Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 31 December 2022 Period start date To 31 December 2023 Period end date
Charity name: Southampton Canoe Club
Charity registration number: 1171807
Objectives and Activities
| SORP reference |
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| Summary of the purposes of the charity as set out in its governing document |
Para 1.17 | ‘The promotion of community participation in healthy recreation for the benefit of the inhabitants of Southampton and persons living in and around Hampshire by the provision of facilities for paddlesport, including but not limited to kayaking,canoeing,surfski,and stand up paddle boards’ |
| Summary of the main activities in relation to those purposes for the public benefit, in particular, the activities, projects or services identified in the accounts. |
Para 1.17 and 1.19 |
Open to the Community- we offered FREE of CHARGE 1Hr Kayaking Taster sessions, from May to October as usual. Membership Numbers – As of 11/10/2024 Female Male Total Disability BAME All Members 23 75 98 Juniors 7 3 10 Students 6 17 23 Adults 10 55 65 New Members 7 8 15 Renewing Members 16 67 83 As of 16/10/2023 Female Male Total Disability BAME All Members 27 73 100 Juniors 11 7 18 Students 4 8 12 Adults 11 59 70 New Members 7 7 14 Renewing Members 20 66 86 We have welcomed new members from Bere Forest Canoe Club - Water Polo team – who have now joined as full members of Southampton Canoe Club – but still compete as Bere Forest Canoe Club. |
Sports Development - The Weights Gym – The DIV 1 to 6 Marathon and Sprint members of the Club continue to make good use of this facility– supported by our in-house fitness Coach. Circuits and Ergos – Tuesday and Thursday evenings continue to be well attended.
Coaches – We continue to develop younger adults as new coaches.
Coaching sessions -
Our Saturday sessions remain our’ bread and butter’ with newcomers continuing to attend our monthly Tasters. We also have seen new paddlers from other geographical areas as new attendees arrive at Southampton University.
Sprint – The Sprint Team have built on successes last year and the group are developing well.
Marathon -
Our Hasler race event went well as usual.
Welfare Officer –
The Club Welfare Officer (CWO) is responsible for acting as a source of advice about safeguarding and protecting children and adults at risk, promoting good practice and for coordinating action within the Club on receipt of any concerns or referrals. One of the main focuses of the role is ensuring all policies and codes of conducts are up to date and reflect recent changes in guidelines from British Canoeing and national legislation, that these are available to all coaches, club members and parents to ensure the safety and welfare of everyone involved in club activities.
Another focus is to ensure all coaches volunteering at the club are aware of the policies and have appropriate levels of safeguarding training to comply with regulatory requirements. Welfare and Safeguarding are pivotal to all club activities and also form part of the application process for the British Canoeing Club Accreditation. The annual plan for the Club Welfare Officer is attached.
| Progress against action plan targets: •DBS checks- in place for existing coaches, new coaches to be given induction. •Safeguarding training- all current coaches compliant. •Policies and guidance in place- Policies reviewed and new tab on website in place with all policies published. •Create a coaches induction pack- Completed - working through all existing coaches to ensure compliance across all coaching volunteers. All new coaches to complete form on starting to volunteer within the club. •Participate in coaches update day- September 2023, annual coach update day, including safeguarding presentation with new policies and any changes to existing ones, especially changes to 1:1 coaching. Liaison with other Clubs in the Area– We have continued to develop links with Poole Harbour Canoe Club, Hamble Canoe Club and Hamble Sea Scouts by organising local Hare and Hound race events, when possible to do so, which attract their membership to the sport of marathon kayak racing and equally promotes the presence of both their club and ours to all participants in so doing. Health and Safety– We had continued reports this year that there had been further occurrences of increased levels of Ecoli in the River Itchen. Paddling was deemed to be down to personal choice and Club Members were again actively encouraged to shower immediately after paddling. |
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| Statement confirming whether the trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit |
Para 1.18 | In planning our activities for the year 2022 we kept in mind the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit at our trustee meetings. The main activities as described earlier are :- 1. We have offered 'Open to the community' FREE of CHARGE Taster sessions 2. Provision of an Amateur Sport Development programme supported by trained coaches for all ages and abilities, has remained key for all those able to take part in sessions. 3. We continue to develop new events and are looking to organise a more local sprint regatta – this is still in planning 4. Continuing to develop links with other clubs to offer an outlet for the development of kayaking together with their own activities. All the above activities benefit all ages and abilities in developing their self confidence and social skills, whilst maintaining their health and mental well-being by |
actively participating in a sports activity with other likeminded participants.
| Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements |
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements |
where relevant about: |
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| SORP reference | ||
| Policy on grant making | Para 1.38 | Southampton Canoe Club does not offer grants to individuals or other organisations - and this facility is not promoted by the Club. |
| Policy on social investment including program related investment |
Para 1.38 | Southampton Canoe Club uses its charitable funds to pay to maintain the training of its volunteer coaches to run the Monthly Taster sessions for the general public at NO CHARGE to all those that attend and it does not pass this training cost onto attendees. We are also developing our portfolio of available coaches by training new coaches as and when persons show the aptitude to do so. Our funds also extend to maintaining our fleet of kayaks, paddles and buoyancy aids which are used by all new-comers for the early years of their involvement at no extra cost until such time as theywish to buytheir own equipment. |
| Contribution made by volunteers |
Para 1.38 | All the Coaches, Administrators and Officers of the Club offer their time freely and at no cost to Southampton Canoe Club. This enables the Club to offer their facilities and coaching at the lowest possible costs for all those who wish to become full members of the club. |
| Other | The Trustees as usual wish to recognise the contribution of its Volunteer Coaches and Committee Members in continuing to meet the Charities Objectives. Although membership tends to fluctuate year on year the volunteers continue to develop new ideas and coaching methods which has meant that we have been able to again extend our membership to near 100 in this last year. We have also been able to maintain interest in training through the winter evenings by operating ERGO machine and Circuit Training sessions twice a week which has been open to all club members to attend free of charge as part of their membership. The development of a weight -training gym has meant that members have been able to weight train at our own site, and this continues to develop. |
Achievements and Performance
| SORP reference | ||
|---|---|---|
| Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole. |
Para 1.20 | We continue to work together with Active Nation at the Woodmill Activity centre site and we are continuing to explore a way to have a more permanent presence on site which we can call our own - this remains in the early development stage but still is an ongoing project for the next few years. The Service Level Agreement with Active Nation will be coming up for renewal post 2025 and this will become an issue of greater importance in the next year. The main aims of the Club are to not only get more people active but to develop those people into talented athletes in the field of kayaking. In order to measure our achievement in this area we are always keen to demonstrate this by their singular achievements across the year:- Help to develop international paddlers – Long term aim Continued success in this area with members of the club being selected for international races. Sprint - Two of our Athletes had a fantastic achievement being selected for the Sprint Junior European Championships, Montemor-o- Velho, Portugal Racing with two athletes from Nottingham they managed to get to the semi final of the K4 500m. Marathon - One of our lady athletes continues to impress in marathon representing GB at the German Nationals. With her K2 partner they finished in silver medal position. She also secured 4thin K1 at the same event. Attendance at Hasler Finals 2023 - The club made the final at Worcester on the River Severn. We finished in 13thplace; the conditions were not good. |
Waterside Series 2023/2024 – A smaller number of club members took part in this year’s series. Results from the overall series are as follows: 2nd Mixed K2 in a time of 13:41:56 3[rd] Veteran K2 in a time of 14:47:58 Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race 2024 – The conditions at this year’s DW were very dangerous due to heavy rain, with the river level on the Thames being above the red boards & the course having to be shortened to finish at Teddington. However, we did have two teams complete the reduced distance the course . A Fantastic achievement in such conditions. Sprint Races Results 2023 – Steady progress in this area with the performances improving each year. This year’s highlights were as follows: One athlete was in the team that won the national championship U23 K4 over 500m in 1:34.47 He also finished 3[rd] in the U23 K2 over 500m, paddling with an athlete from SPS in 1:36:39 He also continues to improve K1 times over the sprint distances 500m, 4[th] in the final in 1:45.73 and 1000m 4[th] in the final in 3:43.77 Our lady athlete finished 3[rd] in the national championships U18L 500m K4, paddling (ADS), (WEY) and (NOR) in a time of 1:53.14. Two of our paddlers are national champions in the U18 K4 500m, paddling with two from (NOT) in a time of 1:29.73 One of Adults finished 3[rd] in the O44 K1 1000m, in a time of 4:33.93. MacGregor Paddle Challenge Regatta, this is an interclub competition and the club finished in the top 10 for the first time. National Marathon Championships 2023 - We took a good size team to Norwich for this event, with some good performances. The highlights were as follows. O49 K1 - 2[nd.] U18L K2 - 3[rd.]
2023/24 Talent and Sprint Report Since the last AGM, we have been working to provide a quality talent development and training program for our groups of athletes. Our small team of coaches are currently delivering more than 6 sessions a week with the paddlers doing up to 14 sessions a week depending on season, age and capacity. British Canoeing (now Paddle UK) have supported our efforts with coaching support on a Monday morning provided by the National Talent Coach and we would like to express our heartfelt thanks for this. In addition the talent grant process has funded a second slider for the club to help paddlers develop and practice their connection throughout the stroke. In addition our paddlers are benefiting from a Sports Psychology Internship supported by Paddle UK and also a project with Solent University who has carried out testing on our paddlers and we await the results with interest. This season the paddlers have been given an awesome boost through support from Test Valley Rotary Club. The Rotary Club have funded walkie talkies so that the paddlers can be more easily coached from the bank receiving information and instruction to help them progress. In addition the radios are also ensuring that they are safer on the water through enabling better communication. We would like to thank one of our families for the hard work in getting the funding and also for getting the tressels made by the Mens Shed so that boats are not having to be put on the floor. We would like to thank all the parents for their continual support and commitment to helping this group of paddlers achieve their goals. With support from the British Canoeing Club Coaching & Leadership Bursary we have trained more coaches and are now awaiting the opportunity for six paddlers to undergo the Racing Coach Award. With support from the wider club we also ran a Wild Water Race to help and encourage club members to diversify their skills. This was well attended and received great feedback - thank you to all involved.
The head coach's report lists individual paddler achievements and we would like to echo his congratulations to all our paddlers and wish them luck for the coming season. Finally we are concerned about the limited number of paddlers coming into the club to refresh our ranks and help push us to greater achievements. Please can you make sure to share and promote the messages that the club puts out about the results of our paddlers and the opportunities to join the club. Water Polo report The Head Polo Coach commenced by thanking the club for welcoming the polo section over the past year. He also extended thanks to Coach CJ. The polo team achieved their highest ranking in 10 years this year into National Division 1. They are now in Division 2 in the South League. The team have purchased a second hand set of goals, so they are now able to have two pitches and can therefore host tournaments, with the first of those being the 11th/12th May 2024. There are also hopes for summer and university tournaments. This will bring finances into the club. The polo team are very happy to be part of Southampton Canoe Club and have brought roughly 20 new members. The plan is to focus on growth with the aim of bringing in more younger paddlers.
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| Achievements against objectives set |
Para 1.41 |
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| Performance of fundraising activities against objectives set |
Para 1.41 |
Our funding officer has been successful in gaining funding from various enterprises, to support the club and we thank her for her continued sterling efforts in this regard. |
| Investment performance against objectives |
Para 1.41 |
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| Other | We have been developing a new relationship with an existing Water Polo team and to such end they have decided to come members under our umbrella. This will give a new outlet for water activity linked to the club for all existing club members and new-comers alike and we look forward to seeing how this develops. |
Financial Review
| Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period |
Para 1.21 |
Below is a copy of our unaudited end of year accounts statement for 2023 |
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| Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held |
Para 1.22 |
We do not hold any reserves |
| Amount of reserves held |
Para 1.22 |
None |
| Reasons for holding zero reserves |
Para 1.22 |
The Club operates with the funds that are available and continues to function with a positive bank balance. |
| Details of fund materially in deficit |
Para 1.24 |
Not applicable |
| Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern |
Para 1.23 |
Not applicable |
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising) |
Para 1.47 | |
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| Investment policy and objectives including any social investment policy adopted |
Para 1.46 | |
| A description of the principal risks facing the charity |
Para 1.46 | |
| Other |
Structure, Governance and Management
| Description of charity’s trusts: |
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| Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter) |
Para 1.25 |
Constitution |
| How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO) |
Para 1.25 | Charitable Incorporated Organisation ( CIO ) |
| Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees |
Para 1.25 | Appointed by Election by the Members of the CIO |
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees |
Para 1.51 | ||
| The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works |
Para 1.51 | Southampton Canoe Club Trustees have delegated the day to day administration of the Club to a Club Committee, it's structure is as follows:- Committee– Chairperson Vice Chair Secretary Treasurer Officers – Welfare Officer Admin Officer Head Coach Grants/ Funding Officer Website Manager Quartermaster Junior Representative/s Race Captain This committee has 6 meetings per year. In addition the Committee have delegated the management of the Coaching team to a sub- committee run and managed by the Head Coach and this also has 6 meetingsperyear. |
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| Relationship with any related parties |
Para 1.51 | The Club's Coaches operate strictly under the rules and governance of the National Governing Body of British Canoeing ( Paddle UK ) and the Committee also ensures that its Coaches attend regular update seminars and trainingevents. |
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Other
Reference and Administrative details
| Charityname | Southampton Canoe Club |
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| Other name the charity uses | |
| Registered charitynumber | 1171807 |
| Charity’s principal address | Woodmill Outdoor Activities Centre Woodmill Lane Southampton SO18 2JR |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole **year ** |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Rance | Head Coach | |||
| PhilipAmey | Admin Officer | |||
| Giles Hudson | Chairman | From 29th June 2024 | ||
– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved
Director name
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year
Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others
Description of the assets held in this capacity Not applicable Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the Not applicable assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and Not applicable segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
Additional information (optional)
Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
Type of Name Address adviser
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
Exemptions from disclosure
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
Other optional information
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Full name(s) Philip George Amey Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Admin Officer and Trustee Date 11/10/2024