Issue 95 - February 1997

Gender at top of Leander's agenda

Leander's much-trumpeted gift of £1.5 million from the Sports Lottery Fund comes with strings attached. The male-only club named after the hapless youth who drowned in the Hellespont on his way to a tryst with Hero, priestess of Aphrodite, is required to enter, if not marriage, then a cohabitation agreement if it is to secure the dowry. It is no coincidence that John Beveridge, the secretary, was anxious to tell the press how closely Leander had worked with the women's Olympic team - often seen partaking of breakfast in the members' bar after training at Henley RC. For despite the photocall to ostensibly hand the cheque over, money will not change hands until the Sports Council is satisfied under a number of headings, including insistence on 'modernization of the constitution' and no discrimination against females. 'We are awaiting what that means,' Beveridge said at the time Regatta went to press.

The award of £1.5 million is a contribution to Leander's redevelopment fund of £2.3 million. Pledges of £800,000 of the remainder from members, private donors and the Leander Trust are on the captain's table on condition that the Lottery application is successful. The development plan includes (see page 18) a new gymnasium, physio and medical facilitates, ladies changing rooms, more space for boats, and improvements in accommodation and catering arrangements.

Apart form the question of gender, the Sports Council will scrutinize Leander's 'outreach' proposals in seeking to become a Thames Valley High Performance Centre under the ARA's programme for the British Academy of Sport. The ARA is keen that Leander remains a centre of men's heavyweight rowing. At a meeting recently it became clear that a sticking point for endorsement as a national junior centre is the bar on women.

The problem of the constitution is taxing brain power at the Pink Palace and, no doubt, turning a lot of old Pinkos in their graves. Two attempts in the last 15 years to open the club to women made little ground. But those among the membership sympathetic to the coed idea must surely be boosted if maintaining discriminatory tradition means kissing good-bye to a couple of million. If members cannot come to terms with clauses that instruct the club to modernise its constitution and open its doors to aspirants as well as achievers in its 'high performance centre', they risk repeating history by drowning.

If it comes to changing the rules, an extraordinary general meeting must be called in writing with 42 days' notice, and from a quorum of 25 two-thirds of those present and voting must find in favour.

© Copyright Christopher Dodd, 1997.