Meet the Team - Bedford Rowing Events

Events Chairman

Gavin Dods

Oversees the sub-committee operations. Performs the role of Race Committee Chairman on race days, and coordinates with external bodies to deliver safe, premium-tier competitions. Provider of event radios and data comms systems.

Contact & Availability

Race Day Location: Race Control Room, top floor, Bedford Rowing Club.

Race Day contact: Bedford Rowing Club event line: 01234 958710

Gavin has been involved in Bedford RC events since 1984 as a junior, when he helped with the Club's first computer timing application on a Dragon 64 (high tech back then). On race day he performs the role of Race Committee Chairman, qualifying as a British Rowing umpire (1991), with multi-lane endorsement (1998), also Rowing New South Wales (2010), Rowing Australia (2011) and World Rowing (FISA) (2013)

When not running rowing events, Gavin is a railway signalling systems engineering consultant. He also coaches crews, who occasionally cheer him up by winning.

Entries Secretary

Will Everitt

Manages the British Rowing BROE entries and results submission workflows, processes banding allocations, manages all competitor entry change requests or registration queries.

Contact & Availability

Race Day Location: Club office, top floor, Bedford Rowing Club.

Race Day contact: Bedford Rowing Club event line: 01234 958710

Will has been involved in Bedford RC's events since 200x, when he stepped in to shadow the designer of our original timing system, John Lickfold. Will's system has grown since then to provide comprehensive race management capabilities. Will's extensive knowledge of the Rules of Racing and BROE make him the ideal entries secretary. He is also a British Rowing umpire (2001), with multi-lane endorsement (2006).

When not pointing out the failings of BROE and the BR Ranking Index system, Will is a director of a specialist industrial inspection company. He also dotes on his wife's cat, while professing to hate it.

Safety Officer

Mike Biggs

Monitors local river conditions and flow status. Responsible for keeping event safety documentation and risk assessments up-to-date and aligned with British Rowing RowSafe metrics. Arranges safety boat teams. Completes booking and compliance documentation with external stakeholders.

Contact & Availability

Race Day Location: Likely to be in one of the Club's safety boats on the course.

Race Day contact: via Bedford Rowing Club event line: 01234 958710

Mike has led the Safety role for our events for many years, either directly performing the safety role or arranging cover if he is away. He looks after the safety boat teams including launch maintenance, safety equipment, team training and rostering along with liaison with the Environment Agency and Borough Council. Mike is also a British Rowing umpire (200x).

When not updating risk assessments, Mike flies freight around the world for a major logistics firm, casually dropping into our Teams meetings which time zone he is calling in from today.

Welfare Officer

Alison Billingham

Safeguards the well-being of all competitors including junior athletes and vulnerable adults, maintaining compliance protocols across our competitions.

Contact & Availability

Race Day Location: Bedford Rowing Club.

Race Day contact: via Bedford Rowing Club event line: 01234 958710

Alison has been involved in the sport since rowing with the (now defunct) Mark Rutherford School Rowing Club, when she had the privilege of winning lots of silverware for the events chairman who was coxing. A social worker for many years, Alison is new to the team having recently been elected as one of the Club's Welfare Officers.

When not nagging Gavin to update her profile picture to one from this century, on Saturday mornings Alison can be found bribing him to continue coaching her daughter with the purchase of the social club's agreeable cooked breakfasts. She also coaches newcomers to the sport in the Club's Learn to Row and Explore Rowing programmes.

Volunteer Co-ordinator

Hazel Rawdon Smith

Manages the recruitment and development of our volunteer teams and arranges duty rotas to cover each competition. Ensures that our key volunteer resources are well fueled!

Contact & Availability

Race Day Location: Registration desk, first floor, Bedford Rowing Club (or racing!).

Race Day contact: Bedford Rowing Club event line: 01234 958710

Hazel possibly can't quite remember exactly how she agreed to take on the volunteer co-ordinator role, but we are extremely grateful that she did. She corrals club members, friends, neighbours and people passing by to create a mighty team of helpers over the wide range of jobs that comprise running successful events; any club member planning to race who hasn't put their name forward to help on the bank is duly 'voluntold' what they will be doing while not racing. She also leads the registration team of people who can give bad news to crews with a smile. Every club needs a Hazel.

Hazel says that she could say what she used to do as a day job, but she'd then have to kill us. Having seen a photo of her in full camo gear with a large rifle, we're inclined to agree. Her current job role is, we're told, somewhat more mundane and allows her to improve her rowing technique to good effect as she collects ever more silverware with her fellow women's masters crews.

Start Zone Co-ordinator

Jon Lemon

Responsible for liasing between the start and start marshalling teams, setting up the tech for our start timing equipment, ensuring that race times are accurately recorded throughout the day. Also a fine chainsaw wielder for course clearance work.

Contact & Availability

Race Day Location: At the start line.

Race Day contact: Bedford Rowing Club event line: 01234 958710

Jon rowed in our first eight once upon a time, and can still recount every race in full detail. Remind him to tell you about the time he lost at Henley by three feet in the first race of Day 1 sometime last century: somehow the memory never fades. After a long engineering career in the lead industry, Jon then moved into the considerably more docile life of being a boatman at the schools' boathouse, building up his knowledge of all the best breakfast bars within spitting distance of the Tideway

Recently retired, Jon is on a crusade to add every Ryobi battery power tool to his collection and can often be found looking for things to construct or destruct around the Head course.

Finish Zone Co-ordinator

Kevin Walsh

Responsible for the finish and finish marshalling teams, setting up the tech for our finish timing equipment, ensuring that race times are accurately recorded throughout the day. Ensures finish pontoon in position and staffed.

Contact & Availability

Race Day Location: At the finish line or racing in a crew.

Race Day contact: Bedford Rowing Club event line: 01234 958710

Kevin is a great example of a rowing dad who dutifully taxied his daughter to many training sessions and regattas then thought that this rowing lark just may be good fun to try. Roll forward a few years and Kevin & chums have amassed a wide range of Masters wins in their coxed four up to National Champs level.

An electrician by profession, when not sucking through his teeth at "Whoever the last bloke that put this in" was thinking as he looks at the boathouse wiring, Kevin is training for his next win.

Social Club liaison

Nick Weetman

Responsible for ensuring the clubroom is a warm and welcoming venue for competitors, spectators and volunteers throughout the day and - crucially - working with the volunteer co-ordinator to ensure our volunteers are amply fed and watered.

Contact & Availability

Race Day Location: At the bar, Bedford Rowing Club.

Race Day contact: Bedford Rowing Club main number: 01234 353183

As a social club committee member, Nick is the key liaison with the social club and kitchen staff to ensure that the clubroom and bar are fully stocked and staffed to welcome our visitors and volunteers. Nick's crusade to avoid the irritation of stocking real ale at the bar was known to wind up the events chairman, we can all hope that the new chairman has a change of heart.

When not stocking bottled beer at generous margins, Nick can occasionally be found in a quad with the Safety Officer and friends, sometimes even managing to race. Strangely this relaxed training regime rarely leads to them troubling the prize-givers.