Compulsory membership of the class assoc.

   Seems that most agree a strong membership of the class association is good for a class.
What do people think of the concept of clubs requiring CA membership for club racing?
Rick

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Guest Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 21 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guest Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Compulsory membership of the class assoc. Posted: 28 Jun 05 at 12:20pm
	Seems that most agree a strong membership of the class association is good for a class. What do people think of the concept of clubs requiring CA membership for club racing? Rick

tgruitt Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 02 Dec 04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2479	Post Options Post Reply Quote tgruitt Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jun 05 at 12:25pm
	If you are campaigning a boat regularly, yes. If you are borrowing a boat just for a year or just don't really understand the concept of sailing but still have a go then I don't think so. If you do the opens and nationals then I think out of courtesy you should be a member. If you are just starting in the class then you could have a few 'non association' trials to see if you like the opens etc. Does this sound logical or am i barking up the wrong tree
	Needs to sail more...

MikeBz Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 21 Apr 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 536	Post Options Post Reply Quote MikeBz Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jun 05 at 1:29pm
	I think you would lose as many club racers as you would gain assocation members. I think you'd have great difficulty persuading most clubs to sign up to this. If someone buys a (e.g.) 10 year old boat to do a bit of club racing for fun then I don't see why they should be forced to pay money to an association which as far as they're concerned may do nothing for them. Mike

yellowhammer Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Far too distracted from work Joined: 08 May 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 270	Post Options Post Reply Quote yellowhammer Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jun 05 at 1:38pm
	I'm undecided on racing sailors being required to become members of their class association (see the "Classes fading from popularity" topic) Fees could be significantly reduced (by sharing the costs more widely) but income should increase, funding events, magazines, etc., to the benefit of all racing sailors The best boats and associations would still prosper, and poor boats and associations would still fade in popularity However, he current situation places even more emphasis on survival of the fittest ... enthusiasts volunteering and contributing helps their class prosper ... classes having to work to generate enthusiasm is good for the sport If owners are forced to pay, they'd be justified in expecting somebody else to provide a service to them ... who would volunteer for duties ... we could end up with professionally run associations What is often forgotten is that class associations are not bureaucratic bodies, just groups of enthusiatic boat owners who have "got it together" Edited by yellowhammer
	Laser 3000 @ Leigh & Lowton SC www.3000class.org.uk

Guest Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 21 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guest Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jun 05 at 1:53pm
	Seems to me that the £20 - 30 for CA membership is not a big deal for anyone at a personal level in the context of the cost of sailing. Even if you are sailing an old boat at your local club another 50p/week is not a big ask is it? But lots of £20 -£30 would make a big difference to the CA's ability to promote thier class and the sport through the running of better training and racing programmes. Rick

James Bell Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Posting king Joined: 17 Mar 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 115	Post Options Post Reply Quote James Bell Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jun 05 at 2:18pm
	It's a nice idea in principal but I don't think it would work in practice. The word 'compulsory' usually has negative associations and can be off putting. Plus there would be the added admin burden on the club to check to see if members racing were actually paid members of the class. Also, even though £20 may not seem much in isolation, if you sail/own more than one boat it's going to get expensive quickly. For example, I have a Laser 4000 (of which i am a member of the assoc), a Laser II and an old Moth in my garage. So were I to join all the associations that would be around £60 a year, on top of insurance, etc, etc. I think overall it would probably be counter productive in the long run. Perhaps a better approach, would simply be for clubs to help encourage class association membership, even if this was just a note in the members' handbook or introductory information outlining benefits, etc. Edited by James Bell
	IOS Sailing Community - www.iossc.org.uk

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6662	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jun 05 at 3:48pm
	I had an offer to borrow a boat for the 29er National last year. It would have helped me in my involvement in coaching at my club, and useful for the two of us in extending our skills to a different boat. But the 29er association required both of us to join the association, just to do the event. So we didn't go - on top of all the other costs it was just too much.

MikeBz Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 21 Apr 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 536	Post Options Post Reply Quote MikeBz Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jun 05 at 4:18pm
	50p a week isn't a big ask on it's own, but there are a lot of expenses in life these days which individually aren't big but collectively are. A lot of people have to compromise & prioritise. It's a good healthy thing for CAs to be sufficiently organised & funded to be able to put on racing and training events, but those people who don't participate in them (which is a lot of part-time club sailors) shouldn't have to fund them IMO. If you compete in opens, championships and other CA-affiliated events then I think CA fees should be required and enforced, although I take Jim's point - maybe the boat should be registered with the CA for a fee rather than the helmsman/crew. Mike

Garry Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 18 Apr 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 536	Post Options Post Reply Quote Garry Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jun 05 at 8:12pm
	This is a difficult one for the club sailor and classes alike. Effectively if you attend open meetings / nationals you pay twice (class membership plus entry fees). But on the plus side you often have access to loads of advice and cheap training. If there were enough members then no reason why the fees couldn't be really cheap and just think what could be done with the money. Perhaps class associations should charge non-members for all the free information they give out on their websites? Some have excellent resources. You could also make similar arguments for and against RYA individual membership. Perhaps its time for the classes to identify some really tangible benefits with which to tempt the marginal member and have different classes of membership, reflecting people's sailing preferences. What about the CA members getting an extra discount (on top of the RYA membership one) for the dinghy show? I definately think that all boats should be registered with the class association before being allowed to race and this could even attract a very small administration fee (say a one off of £5.00 every time the boat changes hands). This would give the class associations a launching pad for recruiting fully paid up members. This is definately an area that the RYA could contribute their marketing skills to.
	Garry Lark 2252, Contender 298 www.cuckoos.eclipse.co.uk

TonyL Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Groupie Joined: 28 Jun 05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 57	Post Options Post Reply Quote TonyL Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jun 05 at 8:54pm
	I think I understand where the idea comes from, but have to say that expecting compulsory CA membership to be policed at club level isn't likely to happen any time soon. Getting new members through the club doors is tough enough as it is, so the idea of loading yet more compulsory costs onto newcomers to the sport is not good. I do agree with the suggestion up thread around CA's starting to charge (or make available to members only) for certain sections of their websites. But for many of us at club level sailing in older boats we have little contact with the class association, which I guess we see as mainly the domain of guys who want to do the circuit.