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Demographic Changes

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iiitick View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote iiitick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Demographic Changes
    Posted: 04 Feb 15 at 10:12pm
It seems to me that people who see sailing and like it, go sailing. Others who see sailing and are not impressed, don't go sailing. Persuading people or changing perceptions is so very difficult. Back in the 'good old days' chaps were building Mirrors in the shed, throwing the kids in and off sailing. But then when did you last hear of someone building St Pauls with machsticks either? Society is different these days. I just saw a demonstration of 3D printing at Manchester Science Museum....who needs machsticks?

The World has so many opportunities these days, can we ever compete?
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Simon Lovesey View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Simon Lovesey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Feb 15 at 7:49am
Originally posted by timeintheboat

I read that as "Sailing for rum" - if so count me in!


Yes plenty of drinking   Big smile (and talking)  at the British Sailing Forum,  could make the racing and demo sails the following day a bit interesting 

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Post Options Post Options   Quote JohnJack Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Feb 15 at 10:05am
Originally posted by maxibuddah

People do boat on about seo, but I have read that Google really more these days on the turnover of content rather than how the side is optimised. How true that is, is another matter. Of course paying them seems to work.

You are of course correct John, but there are apps that do it now so why bother with a site. Just look at feedly, etc. However people still need to know that they exist. Also the websites need to format their output accordingly ( I know they're are plugins for cms sites) but this seems to be too difficult for many classes and clubs. You need to bear in mind that must of the time the website is run by a willing volunteer who isn't up to speed with the very latest technologies. You should have seen the hassle I had when I stepped down from doing our club site and Akashi finding someone to take over the phantom website.

It's a bit of both SEO and content turnover (and yeah if you pay them they will do more for you)
There are certain ways to make the Google 'Spiders' love your site, deep linking to relevant content for example.

I have considered putting together a site like such, however you would be competing against the likes of Y&Y (who I think could do things much better). It would be like trying to get a classified site going when Apolloduck has already got most of the market placement and have reached critical mass
 
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JimC View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote JimC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Feb 15 at 10:20am
I never give a [redacted] about seo, which I regard as a benefit to the net roughly on a par with profit making domain registries. But websites I run still come out at or near enough to the top of the list on any reasonable google search string. That's because for all their faults as an organisation google are competent at running a search engine. Unless you call your class something like the "amusing cat video sex 14" you're really not going to have much trouble.
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Null View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Null Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Feb 15 at 10:35am
SImon, is that an evening thing then?  Planning on heading up Friday to do some pre nationals training.   I would love to see some of that conference.  Pretty sure Rodney would be interested to.

Russ
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davidyacht View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote davidyacht Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Feb 15 at 1:20pm
Originally posted by Simon Lovesey

How to Save Sailing. 


I am not suggesting that everything in the garden is rosy, but from where I am looking we have increased club racing to a high quality, our open meeting and regatta week turnouts are stable or are increasing, I sail with a great bunch of mates, and the class that I sail in has plenty of high quality turnouts, so from where I am sitting Sailing does not require saving at this stage.

Yes we have the same issue ref. The lost generation, and this should be our focus.

However putting out such a melodramatic and negative message as "how to save sailing" smacks of a self fulfilling prophesy.

The truth is that us pontificating on a forum or attending conferences is not going to make any influence, In the end people will do what they want to do.

If there is any real problem it is with society, as the Thatcher "me" generation works through, of takers and not givers ... Which manifests itself at club and class organisational level, which means that there is no-one to organise sport for the takers.
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turnturtle View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote turnturtle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Feb 15 at 1:35pm
Originally posted by davidyacht

 If there is any real problem it is with society, as the Thatcher "me" generation works through, of takers and not givers ... Which manifests itself at club and class organisational level, which means that there is no-one to organise sport for the takers.

She at least taught us we needed to pay for our milk, not expect it to be handed to us, nor ask us to find the time to take our turn on the udders at the state run small-holding.

Which is quite handy in a sailing club context, because it means the Wilson and Callaghan generation, who were told and have come to expect the working population to provide for them in their retirement, can now earn a few extra bob doing a few more duties... either as part of the official club monetary structures, or unofficially through reverse selling of said duties.

I do however agree with your wider post - a bit of a rant about shortages of hot totty in sailing clubs on an internet forum is one thing; doom-mongering across the industry and media on the friday before half-term at some self-agradising regatta for irrelevant classes, is another thing altogether.     


Edited by turnturtle - 05 Feb 15 at 1:36pm
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Oli View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Oli Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Feb 15 at 1:37pm
simon is there going to be a live feed from the conference? perhaps a google hangout pushed to youtube?? 
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transient View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote transient Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Feb 15 at 2:15pm
Yes "Saving Sailing" does sound a tad extreme.


The world is changing ....sadly. I don't know the figures for disappearing sailing clubs but I suspect it will become an issue in the not too distant future.

Older folk seem to be able to reconcile competition with co-operation, youngsters seem to have lost that nack. Given that the world seems to moving further in the "competetive" direction and doesn't seem about to change I would guess several things could happen to give some sailing clubs the edge:

Clubs run as a business with profit being the main incentive. This runs the risk (or certainty) of increasing the elitist nature of the sport but as that seems to be happening (fashionable even) in the outside world anyway, who gives a flying ***K.

Fewer but bigger and fitter clubs. It's a club eat club world out there.

Renaming themselves to appeal to a wider customer base i.e. "Twatswater Watersport and sailing Club"
Targeting other watersports customers: Kayaking, rowing, surfing, kiting.....and Jet-skiing ;-)


 Joking aside there's some truth there I reckon.
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turnturtle View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote turnturtle Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Feb 15 at 2:19pm
no joking required- it's bang on.... some very small clubs will limp on regardless, for what, maybe 20 years or so.  By which time their main contingent of OAP members will be pushing up daisies or worse, getting too brutalised in care homes by immigrant workers to worry about what happened to that little shack down by some little puddle somewhere they can no longer remember the whereabouts of.  
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