Club racing / event circuit balance

You generally see a limited number of reactions by clubs to open meetings

1). They are a nuisance and interfere with club racing, the revenue they raise is minimal and if the club loses 2 members as a result the net financial gain is negated.

2). An open meeting supports the clubs fleets by offering them a chance to race against (potentially) the best in the world, it will help to encourage other club members to join that fleet, resulting in better class racing rather than handicap racing. Any revenue they raise is incidental as long as the open meeting breaks even, bar and galley takings are the added bonus

3). Open meetings are used to contribute to club finances, and losing a few days sailing each year results in a brand new rib every other season.

Observations of sailors seem to indicate they fall into one of the following categories:

1). I enjoy the prospect of competing at other clubs, meeting new people and having good class racing.

2). I don't really know the best way of packing my boat away and rigging it and view the whole prospect as a bit of a hassle and scary.

3). I used to do this in the past but now prefer to stay at home now and pot hunt

If your committees are generally made up of category 2 & 3 then your clubs reaction will probably be that opens are a nuisance.

At the end of the day opens rely on the clubs to host them, if classes ignore the small clubs they shouldn't be surprised when new blood stops appearing in thier class. Likewise clubs shouldn't be surprised if no one turns up to their events if they don't travel to other peoples.

Club racing should be the core activity at clubs, but not at the expense of the open meeting, you learn more at an open because you actually have to think about what you are doing due to unfamiliar surroundings and competitors.. and learning to sail better should be at the top of everyones agenda.

How many clubs are there where you can look at the members and then predict who will be in the top three at the end of each series?? Ask the people at your club who did the strategic plan if this is a prospect they want to sell to new members....