Who is the KCC Committee?
Kingfisher Canoe Club is (dis)organised by a committee that is elected by the membership yearly at its AGM.
It’s principle goal is make sure that the club is run in a responsible way that provides the activities and resources that allow the membership to enjoy paddling as much as possible.
The committee meets regularly to discuss and action anything that affect the running of the club, from beginners courses to site maintenance, and reports back to the membership whenever necessary. Currently the committee consists comprises of:
Louise Royle – Chairman
Louise joined the KCC in 1983 when her hair was still ginger. She enjoys mainly white water river and weir paddling, but has occasionally been seen in open canoes and sea kayaks over recent years. Having been coaching within the KCC since 1984 (as well as the Pathfinders Canoe Club whist her 2 kids were growing up) she is hoping that some younger folk are now good enough paddlers to fish her out when needed. Somehow she has been on the committee for over 20 years in one disguise or other.
The chairman is an ambassador and spokesperson for the club as well as being responsible for running the committee. As such Louise leads the committee in making decisions for the benefit of the the club as well as representing the club to public when needed.
Simon Knox – Secretary
Simon used to paddle with Pathfinders Youth Canoe Club when he was a young lad but then became a student and stopped for many years until he grew up and joined Kingfisher. Since then he’s remembered how to paddle and tried not fall out of his kayak to often.
The secretary is the first point of contact for the club and is responsible for internal and external communications. Additionally Simon looks after the administrative duties of the club; BCU affiliation, meeting agendas etc.
If you have any questions for the club or any information you would like communicated to its members (at meetings or via email or the club website) then you can contact Simon at kcc.membership@gmail.com
Duncan Sneddon-Membership Secretary
Duncan joined KCC as a beginner in May 2010 after deciding that paddling was fun when his flatmate threw him down the river Kent on a snowy February morning. This was the first time he had been in a boat in over 10 years and this resulted in a wet but fun day. Prompted by this, Duncan joined KCC with the aim of having fun and learning to keep his head dry. This has been mostly successful but can still be seen sunning the underside of his boat from time to time.
The Membership Secretary deals with membership requests, applications and administers the membership list. Any enquires about joining the club, paying membership fees should be directed to the Duncan You should also let him know about a change of address or phone number. You can contact the Duncan at kcc.membership@googlemail.com
Nathan Lenehan- Equipment Officer
Nathan has an obsession for white water and Pyranhas -fortunately these being of the plastic type! His first one being a red Pyranha Acrobat 270 way ‘back in the day’. He currently owns a Pyranha Burn and Pyranha Rev and these can been seen usually river running or playboating or surfing when his aging body allows.
KCC keeps a fleet of kayaks and canoes for running courses and the use of club members. As the equipment officer Nathan is responsible for the upkeep of this equipment. He maintains a list of what equipment the club owns and its condition advising the committee if any new kit needs to be purchased or of any repairs that are needed.
You should advise Nathan if you wish borrowing any club equipment outside of normal club sessions.
Nick Smailes – Treasurer
Nick has been paddling since he started university and has been a member of KCC since 2009. Nick lives by the motto “It doesn’t matter what you paddle or where you paddle, what matters is you’re on the water.” However if given the option he would much prefer to be somewhere warm where the water’s big.
As treasurer Nick is responsible for the clubs finances; collecting monies, paying bills and keeping accurate records. The treasurer make regular reports to the committee on the clubs financial health so it can make informed decisions on how to use club funds. You can contact the Nick at kcc.treasurer@googlemail.com
Guy Davies – Editor
Guy Davies is the editor of the club magazine; the Trasher. News, articles or photos for the Trasher are always gratefully received and should be sent to Guy at kcc.trasher@gmail.com
Roger Whiltshire – Coaching Coordinator
If it floats then Roger has probably paddled it some where or other some where between the south of NZ and several hundred miles above the Arctic circle. A member of KCC since the year dot he has been coaching Oxfordshire paddles of all shapes sizes and variations. He is most at home on a remote camp site or beach with a camp fire and perhaps a noggin or two and if possible the company of his dog. He is far to old to care about fashion but those Crock wellies do it for a lot of people.
The Coaching Coordinator is responsible for helping members develop their paddling and coaching skills, pointing them in the right direction to obtain the training they require to do this (both from within the club and from external providers).
If you want to do a specific course of aren’t sure what skills you should be aiming to develop then have a chat with Roger.
Dave Surman, Leanne Brough & Vicky Rolls
Ordinary members of the committee take part in committee meeting and help to shape the way the club is run. If you have anything you would like to bring to the attention of the committee then either Dave, Hilary or Vicky would be glad to bring it along to the next meeting.
Dave has been member of Kingfisher Canoe Club since 1986. His main interest is in whitewater kayaking and has paddled in Europe, North and Central America and Asia. He has written for Canoe Kayak and contributed the Abingdon section in the new guide book Pub Paddles.
Dave thinks he started the Blastathon about twelve years ago as well as a number of other adventures like the twinning relationship with Argentan and the Ock Boatercross and Wavehopper Race and drinking nice coffee. Dave`s other interest is in the development of youth whitewater paddling in his role as Chairman and Coach at Pathfinders Youth Canoe Club.
Leanne joined the club in August 2010 so is a relatively new member but a keen paddler. Her training started at the young age of 10; it was very technical and consisted of getting in a canoe (after falling in the river first a number of times) being given some paddles and being told to paddle. Unfortunately it hasn’t gone much further. Leanne spends her time mainly paddling on the River Thames although in Feb 2011 ventured to Wales for a taster in white water and loved it!
Vicky has been a member of Kingfisher Canoe Club for some time – probably about 10 years. She is a coach with Pathfinders and indeed the Welfare person for both Pathfinders and Kingfisher. Although Vicky prefers to be on a whitewater river – somewhere exciting – most often she can be found on the the Thames training people to rescue her!
How to become a committee member and help run the club
Currently there is a vacancy for an ordinary member of the committee, if any one would like to volunteer then please let us know.
Any member can stand for any position on the committee at the annual AGM. We would encourage you to do so as help in running the club is always appreciated.
If you have any questions about the committee or the club in general then please feel free to approach a committee member and ask.
