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Advice for parents and supporters


Monkton Combe School Boat Club


          Introduction

MCSBC was founded in 1878, and recently celebrated its 125th year. The club has 80-100 members. Most of them compete at races, though some may choose to use rowing as a recreation which does not involve competition. Beginners (in the 3rd form) race two or three times in each of the Lent and Summer Terms; the senior crews race more frequently. Events take place both locally (eg at Saltford) and further afield (eg London, Nottingham and even France.) Details of all events entered, and advice for supporters are posted on our website www.bluefriars.org.uk . You are encouraged to join the emailing list to receive regular details.

Monkton has produced many International oarsmen over the years that have gone onto win major events for Great Britain. Most recently Rowley Douglas won Gold at the Sydney Olympics coxing the eight to a fantastic win and Steve Williams also won Gold at Athens in the coxless four, helping Matthew Pinsent pick up his fourth Olympic Gold medal in a frantic finish.

Members of the current Monkton generation may not reach those heights, but the club aims for excellence as well as teaching its members the essentials of team-work, discipline, competitiveness, dedication and other qualities which will help them in later life, whether they are potential Olympians or like the rest of us!



          Rowing Clothing

Most rowing kit is supplied through the Boat Club, and charged on the school bill. Please let us know if you are not happy about this. It is important that crews appear in public in uniform kit, so every effort is made to make sure they all have the right clothing available. We are very aware that many children are careless with possessions, and are considering making arrangements to have rowing kit embroidered with names.

Third and Fourth Form and other beginners : To minimise expense, new members of the Boat Club are encouraged to use Rugby kit on the river when they start rowing. Once it is clear that they intend to stay in the Boat Club, all are supplied with a rain resistant rowing top. This is an essential item (costing about £40), as rowing sometimes takes place in wet and windy conditions and it will keep the cold at bay. This item should last for two or three years. Later in the season, crews race in Lycra rowing suits (cost about £40). Once an athlete has taken part in a voluntary event (eg on a Sunday, in half term or in the holidays) they are entitled to buy a Bluefriars tie (just under £10). These ties seem to get very good use! It is an opportunity for the athlete to feel part of the Boat Club and the ties are worn with pride around the school.

Seniors : The range of clothing available becomes more extensive (and inevitably expensive), because senior crews train for longer periods, and are sometimes on the water in atrocious conditions. Crews are issued with some of : Sweat shirt (£20), Gilet Rowing Top (£45), more robust waterproof (£70); second lycra (so the other can be washed occasionally!) (£40), JL Workout top (£40). The boat club passes all these items on at cost (sometimes + a small amount to cover postage, etc.), and we can sometimes arrange a grant from Bluefriars (see below), in cases of financial need. We are confident that the clothing supplied is of good quality, and as cheap as we can get it, because we buy in bulk. We certainly make no overall profit on sales, even if we may make £1-£2 on some individual items.

1st VIII : This crew has the use of blazers. There is a small hire charge (£10) to cover cleaning, and also to enable us to replace blazers occasionally. Members of the crew may buy their own blazers, but certainly need not do so. Parents are always consulted.

Photographs : Athletes like to buy photos of their crews at regattas. I hope you will agree to the costs of a small number being added to the school bill. (Not more than two a term.)



          Training : Training for most crews takes place three or four times a week, including Saturday afternoons. Training takes place on the water and on land. There are more detailed training sessions on the Bluefriars website. Parents are welcome at the river, and there is occasionally room for a visitor in the coaching launch. Below is a list of times that the crews train.
MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
0630-0730
Senior Boys Weights		   0700-0750
Senior Girls Ergo		      
1315-1345
Lunch time Circuits for all rowers<		         1300-1630
Rowing,4th,5th,6th Form
1430-1615
Rowing 4th Form		 1415-1615
Rowing 5th and 6th Form		 1415-1600
Elite Rowing or Community Service		 1415-1615
Rowing 4th,5th,6th Form		    
    1620-1730
Senior Boys Circuits
Senior Girls Weights		 1630-1730
Senior Boys Weights		    


          Racing Programme : Details of races entered are available at www.bluefriars.org.uk and also via the emailing list which you are encouraged to join. Make sure you that you keep up to date with the website as sometimes we go to events that are not on the school calendar.

Crews are greatly encouraged and appreciative by support they get from parents at these events. Dress up warm in the winter, and be prepared for long days with not much always happening between races. Bring a picnic and flasks of warm fluids as sometimes these races do not have food tents.

The emailing list will get you in touch with other parents, and we hope that there can be camaradie on the river bank as well as in the boats. It sometimes takes until the athlete has been in the club for some time for parents to get to know other supporters, so please do not hesitate to ask to be put in touch with others with an interest in particular crews.

Directions to these events are usually on the host's website which we will post on our own site and on the email list. If directions to these events are not available, please do not hesitate to contact the Director of Rowing on 01225 721165 or rowing@monkton.org.uk

Support on the bank is always welcomed, of course, but there are some events where parents have customarily made a special effort to be there if they can: Lent Term: Avon County Head (Saltford); The Schools Head Race (London); The Head of the River Race (London 1st VIII and sometimes 2nd or Colts). Summer Term : Avon County (Swindon), National Schools (Nottingham); Henley (1st VIII). And of course other events if you can manage to get there.



          Holiday Rowing : Some crews take part in events in the holidays. Regular fixtures include:
  • Lent Half Term training camp (4th Form and senior boys crews)
  • The Head of the River Race (1st VIII and sometimes Colts)
  • Easter Holidays. Training Camp in Nantes, France. Usually 1st crews boys and girls, and sometimes Colts Boys.
  • Summer Half Term : National Schools Regatta - top crew from each age group. Hereford (Bank holiday Monday), usually 1st VIII, but others welcome, Henley Womens Regatta (Girls 1st VIII).
  • End of Summer Term : Royal Henley Regatta (boys)
  • Summer Holidays. Crews sometimes race at Llandaff, National Championships, etc. Very much voluntary, and to suit those who wish to take part. Again check the website to ensure that these events have been entered.


          Transport : Transport to events and training camps away from school is usually by minibus, coach, staff private cars. Occasionally, parents and other responsible (over 25) drivers help out with transport, particularly when members of the team have to travel at odd times. For example, if a rower/musician is playing in a concert on the evening of a regatta, he or she might need to get back to Monkton quickly, before the main party. If a crew finishes racing early, they sometimes come back to school without waiting for the main bus. If we have 19 people to transport, and the bus has 17 seats, a kind parent often helps out by taking some of the athletes. Some of these arrangements have to be made at the last minute, so I hope you agree to leave such on-the-spot arrangements to the rowing coach to organise.


          Accommodation : When we go away to events which involve overnight stays, we use various types of accommodation:
  • National Schools Regatta - Hotels. Not always at the cheap end of the spectrum! The cost is added to the school bill. We usually book more rooms than needed so some parents can stay in the same venue as the athletes. If you wish to stay with the club please do not hesitate to contact us.
  • Other regattas - we sometimes have to stay away for a night - eg at Wallingford, where a crew may have a very early race. If we did not stay away the night before the driver/coach of the crew would be on duty driving and looking after the crew, sometimes from 0500 until 2300, which would not be safe. This is also not good preparation for a crew and they would not perform well.
  • Henley - 1st VIII Usually in the home of an OM or other friend of Monkton rowing, as their guests.
  • Training camps - Church halls, Youth Hostel, private homes, sometimes hotels. We always try to minimise costs. Parents are kept fully informed before arrangements are finalised, and grants are sometimes available from Bluefriars in cases of need.
  • Please let us know if you have concerns about these arrangements.


          Social occasions : We sometimes arrange occasional Sunday lunches at a local restaurant for parents and athletes. This is a great opportunity to meet other parents and to talk to the coaches of the club to get a more in depth view of the club and the crews that your children are involved with. There is a Boat Club BBQ in most summer terms. This will be posted on the website in due course. National Schools Regatta and Henley are occasions on which parents support and bring picnics. One or two parents usually act as coordinators.


          Practical help and feed-back from parents : We are always very grateful for support, picnics at events, accommodation, help with transport, etc. Your first contact for liaison is with the coach of your childs crew. Failing that, email to rowing@monkton.org.uk . This will than be forwarded to the Director of Rowing who will then be in contact.

For regular news, see www.bluefriars.org.uk



Monkton Bluefriars, which is closely linked with the School Boat Club



          Introduction : The Trustees of the Bluefriars Charitable Trust have become aware that parents of boys and girls who are members of the School Boat Club may not be fully in the picture about the Trust and Bluefriars. I hope this note will give you some important information; it is of particular relevance to those whom the Trust is in a position to help, including all who go on Boat Club training camps. Further information is given in the Monkton Bluefriars Newsletter, which is published Annually in the Autumn. It includes reports of the previous season's rowing in MCSBC.


          Monkton Bluefriars Boat Club (MBBC) : MBBC was founded nearly 50 years ago. It started as a club for which Old Monktonians could row, and as a social focus for OM oarsmen. School crews that race on a voluntary basis (eg out of term, or at Sunday regattas) row under Bluefriars colours. All members of such crews earn Bluefriars ties, which they can wear at school. For many years OMs have been encouraged to support the club by making annual donations which fund these activities.


          Monkton Bluefriars Charitable Trust (BFT) : The Bluefriars Charitable Trust was formed in 1996 when it had become apparent that those who took part in school rowing often need more financial support than the Boat Club and parents could provide. OM contributors to Bluefriars have since been encouraged to donate to the Trust, and they have been joined by others, enabling the Trust to give an average of over £4000 a year to support rowing at Monkton. The Trustees wish is to concentrate on supporting individuals, while also making occasional donations of equipment.


          Bluefriars Bursaries : The Trustees normally give two Bursaries each year to be held by Sixth Formers, where there is financial need and a commitment to rowing. The Trustees welcome direct applications from parents of boys and girls in the fifth form (or at other schools, if there is an intention that the pupil should study at Monkton for the Sixth Form). Such applications should be made as early as possible, preferably by the end of September of the Fifth Form year.


          Training Grants : Rowing training camps are organised as charitable activities of the Monkton Bluefriars Charitable Trust. The trust sponsors such training, aiming to pay at least a proportion of the cost for those participating. In cases of financial need, the Trust aims to make grants as necessary. However, most parents pay the majority of the costs, while some donate extra to boost the funds of the Trust and to help others. The amount a parent pays to cover the actual cost of the training cannot be treated as a charitable gift, but any extra donation is welcomed by the trustees, and can be counted as a Gift Aid payment, allowing tax to be reclaimed.
The accounts for such training camps cannot be completed until all the bills come in - often several weeks after the training has taken place, so the allocation of any parental payment between the charge for the training and a voluntary donation is not straightforward. Experience enables us to estimate the costs fairly accurately, and we base the charge which his made to parents on this estimate. In order to separate the charge from any donation parents may wish to give in addition, the amount paid before the training takes place will be regarded as a deposit. If the cost of the camp turns out to be less than the deposit, the excess can be treated by the Trust as a donation, or returned to the parent, as indicated when payment is made.


          Training Camp : Half Term during Lent Term. : The cost of the camp is about £60 a head. However, the Trust aims to give grants of half this amount to each participant.


          Senior Training Camp - Nantes - Easter Holidays : The cost of the camp is usually in the region £290 a head (a rise from about £240 two years ago). The Trust aims to give grants of about £50 to each participant, reducing the suggested parental contribution to £240.


          Other support given : The website www.bluefriars.org.uk contains useful information about regattas. There is also an email list which you can join, to ensure that you receive up to date information about races entered by crews. Crews appreciate support from parents on the river bank at these events. There are also a number of documents that you may be interested in reading on topics such as land training, water training, goal setting, injury prevention etc.
The trustees try to put parents in touch with each other so that cooperative efforts can be made to produce food (always popular); to arrange hotel accommodation for supporters at Nottingham; to coordinate transport arrangements, etc. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you need any help.


          How you can help to support the Trust : The trust receives the majority of its support from Old Monktonians, but donations from parents and others are also welcomed. We accept donations by all the usual means - Gift Aid - Give as You Earn - via our website www.bluefriars.org.uk , etc. There is also a new way of donating money to the Boat Club. Our website has a link to the Amazon website and if you go through this link any purchases made on Amazon a donation will be made to the Bluefriars Trust. This is an easy way of donating money and helping the Boat Club.

It should be emphasised that we fully appreciate that parents are already paying schools fees, and we do not expect donations from parents to the Trust, but of course occasional gifts are welcomed!

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