Dean Close School | Old Decanian Society
3 Old Decanians take the Lead in World Record Attempt by James Moos, Marketing Manager, Open RIB Challenge
The challenge was in fact co-founded by an Old Decanian. George Hunt, Skipper of Open RIB Challenge, who came up with the idea alongside a fellow marine
enthusiast in 2012 and began to research the possibility of making opportunity reality. It was at this early stage that Old Decanians James Moos (Marketing Manager) and Rupert Maspero (IT Manager) stepped ‘on-board’ to aid in the creation of the challenge and help it develop to where it is today. As it stands today, the Open RIB Challenge is coming on in leaps and bounds. With support and followers in over 27 different countries, the challenge is set to be one of the most daring expeditions of the decade. A fantastic opportunity to make a new world record, our main goal is to promote the use of sustainable fuel in the marine industry, and we also hope to raise money for charity. It is therefore an exclusive opportunity for companies to get involved through sponsorship and receive a truly unique marketing campaign. Open RIB Challenge will be entirely funded through sponsorship.
AROPS 2012 Conference
John Denley, Lucy Smith, Ian Bassett-Smith and Quentin Seymour-Smith
A group of five members from Dean Close School attended the AROPS Conference at Rugby School, Warwickshire on 12th May 2012. Quentin SeymourSmith, John Denley, Lucy Smith and Ian Bassett-Smith representing The Old Decanian Society and Victoria Waddington representing Dean Close School. The Old Decanian Society has long been a member of the Association of Representatives of Old Pupils Societies (AROPS) with Quentin Seymour-Smith being our representative on their Committee. Our membership has been valuable in the past as we have gained useful information on other school’s Alumni activities. Attendance this year was considered particularly important in view of the Old Decanian Society’s intentions to merge our database with that of Dean Close School and to hopefully obtain
If you are interested in finding out more about Open RIB Challenge, please do check out the website (www.openribchallenge.com), follow the challenge on twitter (@RIBChallenge) and you can also find Open RIB Challenge on Facebook and LinkedIn. All support and interest is much appreciated! There are also incredible volunteering opportunities for those who want to get involved, with a range of different vacancies available, which are listed on the website.
by Ian Bassett-Smith
the expertise of other schools that have already been down this route. Other areas of the Conference including seminars on “ Relationships with Development Officers “ and “ Social Networking “were considered to be of particular importance. The Conference began with coffee and registration in the Macready Theatre and was opened by Bill Gillen (AROPS Chairman) followed by a Welcome from the Head Master, Patrick Derham and Ben Habib, Vice-President of the Rugbeian Society. There followed presentations on “Friendraising and Fundraising – keeping a balance“ and “Data Protection – an update“, both very valuable to our representatives. An excellent lunch was served in the Temple Speech Room followed by a choice of five discussion groups, the most popular of which was the “Social Networking workshop“! The Conference ended at around 5.00 pm followed by tea and tours of the School including the world famous grounds from where of course Rugby Football originated. The day concluded with a Post-Conference Dinner in Old Big School followed by an entertaining talk by Patrick Derham, Head Master.
ODN
Open RIB Challenge is a daring voyage to circumnavigate the globe (some 24,000 Nautical Miles) in an open Rigid Inflatable Boat that will be under 15m in length and will have no cabin and so therefore no shelter for the crew. The 5-man crew will be braving the toughest conditions in order to set a brand new world record, which is currently set to take place in 2014. Our main objective during this challenge is to promote the use of sustainable fuel sources in the marine industry, so our custom-built boat will be running off bio-fuel. During the journey, the boat crew will be stopping at 8 ports around the world to restock on supplies such as food and fuel. During the expedition, the crew will be able to make use of custom equipment on board to blog, tweet and even provide livevideo streams to all followers back at home.
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