This page summarises the roles of the Club’s various officers. As well as providing general information, these definitions will be a help to anyone contemplating standing for a role in annual Club elections.
President Responsibilities
- Head of the Club with overall responsibility for all activities.
- Represents the Club to external organisations.
- Normally delegates responsibility for chairing meetings to the Commodore.
Commodore Responsibilities
- Responsible for the operational organisation of the Club.
- Ensure efficient day-to-day running of activities and requisite coordination between sections.
- Ensure officers have access to Google Drive documents and website.
- Ensure adequate organisation of Sports Fair and Freshers Fair.
- Call termly General Committee meetings.
- Call the Annual Student Members Meeting.
- Produce the annual Commodore’s Report.
Senior Treasurer Responsibilities
- Act in accordance with the regulations of the University and Sports Service for clubs and societies.
- Represent the Club to the University.
- Prepare annual accounts for presentation to the Sports Service and to the Club AGM.
- Oversee the general financial administration of the Club.
Senior Secretary Responsibilities
- Prepare agendas for committee and general meetings of the Club, and minute such meetings – seeing that agreed actions are progressed.
- Ensure that a General Committee meeting takes place each term.
- Ensure that the Annual General Meeting (November) and the Annual Student Members Meeting (May) are advertised in good time.
- Ensure that the website is updated with new officer names at the appropriate times.
- Assist the Commodore in the annual registration of the Club with the Sports Service.
- Assist the Commodore in coordinating start-of-term activities in September/October.
- Organise the annual Senior Advisory Committee Meeting (January, London).
- Make an annual deposit of the Commodore’s Report, meeting minutes, and any other relevant documents at the University Archives.
- See that incoming H&S and Welfare Officers, and Bosuns, accept their responsibilities via an email – and also review the documents they are responsible for, formally recording such review.
- See that trophies are appropriately engraved.
- See that the Commodore’s Report is prepared and uploaded to the website
- Coordinate the activities of the Assistant Senior Secretary, Alumni Administrator, and Webmaster.
Senior Committee Members Responsibilities
- Assist in the maintenance of continuity in all Club matters.
- Ensure adequate representation of all sailing disciplines on the General Committee.
Vice Commodore Team Racing Responsibilities
- Team captain of Team and Match Racing.
- Responsible for the proper running of the Team Racing Section.
- Authorise all Club activities within the Team Racing Section.
- Arrange team racing trials early in the Michaelmas term.
- Select teams and arrange training sessions.
Womens Captain Responsibilities
- Team captain of womens team racing.
- Select the team for the RYA/BUSA Womens National Team Racing Championships.
- Select the womens team for the Varsity Match.
- Arrange training sessions.
Vice Commodore Windsurfing Responsibilities
- Team captain of Windsurfing.
- Responsible for the proper running of the Windsurfing Section.
- Authorise all Club activities within the Windsurfing Section.
- Oversee arrangements for windsurfing taster sessions and windsurfing trips.
- Select and train the Varsity Match team.
Rear Commodore Dinghy Sailing Responsibilities
- Team captain of Dinghy Sailing and Fleet Racing.
- Responsible for the proper running of the Dinghy Sailing Section.
- Promote RYA dinghy training for beginners.
- Authorise all Club activities within the Dinghy Sailing Section.
Junior Secretary Responsibilities
- Ensure that website membership pages are accurate and up to date.
- Encourage last year’s members to re-join and help with October recruitment.
- Maintain membership records, downloading data from the website and validating member data each January.
- Manage member communications in general.
- Send lists of trip participants and monthly lists of members to the Sports Service for personal accident insurance.
- Prepare a list of departing members and former members for the Alumni Administrator each May/June (6 years of data to allow for medics).
- Deputise for the Senior Secretary at meetings.
- Arrange for such publication of General Committee decisions as is appropriate.
Junior Treasurer Responsibilities
- Maintain a management budget (Financial Position Statement) for the Club.
- Manage the Club’s PayPal facilities, informing Treasurers of the make-up of any amounts transferred to them.
- Assist the Senior Treasurer in the preparation of the Club’s annual accounts.
- Prepare the Support Funds annual accounts and arrange for their publication on the website.
Team Racing Treasurer Responsibilities
- Maintain an accurate account of all student sailing-related transactions.
- Supply requisite information to the Junior Treasurer so that they can maintain the Club’s Financial Position Statement.
- Close off the old workbook and set up the new on 1st August so that summer transactions are covered.
- Maintain good control over sailor debts, raising late payment charges when necessary.
- Work with the Junior Treasurer in May to decide how much money can be allocated to event entry assistance – and allocate it in June.
Publicity Officer Responsibilities
- Responsible for all Club publicity, including web and social media (particularly pre-Michaelmas Term publicity in all student publications).
- Email market the Club and its activities to students.
- Assist the Webmaster in adding news items to the website.
- Maintain the XML file of website email forwarding rules (to appropriate officers).
- Ensure that social media and website are geared towards October recruitment from mid-August onwards.
- October recruitment of new members demands major activity (‘Interested’ follow-up, Taster, Squash, RYA Training, etc.).
- Maintain the Club’s marketing database with trip participants, new members, plus Sports Fair, Freshers Fair, and online sign-ups.
- Action student unsubscribe requests throughout the year.
Health & Safety Officer Responsibilities
- Oversee the safety of all Club activities, delegating actions and supporting officers and committee members as required.
- Work closely with the Club Commodore, Bosun, Training Officer, and section heads to ensure all aspects of safety are covered in the day-to-day running of the Club.
- Work closely with the Grafham Water SC Chief Safety Officer, ensuring a two-way exchange of any alterations to procedures or documentation by either club.
- Compile risk assessments for general sessions at Grafham Water SC and events hosted at Grafham and elsewhere – and to ensure standards are adhered to on away trips.
- Attend any relevant University of Cambridge training and briefings on behalf of the Club.
- Send out pertinent safety and emergency procedure documentation to all active members at the start of each year.
- Approach any individuals who may be Trip Leader throughout the year to check they have read and fully understand all policies and procedures.
Welfare Officer Responsibilities
- Be a known point of contact for all members with welfare concerns, during Club activities within and without Cambridge.
- Complete University of Cambridge Welfare Training once per year, as a minimum.
- Work closely with the Club Commodore, team captains and Senior Treasurer (or other senior person designated by him) as appropriate.
- Signpost welfare resources, services and trained individuals – dependent on the situation – in Colleges, the University, and the wider community.
- Oversee social activity within the club, working with the Health & Safety Officer to maintain a positive and welcoming environment for all club members at all times.
- Hold lists of sailors away from Cambridge overnight during term.
Alumni Administrator Responsibilities
- Maintain a list of Alumni Supporters of the Club.
- Maintain contact with alumni via regular email newsletters.
- Maintain liaison with CUDAR re gift arrangements and the change of alumni standing orders to direct debits.
- Organise an Alumni telephoning campaign annually in January.
- Each May/June make arrangements with the Junior Secretary for a list of departing members and former members – to approach and add to the Alumni Supporters list.
- Annually reconcile standing orders received with the Alumni Supporters list of expected orders, while such orders are in force.
- Send alumni gift income details to the Junior Treasurer so that they can prepare Support Fund accounts.
- Send the annual Gift Aid Schedule to the Senior Treasurer so that they can claim Gift Aid.
- Ensure that that the Support Funds page on the website is updated with the latest annual Support Fund accounts.
- Every 5 years cleanse the Alumni Supporters list data.
Webmaster Responsibilities
- Maintain the Club’s website and such other web facilities that the Club shall use – excluding social media.
- Maintain liaison with the Publicity Officer, team captains, and others for news and photographs of events.
- Create posts of event results as required.
- Update website plugins on a weekly basis.
- Handle monthly website backups.
- Carry out a quarterly audit of the website for broken links, Google issues, etc., and optimise the database.
- Update the Twenty Sixteen theme and WordPress core as required.
- Delete old ‘order’ data for membership and trips each July and cancel current memberships.
- Delete posts older than 4 years each January, along with associated photos. Also index names appearing in gallery photos for current year.
- Produce annual statistics of website activity each January.
Women’s Officer Responsibilities
- Ensure representation of the interests of women and non-binary people within the club – encourage helming and taking leadership roles.
- Maintain communications and involvement with those not on the mixed BUSA teams.
- Help women’s captain in arranging women’s training and events.
Sponsorship Officer Responsibilities
- Secure financial support and partnerships for the club.
- Reach out to potential sponsors, build relationships with organisations and negotiate sponsorship deals.
- Aim to secure the necessary resources to fund events, sailing equipment and other essential needs.
Sustainability Officer Responsibilities
- Raise awareness for sustainability amongst club members.
- Update the social media with sustainability related posts.
- Ensure the club makes conscious decisions regarding the purchase of kit and material.
- Create guidelines for the club and identify improvements regarding environmental policy.
- Ensure the club and sailing centre align their environmental goals with the RYA Green Blue Sustainability Challenge.
Investment Committee and Trustees Responsibilities
- Their role is to manage the CUCC investments in accordance with the agreed investment policy and committee functions.