A Financial Overview of Boulder Community Rowing
With the 2023 rowing season drawing to a close the board of directors would like to provide BCR members with a brief overview of the club's financial position. While there are still some outstanding bills to be paid this year those costs are generally fixed or highly predictable.
All in all, it's a relief to say that the board of directors anticipates a very manageable ratio of revenues to expenses for the year. When the season began, BCR's board was wrestling with significant uncertainty about how to meet the City of Boulder's ever-rising fees for practice times, boat/equipment storage, and a host of other expenses — they refused to even tell us the rates we'd be charged for practice hours until after the season was underway! Also, the coaching staff had yet to coalesce and the numbers of members and practice participants was far from certain. We took our best guess at where to set the pricing for club membership, guest rower fees, compensation for coaches, and all of the other elements that underlie BCR's operations — thankfully, the final result should arrive at a nearly-balanced budget.
You will notice that a significant portion of the club's revenue is assigned to an "insurance claim." This came in the form of a $16,000 payment after several Peinert 1X boats were damaged by a runaway vehicle during a triathlon this summer. This money was received and reinvested in the club, including the purchase of a refurbished Vespoli 8+ and two new Vespoli 1X shells — great additions to the club's fleet of boats. The costs of these additions ("insurance boat purchases") balances with the settlement revenue ("insurance claim").
A few other numbers to consider:
40 participants in the Learn to Row program this year
16 novices continued to row in at least one club practice
323 members and guest rowers on the water since 2021
BCR's future looks bright. Notably, we recently received an assurance from the City of Boulder that the cost increase for reserving the reservoir to practice during non-public hours will be held to a 5-percent increase next year. That's encouraging news (although we still believe the base rates imposed on our club are far too high). Vitally, new rowers are entering our program and rapidly becoming accomplished oars-people. And, BCR veterans are even managing to make some headlines in the racing world.
Thanks for an excellent year, with more to come.
— BCR's Board of Directors