria to meet before being allowed on the water without supervision from the bank. This is less critical in a single but we will still expect, for less experienced singlers, that they have completed an observation test but a club official before they use club single without supervision. This can be done by a squad captain, club captain/vice captain, a club coach or other such person representing the club, ideally on the Rowing Committee.

To determine if a person is capable as a Bow Steer or a Cox they must be assessed by a qualified club representative. The "Coxing and Bow Steering Competency" guideline is in the "Falcon Boat Club Activity and Safety Handbook" on the Club Policies page and gives an indication of the criteria used for this assessment and what is recommended at different levels of competence which in turn defines who can go out under different river conditions - pls see the Club Activity and Safety handbook. The list of known qualified bow steers and coxes is here - if you see missing names or feel you should be on it please contact your squad captain. The form to add a bowsteer/cox to the list can be found here but should only be used by club officials.

 

 

How is the Rowing Club organised ?

The Rowing Club, which is a part of Falcon Boat Club (there also being the Kayak Club and Canoe Club - both require additional membership separate from Rowing), is managed by the Rowing Sub Commitee which is accountable to the membership, of course, but legally to the FBC Trustees. There is a constitution at the FBC Trust level, available on the website, but no specific Rowing Constitution at this time - this is a work in progress. To date the Captain is elected by members, and then the Captain will appoint the Commitee members as they see fit.

The Rowing Club is divided into the following, in some cases loosely defined, squads where each has typically 20 to 50 primary members :

• Adult Independent Rowers - mainly consisting of self organising experience rowers who will form their own crews and make their own decisions about training, outings and racing - including securing coxes and coaches as needed.
• Development Squad - a mix of men and womens, typically of intermediate ability, who are organised into crews and have coxes and coaches associated, formally or informally.
• Club Squad - all members can participate, and on an ad-hoc basis, with crews formed on the day, and assigned coxes and coaches. Regular scheduled outings are run by the coaches and members book in using squadlist (see useful links). Its a great place to meet other members and a good way for the more casual rowers to get on the water without making extensive recurring commitments.
• Learn2Row - recurring scheduled courses run by John Hill and Andy Munro, intended to introduce the basic principles of rowing to beginners. At the end of the course the attendee can decide to continue rowing, at which time they would become a member, and can join the Club sessions, join the Development squad or perhaps form an independent crew single scull and join AIR's.
• Touring Squad - Falcon has a number of wider frame boats intended for long distance touring. set up for sculling. Outings are announced via email to the membership and sometimes scheduled on squadlist, and they will often plan over major long distance events across the country and sometimes abroad. 
• Junior Squad - managed by the Junior Head Coach, this is aimed at Juniors of age 11 to 17, and operates as a separate entity for safeguarding reasons from the rest of the club. They have a well defined schedule designed to accomodate school hours, and use professional qualified coaches in organised session, especially during the term times.

None of these squads, apart from L2R and Junior Squad, are exclusive and members may participate in more than one at a time as suits them, though ideally they should always associate with one squad as a primary preference.

The club has a Welfare Office and Water Safety Advisor, and there are notices posted around the club and on the website with contact details. Similar roles exist for Kayaking/Canoeing, and there is strong collaboration between these functions across the clubs where appropriate.

 

How do I get to a Regatta or Head Race ?

There are two types of racing commonly encountered - Regattas that are usually in the Summer months, and typically involve side-by-side racing of 2 up to 8, with multiple rounds of racing, and Heads racing which is a timed row over a defined distance where the boats are set off one after the other. There are some additional rarer types of racing, such as Bumps racing as seen in Oxford and Cambridge University which are limited to University members - however CORC offer a Bumps race in Spring on the Isis. 

Falcon has established a preferred regatta season where, if sufficient interest, the club will support crews in attending - as this usually requires trailering there is a fair amount of logistics planning involved since at present Falcon has only one trailer dedicated for rowing, and someone needs to be able to tow and have a suitably vehicle to do this with. To this end the Vice Captain maintains a planning schedule that looks at both trailering needs and specific regatta attendance and associated needs, such as payment. This is maintained in a googlesheet here under the control of the Club captains and Junior Head Coach - this URL is also in the useful links page here.

Once there is sufficient interest in a regatta, someone will have to volunteer to organise that regatta for the club, managing logistics and co-ordinating with the Vice Captain on attendance. In the trailering schedule are the regatta dates and the booking opening and closing dates, when made available. Almost all regattas are booking via British Racing, using a tool called BROE2, and only official club representatives are permitted access to this, so bookings are generally done by the Vice Captain. Payments to BR are made by the Club, on a per seat basis, and recovered from the member by the Vice Captain. Changes to the crew line-up can be made until quite late in the day, so often crews are booked early to secure the spot and then change as peoples availability changes - however payments cannot be recovered unless the event is cancelled for some reason. There are some private regattas held, not part of BR, that do not for example accumulate "points" for the competitor and these are booked directly - an example are the Isis Winter League head races held by Oxford University across the winter months.

More information in general on racing can be found here on the British Rowing website.

With regards to towing trailers, this can be done by members or non-members using suitable vehicles (falcon rowing trailer loaded weights listed below - check your cars V5c) and who are competent and licensed to tow (category B&C - check your license with DVLA website). The driver should have insurance for their own vehicle and this should allow them to tow a trailer - the trailer itself and the equipment on it (boats, blades, etc) are covered by Falcon Boat Club insurance, as below. The policy covers use in the UK, and requires driver to be competent, car to be suitable for towing trailer+boats, and proper securing of boats to trailer, and the trailer to be mechanically sound.

Where the trailer does not belong to Falcon but some of the boats do, then the Club insurance covers the club boats, private boat owners must have their own insurance, the car driver and car is as above, and the trailer owner must have their own insurance - otherwise the same conditions apply as described above.

Yacht and Boat Club Policy with Mercia Marine - Policy Number 08/202154. Insurance Broker is Neil Tuvey of Bishop Skinner Marine, Neil.Tuvey@Marsh.com, 07551 128004.

Note that frequently we share cars/trailers with other local clubs like CORC (Captain : joheymannrowing@gmail.com, OARC Chairman : nick-chandler@live.co.uk) and local boatman such as Mark Seal (Boatman@lmh.ox.ac.uk). Falcon regatta organiser can reach out to these parties to work out what is possible/needed.

What do I need to know about the Falcon Rowing Trailer ?

The club now has two trailers, a lightweight deGraaf RB1200/2, and a heavier RB2000/22/4, with a modified rack setup.

We are now using PTS Campers and Trailers for servicing, run by Peter Williams. mobile +44 7483 116860 - last servicing on both trailers was done in May2024. 

Small Trailer : Unladen weight is 600KG, Max load is 1200 KG. Fully loaded with boats+riggers+oars this will be about 1000KG.

• It can take 3 x quads on the upper level, but no quads on the lower levels due to risk of contact with the towing vehicle. A sample loading plan is in a tab on the Regatta Trailering Schedule. 
• The boat ties are kept in a bag in the black cupboard at back of Bay2/3. The wheel locking nut for the trailer wheels is in the pocket of the bag.

Large Trailer : Unladen weight is 980KG, max load is 2000KG. Fully loaded with boats+riggers+oars this will be about 1600KG.

• It can take 6x quads on the upper 2 levels, but no quads further down. 
• See attachments below for DoT Certificate of Weight and original invoice from DeGraaf

There is in inspection checklist for the trailer (tba) and this includes checking the wheel nuts for the safety indications.

 

Do we have a Launch and how do I get access to it ?

Falcon owns a launch, currently serviced and maintained by CORC, and moored down at Isis Lock. The registration code is COX902 and its use is governed by the below agreement, reaffirmed in early 2023 between Falcon and CORC Club captains. General agreement is that Saturday mornings CORC will have priority use, and Sunday mornings are priority for Falcon. All other times are first come first served with any conflicts to be negotiated by the club captains if the requestors cannot resolve this. A google calendar, here, has been established to manage access, with write access granted to Rowing Captain (Jon Crooks), Rowing ViceCaptain (Mary Heather), Junior Head Coach (Nick Kenworthy Browne), and Kayak Performance Coach (Edo Righelli). Any drivers must be RYA2 certified - equipment, key and tools are secured in the Clubhouse - please contact one of the aforementioned if you require access. Considering fuel, the Launch is always left with a small amount of fuel (0.5L) in the tank and the user should bring their own fuel in a suitable container, ensuring that 0.5L is left in the tank having returned the launch to the mooring. A guide to how to use the Launch is included at the bottom of this page / here. Insurance for the launch and its use is secured by CORC, and depends on the driver having RYA2 certification.

 

Can guests use Falcon Rowing Equipment ?

The overriding principle here is that members have paid their subscriptions and can reasonably expect priority access to club equipment over non-members - likewise members subscriptions pay for boat maintenance and repair as well as housing costs, and its unfair if non-paying guests have unlimited access to the equipment. Keeping this in mind we are happy for members to take a guest out in club equipment on occasion but if it becomes a regular activity we expect the guest to become a member - to try to define regular, we can say that a guest using club equipment more than 5 times in a year should become a member. We do require members to advise the Captain of any guests using club equipment before hand, providing their name, DOB and email contact to the membership secretary- this will qualify them as temporary members and ensure they are covered by club insurance. Guests should always be accompanied by the member, whether in the boat or bank riding, and it is the members responsibility to ensure the guest is competent to be on the water and rowing and they may not use Captains Permission equipment. We generally would not allow a member to have more than one guest on the water at a time, unless special circumstances apply, to be agreed with the Captain. We would also expect the members to keep the guests they bring to a reasonable minimum (ie no more than 5 per year) and considering the original principle, using 5 x 5 guest visits would be discouraged. Special cases will always occur, such as visiting boats clubs and these will be evaluated on a case by case basis - anything that enhances the reputation of the club will be considered favourably. 

Composite Crews - to be clear, non-members using Falcon equipment in a composite crew are still considered to be guests and the above restrictions still apply. If there is a special reason behind operating a composite crew please make a request to the Captain with all the relevant details - purpose (e.g. targetting a regatta), individuals concerned,  frequency and timing of outings, duration of crew, equipment to be used.

 

Is Paid Coaching permitted ?

There are two scenarios here - firstly where members use paid coaches (who may or may not also be members) and secondly where members provide paid coaching to non-members. The third scenario of non-members providing coaching (paid or otherwise) to non-members is not permitted without some very special circumstances attached, to be assessed by the Captain.

For the first scenario, this is permitted and encouraged - ideally the coach should have appropriate BR qualifications but this is not mandatory - the member is responsible for their own safety in this situation.

For the second scenario this is permitted under certain circumstances - the member (coach) must pay the club a fee (currently £10 per session per client) for use of the equipment, they should ensure their sessions do not inconvenience members, so ideally using off-peak time slots, they must get permission from the Captain and they may not use Captains Permission equipment. They do need to provide the clients name, DOB and email address to the membership secretary before hand so they can be enrolled as temporary members to ensure club insurance covers them,

How do we decide who can use a boat if there is contention ?

Where the contended boat is required by two or more crews for regatta racing and sharing is not an option then the principle is the crew most likely to win a medal gets priority - this is not entirely in line with Falcon culture but it does simplify decision making. Note that this is not the same as being the faster crew as BR racing categories will apply making adjustments for age and sex. This decision also applies for training for the regatta, noting that a crew that has committed to a regatta carries more weight than one that has not yet.

Other considerations apply, both for regatta racing and non-regatta rowing, including the level of commitment of the crew (how often are they going out, are they all club members, are they regularly participating in Sunday heads, are they getting BR IA2+ quality coaching and so on) and at a lower level of priority, are they making significant contributions of their time to the benefit of the club (past and present). Ideally the crews should try to work this out between themselves, sharing boats as much as possible - if this proves impossible then they should contact the Captain or Vice-Captain (chosen at the members preference, for example where either the Captain or Vice Captain may be a member of one of the crews seeking access) to work out a resolution. It should not be assumed that unsuccessful resolution will allow a crew to escalate to Captains Permission boat though this will be considered in the case of regatta racing, on an exceptional one-of basis.

What on earth is Captains Permission and how do I get it ?

This can be a major bone of contention in rowing clubs so we have prepared a fairly detailed document to explain this and also capture who has Captains Permission and for what equipment and in what role (rower, bow steer, cox). As a brief overview, it is a way of protecting the best rowing equipment (and all such boats are marked with a "*" after their name in the Boat Booking sheet) and at the same time introduce something material to aspire to, to encourage members to commit and invest in their rowing skills. These are guidelines and not to be used in a 'court of law' - ultimately the Captains judgement will apply, though it would be most unusual for a Captain to reach a conclusion without consulting with other club representatives (Vice Captain, Coaches, Boatman, Squad Captain etc.) and securing a strong consensus.

Note that sometimes a member will ask if they can use a Captains Permission boat because their preferred boat is already booked at their outing time. Normally the answer will be to find a better time for the outing, in some cases the Captain or ViceCaptain may grant permission, but unless specifically stated at the time that this is a permanent grant, this will ALWAYS be a one-off grant. If the members name is not in the Captains Permission sheet (See below) against a particular boat then they do not have have permission to use it outside of the one-off grant. 

The document is posted on google sheets here. Write permission is limited to the Captain and the Vice Captain.

Can I let a non-member use my Private Boat as I am already a member ?

The short answer is, where it exceeds the aforementioned "Guest" model, this is not encouraged for occasional use (e.g. >1 week and <2 weeks in the year) and for extended use (e.g. >2 weeks in the year) this is not permitted. The maintenance of the clubhouse facility, including the building, boat bays, deck etc is paid for with members annual fees and its unfair on paying members for a non-member to be able to use these facilities without paying to do so, even if that person is not actually using club rowing equipment - it is still being racked by the club. Of course there may be special cases that apply, and these should be presented to the Captain for consideration before hand - if it is particularly demanding a request this may require approval by the Rowing Commitee or even the Trustees, so such requests should be presented well ahead of time.

Who do I speak to if I am not sure what to do ?

The club is very loosely organised, without rigidly define squads and coaches. That said everyone is part of at least one squad, and possibly more but should identify with a primary squad for first point of contact.

L2R : John Hill

Mens Dev Squad : Mens Development Captain

Womens Dev Squad : Womens Development Captain

Masters Squad : Captain, Vice Captain

Adult Independant Racers : AIR Captain

Touring : Touring Captain

If all else fails then reach out to the Captain, Jon Crooks or Vice Captain, Mary Heather Bethray.

Club wide communications are done via email using a google group. This is a broadcast mailer so you can't reply to it and only a specific set of people can use the mailer. If you are not getting the Friday emails with boat booking links then something is wrong - either you are using a different email address to the one you joined with, or your email address is not in the googlegroup or the club email are going into the spam folder - please contact the Membership Secretary after you have checked your spam folder. Today a lot of intra-squad organisation is done by WhatsApp groups, so speak to your squad captain(s) to be added if you are not on the ones you are interested in. If you feel that these squads are not giving you what you are looking for please contact the Vice Captain and discuss with her your needs - there is a good chance there is a group of people who would welcome you as an addition to their group. In the future we will improve this intra club communication model with better tools, as we are researching club management applications to take on more of the load of operating the club.

 

Why and how do I report rowing equipment problems / boat damage ?

We are a small club and cannot afford to retain a 'boat man' on a salaried basis - all rowing equipment including boat repairs are done by volunteers, or for more serious damage/repairs, subcontracted typically to Mark Seal. Given the amount of equipment in the rowing bays it's impossible to survey all the equipment on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis for damage. We need members to report damage when it happens, so we can take quick action to contain the damage (an unreported crack in a boat hull can allow water ingress causing further avoidable damage over time). The club recognises that some people may feel apprehensive about reporting damage, and its important that we reassure them - we aim to avoid a blame culture, instead seeking to learn from our mistakes and "do better next time". Accidents will happen, some are avoidable, some are not, but on the balance the club believes no member is intentionally careless and we are equally confident that in such cases, self administered criticism very likely will significantly outweigh any club administered criticism, and be far more effective in improving future behaviours. All we ask is that members report damage in a timely manner, and seek to learn from the experience and take steps to avoid repetition where possible, whether the incident was due to their own actions or from external factors such as high winds etc.

The google form for reporting damage is here, and is posted as QR code around the club.

Note that not all damage should be passed to the boatman, there are some basic maintenance tasks that all competent rowing members should be able to carry out as listed in this document. Unless properly trained the member should stop at this level and not attempt more serious repairs, (such as hull cracks and holes, broken riggers ot mounting points etc) or adjustments, (such as making rigging changes to span, tilt, gearing, etc.

 

How do I book a room in the clubhouse ?

There is a clubhouse google calendar set up for this purpose - it can be viewed by all members but only edited by a small group, primarily including the Trustees and the Captains. The calendar is colour coded for the different parts of the club, including Cafe, Upper Hall 1 (where the Kayak and C2 ergs are located), Upper Hall 2&3, Gym and an option to book the entire Upper Hall. Generally a booking should be approved by the Captains and Chairman, but note that not many members check the calendar so may not realise an area has been booked. If its a significant event its worth putting up a notices and sending a reminder to the Captains beforehand, but please be polite to members who may not realise there is a booking. Also please note what else is going on in the Upper Hall as there can be overlaps between activities that need to be managed. Specifically the Saturday morning Cafe can spill out into Upper Hall 3 sometimes so its worth advising the Cafe Management Staff (Matthew and Sandra, from Sept2024) of any such activities that might overlap.

When attempting to book a room, such as the upper hall, for non club related activities, such as a private party or a local School Governors Meeting, you should consider if it aligns with the policy agreed by the Trustees. As a summary, and this may be subject to change, events that are private or corporate in nature will not be allowed except under exceptional circumstances, events which are demonstrably to the benefit of the local community are likely to be approved. To get permission you should contact a Facilities Commitee member detailing the nature of the event and organisation involved, what is required of Falcon in terms of logistics and facilities (when, where, how long) and who will be managing the event (ideally a club member). Depending on what is being considered it may be necessary to have completed a risk assessment which is the responsibility of the sponsoring club member to secure.

Can I row in the dark and how do I use the Boat Lights ?

Rowing at night is not permitted when using Falcon rowing equipment and we strongly discourage members from going out in private boats. We do allow rowing at dusk when there is some visibility after sunset - however it is mandatory to have effective boat lights mounted on the boat and turned on. Members should be conscious that other river users may not be so conscious of the EA rules or may do so but not make themselves effectively visible by using weak boat lights. Falcon provides two types of boat lights - directional (30degree) clip-on lights (similar to bicycle lights) for 1x and 2x and drop-in pillar lights with 360deg emitters for 4's and 8's. Adhesive mounts for 1x and 2x are available in the CoxBox cupboard, and by end Nov2024 all the club 4 and 8 seat boats will have been fitted with light cups into which the pillar lights can be inserted for an outing.

All club lights are stored on the wall board by the corner side door to the boat bays and can be charged using the plug in cables provided there. The pillar lights should be inserted upside down in the charging shelf, and a USB-C cable plugged into the port on the exposed bottom of the light. The clip-on light have a micro USB side mort behind dust plug in the side of the body, and can be hung from hooks on their charging shelf, and have micro USB cables plugged in.

Removing the clip-in lights from their mounting clips requires a specific technique - holding the body of the light with your right hand, use the index finger and thumb of your left hand to gently pinch the end of the clip, exposed from the mount, and push with your left hand towards your right hand, moving the clip through the mount by about 5mm until it stops. Then release your left hand and use your right hand to continue to slide the light out of the mount. This does not requires any force - if you are having to use force then something is wrong - watch this video of it being done and try again.

Private boat users are welcome to permanently take a pair of adhesive boat mounts if there are enough spare in the Cox Box, and borrow club lights for outings on the Isis (but not to take away from Oxford) - in case there is a shortage of lights, members using club boats should have priority, however in this case please let us know so we can expand capacity.