MECBC has a double scull, “Two Fat Ladies”, purchased and donated to the Club by NHBC/MECBC rower Florence Markham (née Butler). The double can be booked and used by all active members of the Club, subject to approval by the Captain of Boats, or if she is unavailable, a member of the Committee who has at least three months of sculling experience.
Bank steerer
Be aware that you may need a bank steerer: check CUCBC Handbook rule 14
Training sessions and boat booking
Training sessions in the double scull is usually publicised over the Club email list and shown on the calendar when confirmed:
http://www.srcf.ucam.org/mecbc/training/
While the training sessions can provide an introduction to sculling, you are encouraged to take the initiative to organise sessions yourself if you really want to learn and improve at sculling! For bank steering, you can ask one of the designated Committee members, one of the competent scullers, and sometimes coaches are happy to help out.
The double scull is sometimes borrowed by other Boat Clubs. You can check the booking calendar here:
http://www.srcf.ucam.org/mecbc/training/boat-use/
You must check for existing bookings, and book the double scull before taking it out. This is handled by the Captain of Club for external requests, Captain of Boats for internal requests, and in general the Committee members who are designated as training or assessing new scullers can help.
Booking requests will be handled within 48 hours of receipt. If a request is made in less than 48 hours, there is no guarantee that the boat can be booked successfully.
Fees
Your first five self-organised sessions in any term and the subsequent holiday are free! This means that sculling sessions arranged by the Committee to teach you to scull, or substitute part of your “normal” rowing training in term, do not count towards your five free sessions.
After that, we ask for a flat fee of around £5 per term, assuming that you will be using it not more than twice a week. If you are planning on using the double scull consistently more than twice a week, contact one of the designated Committee members to discuss details. If there is demand within the Club, it may be possible to substitute the fee by coaching novice rowers or scullers, or by volunteering for the Club in some other capacity.
These fees are subject to review. If there are any changes, we will try to bring it in at the start of a term, and inform all members via the Club email list.
People
Please ask in the MECBC Facebook group for people who can assess and teach sculling.
This policy has been drafted and approved by the Committee in April 2011.