Dear Club Committees,
You will by now have seen that the UK Government is ordering the closure of cafes, pubs and restaurants. This obviously affects the Trafalgar Rowing Centre.
In light of this, and the guidance from British Rowing, the Management Committee has taken the following decisions:
In terms of Committee decisions.
- The Centre will be closed forthwith for all social events, and in addition will be fully closed to all Club activities as from the 23rd – if you have any items left in the clubhouse you have this weekend to retrieve them.
- Boathouse & Gym – these will remain closed for all club members for the foreseeable future.
- The Clubhouse will not be hosting any social events for the next 12 weeks, nor will the clubhouse be available to book for the next 24 weeks.
- The Committee will aim to enforce a strict minimal number of people to be inside the clubhouse, or boathouse – this is for post collection or essential maintenance on boats no bigger than a double/pair.
- The Committee will regularly check the buildings to ensure that the above measures are adhered to.
- The Committee will ensure that the Centre remains available as always to Greenwich Council as an emergency accommodation shelter, in our commitment to the wider community.
In terms of what the Committee expects from the Clubs.
- The clubs to designate one member to collect post over the closure period.
- Inform Bronwyn (bronwyn.hill@globerowingclub.co.uk) if they wish to enter the boat house.
- Comply with the above policies to ensure no members are using the facilities – failure to do so could endanger the lives of our members, but also our neighbours.
- No equipment to be removed from the gym during this time.
What can the clubs expect from the Trafalgar Committee
- We are going to press on, if feasible, with the refurbishment of the gym, new flooring, new paintwork, and new equipment. We want to ensure that the gym is fit for purpose and to act as an incentive to help the clubs to retain members.
- We are going to press on, if feasible, with additional refurbishment of the bar and clubhouse, new flooring, repainting, new bar equipment etc. So to increase bookings and increase revenues once the centre comes on line again.
- Defer the Club donation (this was set at £1,500) per club; this will be reviewed in Q3 once the clubs have an understanding of the impact that these, and their own policies, have on the clubs.
- Freeze racking prices to 2019 levels, so no increase in racking this year.
The Committee wants to be supportive and to be proactive during this time, we want to use this time to our advantage and really accelerate our refurbishment of the clubhouse and gym. The Committee is financially viable and will be able to ride out this storm whilst maintaining, and indeed, increasing our investment across the two sites (Gym&Clubhouse). We hope that this commitment to improving your facilities will help you retain and attract new membership when we reopen.
