SAILING:DECLINING NUMBERS of participants arising from the recession is likely to be a key topic at the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) annual conference in Naas, Co Kildare, next weekend, when the joint membership scheme (JMS) is reviewed almost 20 years since its inception.
With anecdotal reports from clubs around the country suggesting sharp declines in renewed memberships, income to the association is set to fall by at least 10 per cent for 2009.
Taken with a larger fall-off in additional revenue activities, such as training, the 4 per cent drop in Government funding is the nearest silver-lined cloud on the ISA’s immediate horizon.
Excluding Olympic and elite academy funding, the ISA receives finances ifrom three, almost equal sources: the JMS scheme, Government grants (mostly ring-fenced for core operation and administration) and other activities such as training, certification and publications.
In keeping with many sports, it is the latter area that offers the most scope for growth, but with newcomers to the sport failing to progress to the established activities, there is considerable scope for expansion in the membership area, according to ISA chief executive Harry Hermon.
With many clubs seeing their members either departing or seeking lower-cost membership categories, such as social or temporary status, the capitation fee due to the ISA is falling.
In turn, struggling clubs will be looking at any means to lower the cost to members, and the debate over the future of the JMS is likely to hinge on value for money for affiliation to the national authority.
Hermon believes the association is in good standing with committees around the country, and a new development later this year could offer a valuable solution to the membership drain.
Although there has been a drop of 10 per cent in memberships (2008), the anecdotal evidence points to the core sailing membership being retained and activity levels on the water being stronger than ever, according to Hermon.
Linking that activity with demand for access and participation is likely to be the key to turning the situation around into growth, and with as many as 15,000 newcomers introduced to the sport annually through ISA schemes, linking these to established outlets has been a problem.
Despite the large numbers availing of structured, safe introductions to the sport, actually identifying these people and linking them to local opportunities has eluded the ISA – until now.
“One of the real benefits of the training centres is that they introduce huge numbers of people into the sport,” said Hermon.
“But at the moment they’re then going on to another experience because there is no vehicle to pick them up and hold them in the sport.”
Later this year, the ISA will roll out its new online service that will combine all aspects of its business into a central database
“It’s a very complex project that’s taken a long time to get off the ground, but we’ve now got our existing database online and later this year we’ll be maximising this for the benefit of clubs,” said Hermon.
Whether the horse of opportunity has already bolted far from the stable remains to be seen.
Either way, for established clubs and classes seeking to expand and develop, a readymade source of new blood seems set to be available.
branigan@indigo.ie
