Should members pay to race?

Somehow I manage to do ring fence Saturday afternoons to go racing, but this maybe because I am old and kids have left home.

Our club has one race on a Saturday afternoon which typically lasts a couple of hours ... probably not your typical model, but it does mean that our members don't pick and choose whether to do an AM or PM series.  Saturday afternoon seems to be quite low impact leaving Sunday free for dog walks, the lawn and roast dinners 
 

short of seismic societal reform, maybe a three-day weekend, I can't think for one minute there is anything anyone can propose that will actually have any real impact.

We need to face facts, 'club series' results really don't matter that much to that many people.  If they did, then whatever event, commitment, family tie, work plan, parents evening etc that was that was more pressing than going sailing, would simply have to wait or be re-arranged.  

We certainly wouldn't let something as banal as windguru put us off, if the series was that important; but it's not, so we do and we bank the pass for better conditions in the future.

stating the obvious somewhat?!?

Most sailing 'clubs' are an utter anachronism to what they are truly competing against - a wider and more easily accessible leisure industry in an increasingly time poor society.... although I guess most clubs are still hunting from the same pool of sailors, hence why one local club put signs up around my old club the weekend of our open day.  It's kind of pathetic really, especially when the whole 'push the boat out' thing was about wide scale cooperation and raising awareness.  (Yep, RYA trying to do something right and professional, only to undermined   )  

One example- I've been invited to join a ''cycling club"... it meets outside a pub in the village, there are no membership fees and the only rule is that no one sets up a feckin' Facebook group or posts their sh*te to Strava.  (It's a proper grumpy MAMIL club).  It doesn't care for marketing itself- in fact it's invite only, but don't fear dear liberals, no one's been fellated by a dead pig's head yet.  There are other cycling clubs around here- a bit more formal maybe, plus of course the informal cycling groups via Facebook etc.

Mountain Bike trail centres, Windsurfing centres, Snowdomes etc are all pay and play and offer a sustainable business model.  No duties and all run with 'passes' paid for either annually, monthly or on a per use basis... the cost inversely proportional to the number of times you use their facilities.

I really do not see where the volume volunteer resource will come from once the baby boomers running clubs today die out.  I do hope those who have introduced their kids (successfully) to the sport have broad shoulders; because the current SOP for most clubs will be unsustainable without them.