Thames Sailing Club
The Future Strategy Discussion Page
All the responses received are posted below the dates upon which they were received. I have opted to make all the responses I receive anonymous. The main reason I have done this is to level the playing field. Call me a Marxist if you like but I firmly believe that every vote is equal and that the message in each contribution should not be coloured by the popularity (or lack of popularity!) of the contributor or their seniority within the club. As some of you already know I’m largely responsible for putting together this proposal. I therefore make no apologies for making further contributions to the debate in the form of editorial responses to the contributions received. My comments are posted in Italics.
Some of the verbal responses I have received suggest that there is some misunderstanding of the purpose of a strategy statement like the one highlighted below in bold. The Strategy Statement (or Mission Statement to use business parlance) is the highest level statement designed to set out in the broadest possible terms the destination that the club wants to reach in the future. It SHOULD NOT include details of how we get to that destination. We have to first achieve consensus regarding where we want to get to – then we can argue about how to get there. If we try to roll both of these into one we will inevitably fail to achieve any level of consensus at all.
So for that reason the strategy statement makes no mention for example regarding the importance of issues such as training or children or the social side of the club. The statement crucially does not exclude any of these as potential parts of the solution (hence the wording ‘friendly, inclusive club welcoming social members and sailing members of all ages and levels of ability’) but it equally does not specifically include any of these issues as it is well known that opinions on all of these topics are divided and that to include any of these specifically in the statement will ensure that we fail to achieve consensus.
To remind you the draft statement reads as follows:-
Our club will be promoted as ‘The Thames Sailing Club, London’s Classic and Vintage Sailing Club’ and will run the capital’s highest profile regatta for vintage and classic dinghies. We will build on historical precedents as the oldest river sailing club and the home of the magnificent Thames A Raters to achieve this but will expand our sailing activities to concentrate on older examples of dinghies from any class with vintage or classic status. This intent should never be allowed to threaten the established reputation as a friendly, inclusive club welcoming social members and sailing members of all ages and levels of ability. To this end we will continue to cater for owners of more modern boats through the continued running of both handicap and vintage handicap events alongside the core Rater events that define the essence of the club.
For reference the rationale can be viewed here>>
The Club Responds!
5/12/07
It was with some surprise that, 2 years ago, a well respected member and successful businessman suggested that TSC would not exist in 10 years; 2015. For someone who, if cut in half like a stick of rock, you might find the words Thames Sailing Club written through the middle, this was a view that was not welcome to me.
So what are the facts? Overall membership is down, as are the numbers of boats on the water. So maybe there is a weakness? But membership is always going up and down; isn’t it! Well the decline is in line with many other river clubs, so we are not alone. Can anything be done about it and does it matter?
Declining membership matters because that infers reduced income to maintain the Club. Because of this the financiers have the eternal urge to increase membership fees and other charges, bar, berthing and so on to raise revenue and equally important is that the number of DO-ERS who put in time and effort to plan, organise and maintain the club for your benefit seems to be reducing each year.
Two suggestions are worthy of consideration.
Firstly, that we should capitalise on our heritage and the fact that we have a number of Vintage craft including Albacores, Merlins and Raters. Should we all encourage and support a drive to become a Vintage boat sailing club and therefore something special?
Whilst sailing is our raison d’etre the Club is not heavily used other than at special events. The average Tuesday and Sunday generally provides a pretty modest attendance.
However, within a 10 –15 minute walking distance we have hundreds, if not thousands, of people who live in flats or very modest apartments. These may, perhaps, become regular sailors, that is deemed to be someone who sails 10 times per year at TSC. Alternatively, they may just be social members. Frankly, there are many who would like to see the bar filled at Sunday lunchtime and Tuesday evening and catering on both days could do with additional support. The concept of additional, non voting, members who would be pleased to put money in the till and, quite possibly, be encouraged to assist with work parties etc, seems quite appealing.
The question is does anyone care if the club dwindles or why should either or both of the above directions be good or bad for the Club? What other ideas have you got for developing the Club that you might be prepared to lend support?
2/1/08
I write this note as member of TSC for over 20 years and one who has sailed almost every year at the club in many classes but mostly Merlins and Thames A Raters. I have more recently travelled the country, with my son, visiting most of the country's prestigious dinghy sailing clubs. The continuing theme across the country is that the proliferation of classes is killing the enjoyment of competitive sailing and in fact reducing turn-outs. The other common theme is that certain classes do well at certain clubs - this is entirely based on their suitability to the venue's sailing conditions and not some artificially created theme.
I therefore agree that TSC needs to create a differentiation and a reason for being, to be London's Classic and Vintage club is a reasonable one and I believe will stand the test of time - today's dinghies will be at some point be called classic. I do, however, take issue with the assertion that sailing boats of a similar age on a handicap basis is good or close sailing. The Club's aim must be to provide excellent racing for its membership, through the delivery of Open events generate a wide appreciation for the club's standing in its chosen classes. This in turn will generate membership. To provide excellent racing I would propose is best provided in single class racing and not handicap racing.
We should also encourage investment in our boats, I think that it is entirely proper for a boat that has been well maintained and sailed well should win. Therefore there is always an element of money required to compete well. Some would also say that older boats require more money to be maintained well. I wonder whether in your strategy proposal we are mixing the fact that some classes such as the Merlin are development classes, and others such as the firefly are not. Indeed to maintain and sail an old firefly is probably more expensive that a more modern version. Therefore I believe that we should encourage a sailor bringing a more modern version of our chosen classes to Thames - if we need recognition for the older boats we have more than enough cups to provide for a classic winner and an more modern equivalent.
I therefore propose that TSC should shift its focus slightly so that the emphasis is on Vintage and Classic classes rather than boats. These classes should be selected based on the membership's capability and the conditions prevailing at the club. I do not see the need to worry about Hampton or Tamesis having the same chosen class. As they have similar sailing conditions to TSC it is only natural that we should chose the best boats for the water. We should also note that all of our clubs have limited space and so there could be many reasons why someone would be willing to come to Thames and not Tamesis. By Thames members attending their Opens it will encourage the reciprocal arrangement.
My proposal would be that the club should 'support' 4 classes beyond the Thames A Rater, and discourage all other classes to be brought to the club. The four classes I would propose are:
1. Topper - single handed junior class
2. Solo - single handed adult class
3. Firefly - Two handed class for lighter crews (parent/child)
4. Merlin Rocket - Two handed class with spinnaker.
The common theme here is powerful boats for their size, able to tack quickly and accelerate, to my mind these are key attributes of river sailing. We should not look at low aspect ratio boats or ones with trapezes or asymmetric spinnakers as they are not suitable for the water.
In time we may consider other classes such as Enterprises. If today, all of the clubs sailing members focused on these proposed classes we would get increased turn out and closer sailing which I believe will generate more interest encouraging more members to sail these boats.
Many thanks for listening - this note is based on experience and not some whimsical thought I therefore ask you to think carefully about this.
3/1/08
I took the initiative to propose a future strategy because I have recognized in my role as PR sec that my job of promoting the club in order to attract new members through marketing can be made a whole lot easier if the club has a clear sense not only of its past and current identity but also a clear and unified vision of what it wants to be in the future. I also recognize that the job is even easier if we define ourselves as something different from other clubs. It’s hard to promote a club if it’s indistinguishable from other clubs – much easier if the clubs identity is built around something unique and innovative. Our club has a unique identity as the oldest river sailing club and as the home of the original river racing class. I believe it’s this historical uniqueness is the defining characteristic of our club and that it is this that we need to capitalize on.
With this in mind I cannot see how the proposal set out in the last response (2/1/08) differentiates us from other clubs. It’s the same approach that we have been persuing for years but without the element of discouragement of other classes. Perhaps it’s failed precisely because we haven’t discouraged the other classes. But were we to do so now, I believe our membership would drop to a critical low as all the members with other classes of boat leave. Incidentally that would include myself as I sail an Albacore and have no intention of switching classes as none of the classes proposed in the previous contribution suit myself and my wife.
Moreover the lack of differentiation means we would be coming from behind in promoting our club for Merlins for example. If this were a growth market that doesn’t matter – there would be enough new Merlin sailors for both Tamesis and TSC. But this is a stagnant or declining market and like it or not, if we choose the same strategy as our neighbours, we place ourselves in competition with our neighbours for the same shrinking pool of potential new members. To break out of a competition which ultimately no one can win, our strategy for growth has to be different and innovative.
The proposal as it stands does not preclude class racing as an ultimate aim and personally I would encourage open class events in the future as membership numbers grow and we have the volunteers to stage more meetings. But I believe the proposed approach creates a platform from which dominant classes can emerge by an organic rather than by a forced and excluding approach. After all the club has a history of dominant classes waxing and waning. Dominant classes currently include Merlins, Toppers, Solos and Albacores but in the past have also included National 12s, Lasers and Fireflies and even of course the ‘B’ Rater!
5/1/08
I don’t see the word children anywhere in this strategy! TSC was making good sailors of children from the de-mob generation when the R Lym YC didn’t want to know about kids. J Stock (Jnr) turned that around, with several other enthusiasts of Lymington and THEIR children are now up amongst the brightest stars of the RYA. PROMOTE THE FAMILY locally to survive!
17/1/08
I think that you might have misinterpreted my response (02/01) to the strategy proposal. In the main I agree that there needs to me a clear marketing message for the club. Your proposal of 'London's Classic and Vintage Club is fine. There are, however, the following points that need to be considered:
- I strongly believe that single class sailing is the way forward, the club can of course choose the classes it wishes to promote, I would urge that this is a small number.
- That classes chosen should be suitable for the water that you are trying to sail on.
- Vintage and Classic classes expands slightly on the concept without taking away the essence of the proposal. It also allows new or existing members to bring modern Fireflies or Albacores to the club. I believe that this preferential to having a significant number of boats that are falling apart.
- Competition - I am sorry but I just do not think that you understand the other river clubs. Hampton SC is based around half a dozen core families and is completely full - there is just no space to park a boat. Tamesis gains its membership from Middlesex, is a good club but is not a threat. The only competition for local residents is Minima. We have a great many advantages over Minima that make Thames attractive and should shout about these.
- this process is worthwhile,
- class sailing is the only way forward, the club needs to carefully choose the classes it wishes to promote
- The Club should publicise its message to a vibrant local community without fear
Page last updated: 27/01/2008 13:41:32
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