Staff & Committee

Staff

We have a team of 6 permanent staff who look after the daily running of our Club to ensure we offer the best facilities and service for our Members.  They are supported by an army of casual staff who help with rescue, catering and teaching courses.

Committee

Contact Committee

Please use the form below to ask questions or send feedback to the Committee.

Committee Info

General Committee:

What does it do?

The General Committee (GC) is responsible for the management of the Sailing Club.  Although the Club has a Manager and employees, all authority is delegated from the GC.

Committee Members become Directors of Draycote Water Sailing Club and carry the legal responsibility for this role.

GC members have multiple roles: to vote on Club decisions, each member has an equal vote; to assist with the work of the Club; and to act as ambassadors for the Club.

The GC is elected at the AGM in November and disbands at the AGM the following year.  They meet 11 times per year, on the second Tuesday of each month, excluding November.

Who does what?

The Committee has five ‘Flag Officers’ who have specific responsibilities.

  • The Commodore has overall lead of the Committee and the Club; they also line manage the Club Manager. They chair the Committee meetings and take on other responsibilities where they have particular strengths and interests.
  • The Vice Commodore is second in command and deputises for the Commodore; they are allocated other responsibilities by agreement and to make best use their skills.
  • The Rear Commodore Sail is responsible for all activities on the water and water-linked land activities (for example: training, safety). They also arrange and chair fleet captain meetings.
  • The Rear Commodore House is responsible for the Club House and the activity on the land (for example: boat park, car parks, and open areas).
  • The Treasurer is responsible for finance.

The Committee also has general members who support various aspects of the running of the Club; they will take on tasks from the responsibilities shown below.

GC responsibilities: Agenda and minutes for Committee meetings; racing paperwork; OOD instructions and training; Draycote Dash and Club regatta; Club pursuit race series; marketing and communications; health and safety; risk assessments; grants; policies and procedures.

Although the above may look onerous, there are the Club Manager, Chief Instructor, administrator and bosuns who carry out many of the tasks and activities. The Manager attends committee meetings and reports back to the GC. The Club president also attends meetings in an advisory role.

How can I help?

Although the role is voluntary and there is no remuneration, membership of the GC does have its merits. As a committee member you support the club, share your enthusiasm for sailing and use your strengths and expertise to ensure the long term viability of DWSC.  By joining the committee you can share your skills for the long term benefit of the Club and its members.

Committee members are covered by directors’ liability insurance.

The more members involved, the lighter the load overall.

Please consider standing for the General Committee.

If you would like to know more about what being on the Committee involves, please talk to a Committee member or Dave Rowe, Club Manager.

If you would like to join the Committee, the main way is to stand for election at the AGM in November. To do this you need to complete a nomination form with a proposer and seconder. This needs to be completed and handed to the Club Manager at least 14 days before the AGM. At other times of the year, the Committee may co-opt members.

AGM 2023

Thank you to everyone who attended the AGM last week.  Please click below for the minutes and slides used on the evening:

Will & Dave have recorded a useful recap video going over the key points and info for those who couldn’t attend:

Club Development Plan

Some may remember that in August 2018 the Committee published a 10 Year Development Plan for the Club. In the following 3 years we have managed to achieve many of the things in that Development Plan:

– Met and exceeded our target of increasing commercial income by £40k

– Set up our subsidiary trading company for our commercial activity

– Updated the Articles to reflect current company law & needs

– Secured a lease extension until 2040

– Created a training / hire boat replacement scheme

– Improved women’s changing rooms and greater flexibility with the changing room space (allowing us the adjust the balance between each gender’s capacity as required)

We are therefore issuing an updated Development Plan to take into account these achievements and set revised targets. You can find the updated in the link below. 

The main challenge of getting out membership income back to 2009 levels remains. The main route to new members is through a pathway where we teach them to sail and, hopefully, get them hooked. The exit from lockdown means that our learn to sail courses are full this year and, hopefully, this will trickle through to increased membership in due course.

If you have any comments on the Development Plan, please talk to a Committee Member or e-mail the office.

Contact us

Please complete the form below and a member of staff will get back in touch with you.