Class Politics Building the NA Class Membership

gouvernail

Super Opinionated and Always Correct
My opinion is that as of today the North American Class is in about the same shape as it was in August of 1999.
Beginning in October 1999 we began a 35 month run of consecutive monthly increases in total membership.

(This is not a post about how thoroughly pissed I remain that we decided to stop growing and fight rather than continue. YES, should have been allowed to continue and today we would have at least 4000 North American Laser Class members and not only would our regattas be huge but our depth of competition would have produced five or six more sailors who could succeed internationally. Nope> Not going there!!)

This is a post about trying right now to seize the opportunity to start another 10 year growth spurt.

By 2010 we should have 4000 North American members again. Our promotoion of the game could easily cause Vanguard to sell 2000 boats every year. Vanguard should be selling 20,000 Lasers every year. There are plenty of North Americans who don't yet have lasers. WE all know EVERYBODY needs a Laser. We need to do something about that.

All we need to do, for the first couple years is about as much as we were doing in the years from 1999 to 2002.

This is the beginning of a thread full of suggestions and recommendations from all of you and a place for you to PERSONALLY VOLUNTEER to grab a part of the task for yourself.

Next!!
 
Maybe we should focus on what we need to do to make everyone who already has a Laser want to join the association?
 
OLd geezer and I certainly share his stated goal.
So How do we make people want to join??

I believe there are a few that are absolutely free and absolutely work.Some aren't so free and some are just ways to get people sailing lasers

1. Simply play the "we are cool and growing" card. If you say it enough, many people actually believe it. Then those who believe we are the fastest growing sailing association join to be part of it and we actually are the fastest growing and it self perpetuates.
2. Bumper stickers!! Thye cause people to talk. I have seen it hapen. And the sticker is seen as tangible value to the consumer.
3. Give individuals individual membership expiration dates one year after they join. The annual dues is a rip off unless you pay it before january 1 and people really do complain. Why use a known design that would give ANYBODY a reason to complain about lack of value.
4. send out surveys that ask why people quit and use the information from the surveys. The survey must be return postage paid and it must be written to encourage flaming...How else do you get the answers from the unhappy?? How else do you fix the problem?
5. Have association offiers and especially the employees regularly post on furums and write letters to editors of sailing magazines. Thge postings should be signed with the offier title and should always include " The fastest growing sailing association in the world" somewhere in the materials.
6. Schedule way in advance at as many great venues as possible. "The laser Class already reserved that weekend" is the best thing others can hear to know we are on the ball at the most important places.
7. Bring a friend sailing
8. Introduce yourself to a stranger and offer to take the stranger sailing
9. Make certainall our officers and anyone who asks for same has plenty of give away material. Laser Class Newsletters, bumper stickers and Membership applications should be in large supply at every sailing venue in the world.
10. Goive special cheap subscription rates to anyone with a waiting room ( dentists, doctors, car repair shops, etc)
11. Leave old copies of the laser sailor at your local gym.
12. sail around near any triathalon. Those people need a fun sport.
13. sail past beaches and invite swimmers for rides.
14. Running track that crosses a bridge?? Sail near it
15. sail in front of waterfront restaurants
16. Ride wakes of keelboats ESPECIALLY when there are kids on the keelboats.
17. Always tell anybody you meet when you arrive on shore that you would never have come in were it not for real life obligations or darkness.
18. Smile a lot when anywhere near your boat.
19. When you are on shore and see a Laser. Carry on about how super interesting that looks and how you wish you were doing it.
20. If you see ANY Laser anywhere and there is anybody near it, invite the person to join your fleet and to sail with you. if the boat is not that person's, offer a loaner.
 
Bunny, Bunny, you forgot about the newsletter - how about making it something that the members and other people really WANT to read? Back in the good ol' days the newsletter alone was worth the $35 it cost to join the Class for a year.

Lots of great pictures, stories about real people sailing and doing crazy things, and if you ran a regatta, you got your name in lights, or at least on newsprint.

What the heck made you break out your pompoms and get back to cheerleading anyway?
 
dyzzypyxxy said:
Bunny, Bunny, you forgot about the newsletter - how about making it something that the members and other people really WANT to read? Back in the good ol' days the newsletter alone was worth the $35 it cost to join the Class for a year.

Lots of great pictures, stories about real people sailing and doing crazy things, and if you ran a regatta, you got your name in lights, or at least on newsprint.

What the heck made you break out your pompoms and get back to cheerleading anyway?

Stuff like this weekend. I went to a regatta and pretty much kicked off what will be lifetime friendships with a half dozen sailors ranging in age from 15 to 55. I also got to spend quality time with a bunch of other people who I only ever see at regattas. In fact the sailing breeze was a tad lame but it was just shifty enough such that I could occasionally find something special and sneak my 106 kilos back to the front.

Most of my fun on the water this weekend was spent battling with five people who were not sailing in Texas five years ago.

The way I see it. I can either constantly bust ass to build the fleet or lose it. Losing the fleet is unacceptable.
 

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