Membership

Membership of Leander continues to be one of the most highly prized honours in rowing.

The 2010 AGM took the decision to change the membership category nomenclature. Ordinary Members are now known as ‘Full Members’ and Associate Members as ‘Members’.

The criteria for membership are shared by all those distinguished past and present oarsmen and women who comprise our Full Members, as well as the world-class athletes who comprise our active rowing squad. Membership is also available for those men and women who may not have the same degree (or any) of rowing proficiency but who share the ethos of the Club, including its core values of teamwork, discipline, excellence and winning.

The current total membership of Leander now comprises almost 3600 men and women worldwide.

FULL Membership

The Club rules require that the qualification for Full Membership is 'good fellowship and proficiency in oarsmanship'. The Committee is solely responsible for assessing each candidate's proficiency, as well as their good fellowship, but these guidelines (not ‘rules’) should be helpful for members wishing to propose new Full Members. Attention is also drawn to the section on retrospective criteria (below).  It should be emphasised here that entry to our active Rowing squad is through a separate trials process, which is open to all-comers who feel they have the necessary potential.

'ROWING PROFICIENCY'

Among the criteria which fulfill the rowing aspect are:

• Representing Great Britain at a world championship regatta (Senior, Under-23, or Junior).

• Our strong links to university rowing continue and the men’s and women’s Blue Boats meet our criteria, as do the Isis and Goldie crews. However we also strongly encourage candidates who have reached similar standards while rowing for other universities. Although it is many years since we have routinely elected leading Oxbridge college crews en bloc, we will consider individuals with a record of particular success in that environment (usually when coupled with additional service to their college clubs in leadership roles). This applies equally to other major rowing universities with thriving collegiate rowing.
  

• Reaching the finals (exceptionally, the semi-finals) at Henley Royal Regatta is generally taken as evidence of ‘proficiency’, as are outstanding performances in the finals of the main elite events at the Women’s Henley Regatta. However, not all high calibre oarsmen and oarswomen reach Henley finals during their careers, so we also encourage candidates of a similar standard with a broader range of achievements – for example those who have a combination of wins in the open events at the National Championships, high level placings in the major Heads and a record of sustained success in other top domestic regattas.
  

Leander has always encouraged outstanding younger candidates. Potential candidates from junior and schools’ rowing are usually limited to Henley finalists and to full Junior internationals. Exceptionally, we will consider others who can clearly be shown to be of equal calibre.

In addition membership is also available for those men and women who have given special service to the sport of rowing. However these criteria are not exhaustive and an enquiry to the Club is often the best means to determine whether a potential candidate stands a reasonable chance of election. This can be achieved discreetly by emailing the Honorary Secretary on confidential@leander.co.uk

Candidates must be proposed and seconded by two existing Full Members, by completing a Full Membership application form, and applications are considered at the club's monthly committee meetings which generally fall in the last week of the month.

For further information please contact the Club Office on 01491 575782

Retrospective criteria
For older candidates, we endeavour to use the criteria that would have been current at the time they were rowing, rather than to apply those used today (not least as many of their former crewmates will already be existing Leander members). Additionally, although women were not admitted as members until the early 1990s, we should emphasise that we encourage women candidates with suitably high level rowing achievements that pre-date that rule change.

‘Services to Rowing’
Full Membership is also available to those who have served the sport with distinction off the water. Among those who fall into this category are the primary coaches of the crews that have achieved our rowing criteria, as well as those who have given extended service as the chief coaches at leading clubs, schools and universities and who nowadays generally hold the higher level coaching qualifications. Officers of major rowing clubs or regattas who have given special service are frequently elected, as are those who have undertaken key roles in the administration of the sport. Long serving umpires (particularly multi-lane qualified) make up a further group and there are a variety of other ways in which our Ordinary Members have qualified through their services to rowing.

Further guidance
Potential proposers and candidates requiring further advice should call the club office.

Membership

Membership is available for those men and women who may not meet the required standard of rowing proficiency but who are judged to share the ethos of the Club, including its core values of teamwork, discipline, excellence and winning. The Committee is solely responsible for assessing each candidate's suitability, which is based on  their good fellowship and the circumstances that will allow them to take advantage of the Club's superb meeting, dining and bar facilities throughout the year. Most applicants will therefore live locally or be regular visitors to the area.
Candidates must be proposed and seconded by two existing Members, one of whom must be a Full Member, by completing a Membership Application Form, and applications are considered at the club's monthly committee meetings and their decision .

Spouse Membership

Any Member may elect to take an additional Membership for their spouse for whom there will be no election requirement or joining fee, just a 50% charge of the full fee. Spouse Members may use the facilities of the Club in their own right and entertain guests without incurring room hire charges.Any Member may elect to take an additional Membership for their spouse for whom there will be no election requirement or joining fee, just a 50% charge of the full fee.

Club DRESs

Full and Honorary Members may wear all the club colour ‘Pink’,  crossed oars with 'LC' cipher and blazer buttons without restriction. Others are not entitled to wear the Club’s colour, buttons, or those clothing items bearing the cipher.

Club Rules

Click here to download the club rules (PDF format)

FORMS AND MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL

The following application forms are available to download:

Full Membership Form

Membership Form

Spouse Membership Form
Direct Debit Mandate

For further information please contact the Club Office on 01491 575782

SUBSCRIPTIONS

The annual subscription from  January 2012 is £250 plus the GB Rowing levy of £5.60.  For new members there is an addition joining fee equivalent to one year's subscription, making a total payable on election of £505.60. For full members under the age of 30 the annual fee is only £60 and there is no joining fee. Overseas subscription rates are half the UK rate but the Joining Fee and Levy remains the same. Spouse rates are half the UK rate and no joining fee is applied.

SECURE CREDIT CARD PAYMENT FOR OVERSEAS MEMBERS SUBSCRIPTION

Pink Hippo Club

BECOME A MEMBER! Donations from the Pink Hippo Club have proved invaluable to the rowing programme over the years and with your help this can continue. The first prize is £300, the second is £200 and the third prize is £100.
£12 per annum payable by standing order ensures entry in 2 draws a year. There is no limit on the number of tickets which can be held - please fill in the number of tickets you require on the standing order. Click here for a form to print out and and return to LEANDER CLUB, HENLEY-ON-THAMES, RG9 2LP

overseas and distant members

The Committee is keen to keep in touch with those Members who live many miles from Henley, many of whom organise their own Leander gatherings around the world.

Despite the distances involved the Committee recognises that many value their membership more than some of those living closer to home, and is keen to maintain contact, possibly by getting together local groups in other countries to act as a focus.

We have had some interest from overseas members wishing to organise local Leander get-togethers. Some successes to date have included meeting up at European Regattas and informal dinners at one of our reciprocal clubs. The following members have kindly agreed to act as focal points in this respect and if you are nearby and interested in the occasional gathering please make contact with them direct:

Channel Islands: Jonathan Perree, St Helier, Jersey

Continental Western Europe: Paul Castle, Basel, Switzerland

North America: Charles Hamlin, Lincoln, Massachusetts, USA

Australia: Patrick Moore, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia

Any Member who has further information on local groups in other countries, or who would like to be involved in such an initiative, is invited to contact the Club for more details.