Administration and Finance

“Helping the Club achieve its goals”

This is year two in the role, and from an administration side, the club continues its upward and forward momentum.

Financially, the club has performed commendably yet again, and I thank all members, volunteers and donators for your support again this season. Net profit for the season is just shy of $130k, which is an awesome achievement.

The support from Carole Irving and Melina van der Weerd-Arceo have been a blessing, helping manage clubhouse/residence bookings and coordinate contractors as they do their good work on the club’s facilities.

A few financial points from this season:

Channel Challenge 2024 was a highlight of the season, pulling in a record 710 registrations before online registrations closed. For the Bass Coast Series, the club raised $15k after expenses from the Channel Challenge and received $8k from the Cowes events partnership. Well done to Events Team!!

The Club’s Environmental Management Plan, i.e. the concrete retaining wall installed to protect the clubhouse from the encroachment of the sand dune, continued through 2023/24. A lot of work and funds was put into the project during the 2022/23 season, with the wall in place for the commencement of the 2023/24 summer which was a boon to both training and operations. A significant portion of this project was paid during the 2023/24 financial year, and with the grant acquittal now complete, the club received the last milestone payment of $67.8k which will be included in the 2024/25 financials. What remains now is the revegetation efforts which will continue over the next few years to ensure dune stability. Well done to the project team for their tireless efforts in managing this project.

Our club is significantly supported by the successful grants that our members apply for and over the last few years, Brendan Smart and Campbell Smart have contributed greatly to these grant funding pursuits. Our season ended with appointing Aaron Grace and Rachel Vanketwich as club grant officers, both of whom have hit the ground running. I look forward to the positive impact they bring to the club in the season to come.

The Development Fund Board has returned a positive return on investment for the club, further details can be found in their report.

Financially, we are entering the new season in a good position and I look forward to seeing the growth (member development and financial) that takes place during the 2024/25 season.

Christian Born

Director of Administration & Finance