2024 AGM and Awards

Last Wednesday, 26th June, we held what is expected to be Serpentine Running Club’s final Annual General Meeting, before we transition to the new Charitable Incorporated Organisation, Serpentine Running & Triathlon Club, later this year.  

Carlos Arrebola, the Club’s Chair, provided an update of progress on the initiatives the Committee developed to support the Club’s strategy and our Treasurer, Imran Ahmed, presented the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024.  

Carlos Arrebola did not stand for re-election and the members approved the nomination of Veronique Leroy to be the Club’s new Chair.  Hans Ho, our Marketing Lead, also did not stand for re-election and this role remains vacant.  All other Officers and Committee members were re-elected; full details of the current committee can be found here.

As usual we announced the winners of the Club’s four Special Awards; these are awarded annually to members for their outstanding effort over the past year as follows:

John Stonham Farewell Cup

The trophy is awarded annually to the runner who, in the judgement of the Committee, inspires others by being 1) a new runner who shows significant “improvement, but not necessarily victories” 2) an experienced runner returning from injury or illness or 3) a member showing enthusiasm in the sport even without victory.

This year we are awarding the cup to Richard Wisdom, who suffered a number of health challenges including a heart attack in February.  While recovering from these setbacks, he has come to sessions full of enthusiasm, never in a mire of self-pity. Now he’s running again, he attends regularly on Wednesdays and Sundays, always with a smile on his face and a tale to tell.  Keep on inspiring us, Richard, and we look forward to seeing your health continue to improve.

David Simpson Memorial Trophy

David Simpson, who was a long-standing Serpentine member, passed away in 2011 after a long battle with cancer. He was kind enough to leave the club a legacy, a part of which was used to inaugurate the David Simpson Memorial Trophy, which is awarded on an annual basis for achievement in hill and off-road running, both of which were close to David’s heart.

This year we award this trophy to Katy Casterton for her performance in cross country. Katy joined the club since Covid, thinking of doing a little running to keep her fit for her hockey.  She took to cross country like a duck to water in her first season, showing improvements each subsequent season. Fast forward two and a half years and she finished 3rd placed lady in the very competitive Met League.  Congratulations Katy.

Innovation Cup

The Innovation Cup was very generously donated by an anonymous donor for the most innovative, inclusive event organised by the club, as determined by the Chair and Secretary from nominations made by members of the Committee. 

The Cup was awarded to Ham Huxham this year for the Introduction of the Virtual Winter League.  This League kept many of us training through dark evenings and miserable weather over the winter months, appealing not only to triathletes but also to runners too.  Each week we had an activity or race to complete, many of them virtually, covering the 3 triathlon disciplines, followed up by a score for the week.  The accessible format enabled everyone to compete; juniors, members in their 80s, people without a bike as well as our seasoned triathletes all joined in – over 80 of us in total.  Thank you Ham for devising such an inclusive and fun league.

Secretary’s Shield

This trophy is awarded annually to the club member (or members) who, in the personal judgement of the Honorary Secretary, has greatly contributed to the club, above and beyond what might be expected from an ordinary member. 

The award this year goes to Sammy Li for all his help in supporting the Wednesday night Club runs, in particular bag-minding at the Seymour Centre, ensuring we had basic supplies in the Club room at the Seymour Centre, shopping and preparing for the Wednesday evening socials and his invaluable contribution in setting up operations at our new home at St Mary’s.  Sammy is also a regular official at track and field events and competes in cross-country in the winter. Congratulations Sammy and thank you for everything you have done to keep the club running.

We will be publishing the minutes of the AGM on the website in due course.  In the meantime, congratulations to all the award winners and many thanks to Carlos and Hans for all their hard work over the past few years!

Serpentine RC Governance Committee