For information of all members, the proceeds of the raffle at this year’s Christmas Function / Annual Presentation Evening amounted to £165.  I’ve posted off cheques for £82.50 to MIND and the NSPCC which are worthy causes and are our Chairman Steve Viney’s charities this year.

Thanks to all member’s and our sponsor JE James Ltd for your generosity in purchasing tickets and donating prizes.

Best Wishes

Dave Buxton

This year’s Wheelers Christmas event / Annual Presentation Evening will be held THIS FRIDAY (8 December 2017) at the Three Horseshoes, Bawtry Road, Wickersley starting at 7:00pm for 7:30pm.  The event will be held in the first floor function room, access to which is via a staircase just inside and to the left of the main entrance.  I suggest that we meet in the bar downstairs before making our way upstairs for our meal at around 7:30pm.

It has been suggested that we run a raffle during the course of the evening, the proceeds to be donated to MIND and the NSPCC.  JE James Ltd have donated a raffle prize and several members have already pledged prizes.  Whilst donation of raffle prizes is entirely voluntary and will be anonymous, I’ve written to all members attending the function to invite you, if you wish to do so to donate a raffle prize and help to raise money for these worthy charities.

I look forward to seeing you all on the night.

The following nominations have been received for this year’s John Atkinson Trophy:

Doug Manning

Dave Buxton

As previously circulated, the award will be decided by secret ballot to be held at the general meeting to be held at the Three Horseshoes public house, Wickersley at 19:00 Monday 13 November 2017 and the trophy will be presented at the Christmas Function / Presentation Evening on Friday 8 December 2017.

It is hoped that as many members as possible will attend the meeting and participate in the ballot.

If you wish to cast a vote, but are unable to attend the meeting, you may still do so by notifying me of your preferred candidate by email by NO LATER THAN 17:00 Monday 13 November 2017.   I will ensure that all votes so received are printed and handed to the returning officer (Ian Wortley) for posting in the ballot box.  Votes received after 17:00 will not be counted.

Kind Regards

Dave Buxton

You should already be aware that the 2017 Rotherham Wheelers Presentation Evening and Christmas Social will be held on Friday 8 December 2017 at the Three Horseshoes Public House, Wickersley.

Amongst the prizes to be awarded that evening is the John Atkinson Trophy which was commissioned by the club in memory of a much loved and respected member who sadly passed away in tragic circumstances in 2016.

The trophy is awarded annually on the basis of a ballot of members to the member who is ‘considered to have done the most for the club during the previous year’.  

Depicting a road cycle, this unique trophy was crafted in Sterling silver by Steve Viney, and it is hoped that members will see this as both a lasting memorial to John and a means of recognising the efforts of the member “who is considered to have done most on behalf of the club”.  I have attached a photograph of the trophy for your information.

Last year’s worthy recipient was Doug Manning.

This year’s ballot will be held at the next club General Meeting which commences at 19:00 Monday 13 November 2017 at the Three Horseshoes public house, Wickersley.

It is hoped that the trophy will be presented by a member of John’s family at this year’s annual presentation evening.

For the award to have the status which it deserves it is important that ALL members consider making a nomination and that as many members as possible participate in the ballot of members. 

The following methodology will apply:

a)  Members will be permitted to nominate only one person each, who MUST be either a life, honorary, full, junior or 2nd claim member of Rotherham Wheelers Cycling Club.

b)  Nominations may be made at any time from the date of this notice.

c)  Nominations should be made either in person or by email to the club treasurer by 24:00 Saturday 11 November 2017.

d)  On Sunday […]

This year’s Rotherham Wheelers Christmas function will be at the Three Horseshoes public house, Bawtry Road, Wickersley and has been provisionally arranged for Friday 8 December 2017. This decision was made following consultation with the membership and was passed at the last club General Meeting held on Monday 14 August 2017.

The Three Horseshoes has a private function room and a local reputation for providing excellent home cooked fare at affordable prices.

At our last meeting, a majority of members present voted in favour of combining this year’s Annual Presentation Evening with the Christmas function. Given that catering costs at the Three Horseshoes are considerably less than at the venue of last year’s Christmas event and (separate) presentation evening (Carlton Park Hotel) and that the events are now combined, this year’s celebrations will be more affordable and it is hoped, better attended by members.

The Three Horseshoes can cater for a maximum of 50 people for a sit down meal or 100 for a buffet. The type of food available on the night is therefore dependant on numbers attending. For your information, the cost will be £15:00 per head based on either a 3 course seasonal meal or buffet.

I have to pay a deposit to confirm our booking by October, but before doing so I need an indication of numbers attending and a deposit of £10:00 per head.

All members are asked to decide whether or not you wish to attend this year’s combined Christmas function / Annual Presentation Evening. I would be grateful if you could confirm your intentions and let me have a deposit of £10:00 per head by Saturday 30 September.

Payment may be made by either cash or cheque payable to ‘Rotherham Wheelers Cycling Club’. If you prefer, payment may be made by electronic transfer to the club account. (Account details have […]

At the last RWCC General Meeting there was some discussion about whether or not we should organise a club Christmas function this year and, if so, which venue would be suitable and what form it should take.

Last year, following a suggestion from members, we used the Carlton Park Hotel, Rotherham. We have also used the same venue for the annual presentation evening in January / February for the past two years. The reality is that for a club with a membership the size of ours, none of these events were well attended and difficulty was experienced in achieving minimum numbers, especially so in relation to last year’s Christmas function.

It may be that at £32.95 per head last year’s Christmas function was too expensive for some members. The reality is that Christmas is an expensive time and we all have to make choices about how to spend our money. It is also a busy time and inevitably there will be clashes of social commitments.

It was decided at the meeting to seek the views of all members as to whether you wish us to organise a Christmas function this year and if so, what form it should take. Options include:

1) Repeating last year’s format at the Carlton Park.
2) Booking the function room at a local pub and laying on either a Christmas dinner or buffet (the Three Horseshoes at Wickersley has been suggested – we understand they did a very good Christmas dinner last year at a cost of about £13.00 per head).
3) An informal meeting for a drink somewhere, perhaps with food laid on.
4) Steak night at Bluecoats.
5) Not arranging anything in the event of insufficient interest.

We would very much welcome your thoughts and suggestions in order that a decision may be made at the next meeting.

We’re approaching mid-March and a number of members have still not paid their annual club subscriptions.  Club rules dictate that the membership of persons who have not paid their subscriptions by 31 March will be regarded as lapsed.

In order to avoid difficulties for members and the club, members who have not paid their 2017 subscriptions are asked to do so before the end of this month.  Membership fees for 2017 are unchanged and are:

Ordinary members: £15

Second claim members: £7.50

Junior members: £7.50

Payment may be made to me in person by cash or cheque payable to ‘Rotherham Wheelers Cycling Club’ or by electronic transfer (club bank account details available from me on request).

Anyone interested in being the 4th member of a 4 man RWCC team to enter the 2017 Prudential Ride London British Cycling Team Challenge? Duncan Colgrave, Len Richards and I are all interested. The event is on Sunday 30 July and is open for online team entries tomorrow (Monday 27 February).

In order to enter, all team members must be members of RWCC and also paid up members of British Cycling. Entry costs £69 per team member.

A team comprises four riders & can comprise four men or four women or a mixed team of two men and two women

Riders who hold an Elite or Category 1 British Cycling Race Licence are not eligible to enter the Club Challenge

Riders who have already secured an individual place through the original entry ballot or a charity place are not eligible to enter the Club Challenge

Team logistics (travel, accommodation etc) are still to be worked out, but I anticipate we may need to stay overnight in London before and possibly after the event.

There isn’t long for you to think about this one (entries open tomorrow & will be quickly snapped up). If you are interested in making a team, please contact me ASAP.

Regards

Dave