A warm hello to all new and existing GCD members.
I would like to welcome everyone to a new and exciting season with the Gold Coast Dragons.
Hopefully, we can put the hardships and life pressures behind us and move forward into a new era.
It’s great to see the return of our existing paddlers, the inclusion of some wonderful new paddlers and friends to our family, and hopefully pick up some new members along the way through our success, advertising, come and try days and the introduction of a corporate event.
So I encourage everyone to get the word out there and invite new members, work colleagues and anyone else you can find off the street to come down, jump in the boat, and experience the exhilaration of this great sport and a wonderful club.
I would like to welcome in the new GCD committee for the 2021-2022 Dragon Boat season.
Executive Committee & Head Coaches:
President – Graham Hogno
Secretary – Janine Stuart
Treasurer – Bob Shead
Registrar – Allison Elliott
Club Manager – Kim Meade
Head Coach – Dougal Cumming Thom
Assistant Coach – Barry Young
Sub-Committee:
Events & Fundraising COORDS – Keli Robinson, Linda O’Kane, Tracey Simkus
Property & Safety Officer – Mark Hesford
Again, welcome and thank you to those who were nominated for this season's committee positions, I look forward to working with you in what will hopefully be another successful season for the Gold Coast Dragons.
As we do need a few more to help with Events and Fundraising I would love to see some of our members come forward and assist in supporting your club and its members. The more assistants we get, the lighter the workload will be for everyone. The jobs are not demanding, and we try not to let them impact people’s personal lives. Chat to our Club Manager if you can assist in any way.
The AGM is an important meeting for club members, as this is your opportunity to see the progress that your club has made over the past season, and your chance to become part of your club and have your input towards future club operations, development, goals and objectives.
I ask that all club members get involved and support your club and keep this in mind for the next AGM.
We have an extremely busy season ahead of us with our regular club regattas, PanPacs in November, hopefully a corporate day, QLD State Titles, Nationals in Albury Wodonga and with a bit of luck, some success at the World Club Crew Champs in Sarasota, Florida in July.
With these events ahead of us, there is a considerable amount of planning, organizing, fundraising, and setting up to be done, so we will require full commitment from all members at each event.
We will be kicking off our fundraising initiatives immediately this season so we can have a bit of fun with it and raise the necessary funds to subsidize member fees for States and Nationals, and hopefully have a few breakies or BBQs for the members throughout the season.
We will be supporting Gold Coast community and Events again this year with Triathlons and Marathons, and a few Bunnings BBQs. These will be crucial to raising a good amount of funds to subsidize a considerable amount for States and Nationals. I ask that everyone provide their support to as many of these activities as possible so we can raise maximum funds for the club.
Members that do not support these fundraisers, may be required to pay the full amount towards their regatta fees for States, Nationals, and other events.
We intend to seek some community grants again this season and look at the purchase of a new RIB and the introduction of a new GCD website.
We will also be searching for some sponsorship to assist us with our annual utilities, rent and insurance so that we don’t cut into our normal club finances, so we can use them to better support our members.
Thanks to some grants we have received this year we have been able to purchase a new tablet and software for the committee and coaches so we can take information and necessary event programs with us wherever we go. We have also purchased some quality 2-way radios to help improve our safety procedures while conducting club, community and corporate events. We will also be looking at improving our safety equipment, life jackets etc, to ensure better safety is provided for our members, come and try days and community events.
We will be looking at more efficient and consistent processes when it comes to member payments, fundraising support, planning and execution of events and activities, and better processes when booking and paying for regatta fees and accommodation. There will be deadlines set for all payments this season so the club is not having to cover the loss of booking or regatta fees.
Below are the proposed events we have coming up for the 22/23 season.
- Sunday 07 August 2022 – Kawana - Tewaka Regatta
- 10/11 September 22 – Wollumbin Regatta
- Sunday 2nd October 22 – Currumbin Regatta – Currumbin Creek
- Sunday 23 October 22 – Burleigh Regatta – Varsity Lakes
- PanPacific Masters Games - 10/11/12 Nov 22
- Sunday 13th November – KIN Regatta – Jack Evans Bay, Tweed Heads
- Sunday 27th November 22 – Manly Regatta – Kawana
- Sunday 11th December 22 – DA Xmas on the Creek – Currumbin Creek
- Sunday 22nd January 23 – Redcliffe Regatta – Kawana
- Sunday 5th February 23 – Broadwater Regatta – Emerald Lakes
- Sunday 26th February 23 – BRD Regatta – Kawana
- 18/19 March 23 – QLD State Titles - Kawana
- 20,21,22 April 23 – Nationals – Albury Wodonga
- 5-8 September 23 – CCWC Ravenna, Italy
PanPacs is our main priority this season as this is a huge boost for our club finances and some good exposure for the club. We will require full support for this event.
We would also like to hold a corporate day around Sep/Oct in order to raise some additional funds for the club, introduce the community to Dragon Boating and hopefully recruit some paddlers along the way. This event will all depend on the organising required for PanPacs. We may hold this event at a later date if it interferes with PPMG planning.
All I ask is that we are kind to each other, encourage and support each other, and respect your committee and coaches for the new season.
Get behind your club and support our fundraising activities so we can make it a better season for everyone.
We had an exhilarating, harmonious and successful club last season, let's keep it going for this season.
I welcome all members that are returning to the club for the 22/23 season, and if there is any way we can support you in reaching your desired goals, please do not hesitate to come and see us.
Behaviour unbecoming will not be tolerated.
You are also required to respect the other sportspeople around the Boatshed facility and obey all rules and regulations set out by Sportshouse.
Remember, the committee, coaches and club captains are here to help you in any way we can to make your journey with GCD a pleasant one.
Graham (Hoggy) Hogno
Yours in paddling,
GCD President