You may recall thanks to our super fundraising efforts of last season the club was able to purchase a brand new stern coxed racing 4+/4x+ and I am pleased to announce that it is finally on its way in a shipping container somewhere between China and Australia. This boat was specifically aimed for to help fill a gap in our fleet to assist coaching from the coxing seat particularly for our development squad. This item highlights the vital role of a cox to a crew and it is with this thought in mind that we could not think of a better person to honour when choosing the name of this boat than cox and coach extraordinaire at RRC, Derek Begg.
Derek Begg stepped down from the committee at the end of last season after serving 12 years in various roles including that of Secretary, Head of Rowing, Head of Club Development and general member. His time and effort during this period can not be underestimated and we all greatly appreciate all his hardwork, time and dedication to the club. His vital contributions have been critical to both on the water successes and behind the scenes in terms of coordinating lease negotiations and much more. Aside from his service to the club as a volunteer on the committee he has also probably coxed every member we have at some point and I personally have great memories of victories and achievements obtained in crews he has coxed and coached. For this reason the committee was unanimous in deciding that he was a very well deserved recipient of this honour.
The hope is that we can celebrate Derek’s great contributions to the club with the naming of this boat at our Christmas celebrations on Sunday 11th December (assuming delivery of the boat occurs as expected). Confirmation of the details of this day is to come so keep an eye out and make sure you reserve the day for some festive club races, bbq and fun. We would love to see as many people as possible old and new, friends and family at the club to celebrate this event and the upcoming Christmas holidays.
