At it's Annual General Meeting Ivanhoe Runners elected its committee (or most of it) for 2008, as follows: Chairman - Sean Wileman; Secretary - Alan Edwards; Treasurer - Helen Moores; Men's Captain - Brian Stout; Ladies Captain - vacant; Publicity Co-ordinator - Andrew Hough; Fixtures Secretary - Alistair Chambers; Social Secretaries - Stuart Douglas and Nigel Holmes; and Special Events Co-ordinator - vacant.
This year I am sure that some of you are aware at how tirelessly I have worked for this club to try and improve communications, on most accounts I think I have been successful, however I am still barraged with comments such as, when was that then? I didn’t read that one? I didn’t think that was for me? Oh really how long has it been like that then? , And so on. I’m sure you all know what I am talking about. I do feel rather sad that I am beginning this speech with rather a negative edge, but this will be my first and last time as Chairman of Ivanhoe Runners. I feel that a lot of things need to change if we are to be the club I know we can be. We are a club full of fantastic runners but to be a good runner I feel requires a degree of selfishness, this selfishness however seems to be extending to the whole running of the club. To have a successful club you need a group of people all with the same aim. We broadly have the same aim in Ivanhoe Runners and that is to be successful at our chosen hobby. However when you are also expecting an organised social calendar, results service and communications department this cannot exist in such a selfish environment, we have been blessed this year by a few people who although not on the committee have put themselves out for the rest of you regularly, not just once but many times, Pete Mann, Kevin Sanders and Andy Hough in our communications department. Brian Gough in our new runners department. It is not, however, the people who are helping out who are claiming that the club is not giving them what they want. If you are looking for a club where everything is laid on for you and you don’t have to contribute to anything except paying for it, then you need to find a different type of club, Ivanhoe Runners has always relied on the help of its members and as such, that help should come from everyone, not just a few people. If everyone did their bit, either in organising or supporting events, 1 major hurdle would be jumped. It needs the support of each member at some time or other to make for a successful club; all of you like to run you must do otherwise why be a member of a running club. It does seem though that not all of you are as happy to be a MEMBER of that club, you are in effect just running, why then are you wasting your money being a member of a club you have no regard for. I feel 2008 is the year when our new Chairman and the new committee will make or break Ivanhoe Runners, but they can only make it with 100% commitment from their members but with no commitment it will easily be broken.
With regard to running, we had a really good year, and as the representative of the LRRL I was very proud to see large turn outs of runners on every occasion to show Leicestershire what we can do. The ladies finished a fantastic 9th place out of 31 teams and as such secured a place in the top division, well done to the ladies who turned out you did yourselves and your club proud. And my boys, well they did themselves and the club proud too, finishing top of the second division in the Senior as well as the Vets league. We started to believe in each other and support each other, we have had the men supporting the ladies and vice versa I like the idea of a harmonious team of people who are only interested in beating the people from other clubs but the very nature of our chosen sport is the will and desire to compete, doesn’t matter who we are competing against we want to be the best or at least better, this is a natural instinct for most of us, there is nothing wrong with that, but we do not want that desire to inhibit our performance as a team, therefore we need to stay driven even if we are the best of Ivanhoe on the day, we will invariably be behind someone who we need to be in front of. I am sure that I am telling all of you nothing you don’t already know, but I feel that this ethos needs to be reminded on several occasions throughout the year, just to keep us all on track.
Our social calendar has been somewhat lacking this year, mainly due to a lack of Social Secretary, but also to lack of support on the events I have organised. 76 of us however had a fantastic night out at the awards night on the 15th December and as this was partly funded by the club the costs were kept to an absolute minimum, so as not to exclude any member from the festivities. I feel this was an extremely successful night with nearly everyone in the room getting a mention if not an award.
I would like to finish by saying thank you to our outgoing committee and wishing you all great successes in the coming year.
Paula Hough