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JimC View Drop Down
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    Posted: 23 Sep 14 at 9:33pm
Originally posted by Rupert


Originally posted by alstorer

"how can we get the same enthusiasm every week as we got for a one-off event with massive publicity and celebrity endorsement"
We can't.

No, but that doesn't mean that we can't learn something worthwhile.
If you only get 5% extra turning out its still worth making an effort. There must be precious few clubs who are doing everything right and can't find some improvements.

QM made a major effort and had something like 50% more boats out than the total entrants for all their regular summer series (I looked at their on line results).

Down the road we ran it in a much more low key manner and although it was our biggest turnout of the year it wasn't by that much and unlike QM rather more boats have entered our Summer series than were out on Sunday. There were still plenty of names to enter in the results database though - at least it felt like a lot!

So what that does suggest is that a major effort to get people out will get people out. The question is how can clubs keeop up a sustained effort?
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Post Options Post Options   Quote kneewrecker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Sep 14 at 9:43pm
Originally posted by AlexM

Oh Jim don't spoil the warm feeling he has about PY's :-)

A clue for you James S=D/T

Ah yes, I remember that...

Another anagram from you, just two letters:  ET 

and no, I'm not talking about Spielberg's alien, I'm talking about that weird old concept where you win if you beat the other guy across the finish line.   LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Quote maxibuddah Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Sep 14 at 10:30pm
Next year there will be a few less, then the year after even less then so on, until eventually it will be gradually passed by, unfortunately.

In my opinion this should have been a one off. It's a great thing that happened and most people could see that and therefore made that extra effort to suspend what they normally do on a Sunday to take part. I can't see that happening too often again, normal service will be resumed.....
 
Our club made a great effort and the members responded with enthusiasm that hasn't been seen in twenty years plus. If only half of those that were out on Sunday come again then it will e good. If only I could spend the time similarity that would be good too, but I can't .i have many other things to do and sailing takes up too much time to commit to anything other than a special event.
Everything I say is my opinion, honest
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Post Options Post Options   Quote sargesail Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Sep 14 at 10:57pm
I have no doubt that some will come again.  I hope we see turn outs up for the other 'special' event, our club regatta.  Sunday certainly showed the club that it could cope with more boats than many would have previously thought possible.  Similarly Chi Harbour was rammed - but manageable.

As for the World Record not being part of the attraction: tell that to my kids!  The Macwhirters may be gone, but GWRs still grab their attention. 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote kneewrecker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 14 at 12:51am
Originally posted by maxibuddah

Next year there will be a few less, then the year after even less then so on, until eventually it will be gradually passed by, unfortunately.

In my opinion this should have been a one off. It's a great thing that happened and most people could see that and therefore made that extra effort to suspend what they normally do on a Sunday to take part. I can't see that happening too often again, normal service will be resumed.....
 
Our club made a great effort and the members responded with enthusiasm that hasn't been seen in twenty years plus. If only half of those that were out on Sunday come again then it will e good. If only I could spend the time similarity that would be good too, but I can't .i have many other things to do and sailing takes up too much time to commit to anything other than a special event.

that, but this is a Field of Dreams kind of thread.....

Build it and they will come.  Just don't handicap the poor buggers too harshly ;-)
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Roger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 14 at 10:37am
I had the same thoughts as Maxi that this was best served, at least in this format as a one off event, the sense of being part of something special will decline over time and I have a gut feeling that if the same sort of event is planned next year then turnouts will be somewhat down.

However given that the foundation will want/need to continue raising funds then maybe something different should be planned, same cause, just a different style event that will get peoples interest up again.... don't ask me what that should be but I'm sure we can think of something.

Regarding spinoff, and getting club attendances up than the first thing this event has proven is that there are a lot of sailors out there who do like to get on the water, if not every week.
Most clubs are as already stated stuck in a rut, 3 Sunday races against the usual people will inspire a few, but not the majority.
Maybe the future lies with more one off events, sail it, sort it on the day, go home knowing how you did, take home the odd small prize and focus on the juniors.
Make the racing different, mix handicap with pursuit, do fun races and waterborne challenges like the kids do, relay races, just something to make it different!
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Post Options Post Options   Quote iiitick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 14 at 10:40am
The atmosphere at our club is always good but for Barts there were more people enjoying that atmosphere with added sun, drink and food.


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Post Options Post Options   Quote iGRF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 14 at 10:56am
Weather is the key factor, Barts was lucky, also coming on the end of a half decent summer.

All those other factors described above are relevant, but only to you committed sailors and possibly the returnees that got wind something was 'in the air' so to speak.

I commented to one of ours as we sat there totally blown off with 30 knot offshore, just as well we hadn't scheduled Barts Bash, he said what's Barts Bash? That's the problem, most of our lot are totally disconnected with yottie world, they come, they sail they go home and go about their daily work and business. I bet when they saw all the news reports they wondered why we had nothing going on, which is another tale of disillusion by the person who was due to organise it. There are only a couple of us really that are in tune to events outside of our little bubble and most of them are RYA influenced and not always positive.

So the single biggest obstacle we have at times is the RYA much as I love it on the one hand, you can't help but love to hate it on the other. The fact this probably had such traction was precisely because it fell outside of the normal scope of things, but sadly in our case the very folk who would have organised it on the ground have been so peeved off by events caused by the RYA, it didn't happen for us.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote pondlife1736 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 14 at 10:59am
Agree that doing something different felt like a big part of the day at our club.
We had a bigger than usual turnout of about 80 boats, more kids and families, some first time racers, a few less fleet racers. It was definitely a different vibe.
For the benefit of the cameras, we had a reaching start in front of the clubhouse - interesting, but probably wouldn't want to repeat the novelty too often.  Smile
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Medway Maniac Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Sep 14 at 12:09pm
Originally posted by Rupert

3 races week in, week out, every Sunday, every year, in a never changing programme, against almost the same people. Does that describe many clubs? I'm bored with it, to be honest, and rarely do a series, just the races that happen to be on when I feel like it. On the other hand, I've put on some novice races for the juniors and their parents, and get a great response from people who, on the whole, have never done Sunday racing. The club would like me to try and get these people sailing on a Sunday - I confess, I don't think that will happen without a change somewhere in the way things are run. But any regular racing will become routine, so I don't really see that something like Bart's Bash can be used as a template - as an inspiration, yes.

Spot on, Rupert.  The same-old, same-old week in, week out is indeed boring.  But you try changing it and cover your ears for the yowls of complaint!  Our weekly series racing still draws in more boats that any one-off specials we an dream up, be they long distance, short course, lapping, pursuit, or whatever.

Maybe if we changed things then over time we'd end up with a different bunch of sailors, but it'd be a gamble.  We also have a Saturday crowd who have a quite different approach, more novice and just happy to get afloat, but getting the twain to meet is indeed a problem. Maybe I'll try selling the next Sunday pursuit race to the Saturday lot - informal, more fun than the usual series stuff. Then on the day the wind will be F.0 or F.6....
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