About the Club

Committee

The President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary are, under the Club’s Constitution, statutory office bearers of the River Canoe Club of New South Wales and sit on the Executive and Club Committees. Members of the Executive Committee, together with the Public Officer, are eligible to be authorised signatories for Club bank accounts, correspondence and so on.


Executive Committee 2023-2024

Murray Waldron
President


Cathryn Walker
Vice-President


Jackie Davis
Secretary

Jackie moved to Australia 35 years ago after falling in love with her Aussie partner.  Prior to that she spent several summers in Canadian and Minnesotan wilderness areas guiding multi-day and weeklong canoe trips with young people.  Jackie still prefers canoeing, but is honing her kayaking skills with the Club. Jackie is a regular with The Mullets’ monthly clean-up of the Cooks River, which she encourages all to join! You can contact Jackie at secretary.rivercanoeclub@gmail.com.


Rob Walker
Treasurer, Safety and Training Officer

You can contact Rob at training.rivercanoeclub@gmail.com.


Club Committee 2023-2024

Jenny Saleeba
General Member

Jenny reactivated her latent kayaking skills a few years ago when she joined the Club, expanding on her past attempts at easier whitewater and river touring by learning to turn ridiculously long sea kayaks. She seeks to find peace with the tension point between tracking and manoeuvring. You can contact Jenny at jenny.saleeba@gmail.com.


JP Collins
Webmaster, SPLASH Magazine Editor

JP joined the Club in 2020 and has joined in hundreds of Club outings, all over Sydney’s waterways as well as further afield to the Myall Lakes, Kangaroo Valley and the Macquarie River. When he’s not updating the Club website or preparing the next edition of SPLASH Magazine, you’ll find him leading up the Tuesday Evening Social Paddles from the Clubhouse. You can contact JP on 0420 237 831 or jpbcollins@gmail.com.


Kevin Songberg
Whitewater Coordinator

Kevin has paddled in a few slaloms and done many whitewater river trips over recent years, plus some sea kayak adventures. He plans to help lift the Club’s paddling skills and increase the number of people giving paddling guidance. With more skilled and experienced people our Club will be able to do an even greater range of fun trips. You can contact Kevin at white.rivercanoeclub@gmail.com.


Lisa Gladstone
Memberships Officer

You can contact Lisa at memberships.rivercanoeclub@gmail.com.


Scott Brunero
Boat Captain

Scott joined the Club in 2020, after five years of ice skating! He has been on a lot of the Club trips, and a regular on the Cooks River. As the Boat Captain he aims to keep the Club’s fleet of kayaks in good shape for everyone to enjoy. See you on the river!


Simon Wilkes
General Member

Simon has been paddling for 20 years and loves to share his skills with all comers. With some whitewater, sea kayaking, canoeing and the occasional race, it’s the diverse range of paddling activities and the Club community that he really enjoys. You can contact Simon at simonw.rivercanoeclub@gmail.com.


If you’re looking for minutes from Committee meetings agenda and minutes, please click here
Please contact our Secretary at secretary.rivercanoeclub@gmail.com if you would like to add an idea to the agenda of any upcoming Committee meeting.

(any issues with access? Please contact our friendly co-secretaries for assistance secretary.rivercanoeclub@gmail.com)


Why get involved and nominate for a Committee position?

  1. So you know what’s happening—across all paddling and Club opportunities.
  2. To set the direction and priorities for the Club. It’s your Club—let’s have some fun adventures.
  3. To spend money on paddling gear! That’s always fun—new paddling gear.
  4. To make a real difference—there are many easy wins along the way.
  5. It’s great for for your career—learn new skills, meet great people, develop your leadership capabilities.
  6. It’s great for your networking—you’ll get to meet all many of interesting people, from all over New South Wales.
  7. It’s great for your mental health.
  8. To make sure the Club is still around for many years to come !
  9. To enjoy wine and cheese—an essential ingredient for the monthly Committee meetings! (Also the option to dial in in from home..)
  10. Complementary boat storage—if you’re actively paddling with the Club, boat storage is free (normally $150/year)
  11. All of the above.. 🙂


What’s the focus of each Committee position?

Executive Committee

  • President: Leads the direction and priorities for the Club, setting up the Club for the future.  
  • Vice-President: Works with the Committee on exciting Club projects and initiatives, and helps steer the direction of the Club.
  • Treasurer: Steers the financial direction for the Club and keeping us financially afloat while buying lots of paddling gear.
  • Secretary: Keeps the Committee and Club on track – with minutes, agendas and occasional paperwork.  

General Committee

  • Memberships Officer: Ensures new and existing members feel part of the Club, and keeps member databases up-to-date. 
  • Volunteer Coordinator: Manages our ‘to-do’ list and encourages members to help tick things off. A form of ‘match-making’.
  • Webmaster: Maintains and develops our online presence, so new and existing members have access to useful information.
  • SPLASH Magazine Editor: Collates fun and interesting articles for our regular online magazine.                         
  • Accountant: Has fun with numbers, pays for things and keeps our books up-to-date.
  • Whitewater Coordinator: A point of contact for whitewater activities, encouraging members to organise trips and paddles across the year. 
  • Flatwater Coordinator: A point of contact for flatwater activities, encouraging members to organise trips and paddles across the yea
  • Open Water Coordinator: A point of contact for open water activities, encouraging members to organise trips and paddles across the year.
  • Education and Community Officer: Builds partnerships with other organisations, to create win-win opportunities and outcomes. 
  • House Captain: Manages our Clubhouse and make it our home off the water. Oversees upgrade projects like a new roof!
  • Boat Captain: Maintains our fleet of boats and buys new gear so we can all keep doing what we love.
  • Safety and Training Officer: Keeps building a strong safety culture in the Club, and looks for training gaps and opportunities.
  • Social Coordinator: Organises social events for on and off the water.
  • Grants Coordinator: Looks for grants and arrange for applications to be submitted – there are lots of people who want to give us money!
  • General: Be on the Committee and start to get involved, as suits.