Membership & Newsletter

[RB]

I’m no doubt going to stur up a hornets nest but having tried to get a response from the committee off line with no effect I am unfortunately now bringing this to the open forum.

£15 for annual IOKDA membership……..what do you actually get other than a sticker each year (which has not yet arrived) and being eligable to enter OK events? I have just renewed my membership but am now actually questioning was it really worth it :roll:

[chrisarnell1]

You get a website with a discussion forum that allows you to kick off on any subject of your choice
Oh yes, and a dinghy show stand that helps bring new members in & keeps the class alive
And one of the strongest International classes in the world outside of the Olympics.
Plus a very committed chairman & committee that give an awful lot of their free time & goodwill to ensure you have a class association with active racing here in the UK
There’s probably an awful lot more that I’ve missed
So, apart from your £15 contribution, what do you do to help?

[RB]

thought it might touch a nerve! I asked the question Mr Arnell and you have given the answer. Thank you. That is all I asked for. As for what I can do I had actually offered my services to resurrect the now defunct newsletter but never received a response. And your role is?

[davecooper]

Hi RB,
Last year I reckon I sailed in 32 races in 8 OK events. Supposing each race lasts 45mins, that’s 32 x 0.75 = 24hrs. Divide that into yourr £15 subscription = 15/24 = 5/8 = 0.625, ie 62.5 pence per hour and I enjoyed every minute!
What other entertainment can you get for that price? If I’d got to more events it would have been even cheaper! The class (well, Anthony to be specific!) organises a really brilliant series of events and the biggest contribution any of us can make is to turn up and enjoy ourselves because if nobody sails the whole thing’s just a big waste of time.
Dave

[andyt15064]

Hi RB – I guess ignorance is bliss! Until you make it public.

Andy (Class Sec).

PS stickers have arrived from OKDIA and will be sent out soon.

[alistair]

David Rose used to say, some 20 or so years ago, that your Association Membership fee is like an insurance policy on the value of your boat. If no one pays their fees, then there will be no class association and the boat you own will become worthless.

[Bob Eastwood]

AND…. my £15 gets me unlimited access to some of the best sailing experience in the country, ranging from why my boat is so slow to where to point it and when. Non of the other organisations i pay my hard earned to, professional and otherwise, offer me this level of support.
Thanks guys.

[RB]

…..would just like to add that I am in no way knocking the UK OK Dinghy Association or those who give up valuable free time to keep the engine running smoothly, far from it.

If I’m perfectly honest the sailing offered/organised by the association is not an issue with me, far from it although having never participated it does sound all good fun. What I am driving at is that I can’t get my head round the structure of the Association! Appreciate there is a Chairman, Treasurer etc,etc as there is with most if not all associates/clubs but there never seems to be any real feedback to members in terms of, for instance, what goes on at committee meetings, are any actually held? What gets discussed? Is development ever on the agenda? Do members have voting rights? If so where and when does the notice of AGM get advertised and so on and so forth?

A while back there was a very good newsletter produced by Jo Curtis and distributed quarterly, albeit a bit fragmented in the end. Since she stepped down the production of this has ceased! Is there a reason why it stopped? And before anyone responds by suggesting that I do it, I did, and was advised that the role had been filled. Something as simple as a newsletter is such a great communicator and advertisement of a class, it doesn’t cost a great deal to produce plus it gives individuals and members alike of an association a sense of belonging, especially with the upcoming Dinghy Show handing out a newsletter with a full rundown on the class, events, what the boats about makes a huge,huge difference. If you have just the standard flyer year on year then its yesterdays news. If there is something planned for the Dinghy Show by the organising committe let members know, sometimes fresh ideas can be thrown into the mix.

Bye for now!

[Mike Edwards]

Ooooh you are brave Richard! And it’s great to see such a passionate response!

I think you now have some idea of where your money goes and there’s more I could add to the comments so far to ensure you that your investment of £15 is value for money….but I won’t.

However, I know where you are coming from Richard and your comments, it seems have being fueled by the lack of newsletters. The initial problem was Jo resigning her Editor post, but then Peter Bessey kindly offered to take up the role. You also showed an interest and we discussed whether you could offer Peter any support considering your experience as Merlin Editor for a number of years, which you agreed to. So, I don’t quite know why you say you haven’t received a response from the committee. Have you attempted to call or email me recently? If so, I have not picked up anything up from you. My email address, home telephone and mobile number are readily available.

The next problem was lack of material. No matter how much you encourage people to put pen to paper, it is always a struggle. Do you have any ideas as to how this could be improved? On this occassion, I am more guilty than anyone as I have been promising to send my article to Peter for several months and have not yet done so. I am not going to make excuses, but my apologies go out to Peter. I really would like to get something done in time for the Dinghy Show, so I must finish my article and contact Peter. Time is tight though so I am sure your help would be most appreciated Richard, so if you are willing I’ll be in touch?

With regards to committee meetings, yes they are held throughout the year and the AGM is always held at the National Championships. Topics are varied and focus on maintaining and developing the class in the UK, but also International topics such as World Championships and the development of the OK dinghy worldwide. I do think it would be good to publish the minutes from these meetings on the website, so thank you for suggesting that Richard. To add to that, we are always open to suggestions from all members….so feel free!

I am glad you have made these comments, after all this is what the forum is for! Yes it’s stirred things up, but thats not a bad thing every now and then. However, if you really do want to understand and appreciate what goes on in the OK dinghy class in the UK, you need to make the effort and come along to some events and get inolved. Only then will you feel that your £15 has been well spent.

Best Regards
Mike

[davecooper]

Well strike me pink! The trouble we go to over all the poxy minutes (https://www.okdinghy.co.uk/okcont.html) and you don’t even read them, RB! I’m shocked! They are RIVETTING stuff and widely tipped to win the Man-Booker prize (or whatever it’s called this week), and they are just riddled with action points and the golden phrases of Mike & Homer agreeing to disagree about whatever it is they’re arguing about, all beautifully (or maybe just dutifully) scribbled down by Andy. Jeez, the minutes alone are worth the annual subscription!
Dave

PS. Notice of AGM? I don’t think we’ve ever had a notice! The agm’s at the Nationals, in between sailing and drinking. It doesn’t go on very long!

[RB]

I know guys. really appreciate your constructive responses and the friendly nature in which you have replied, it just goes to demonstrate what a great bunch you are and decent class this is.

Picking up on one of Mike’s comments about the magazine, I do understand how difficult it is to obtain good material especially when you are working to tight print deadlines! One of the things I used to run in the Merlin Mag was virtual interviews sending out a 20+ question document to merlin class stalwarts such as Alan Warren (74+ I believe) and still racing Merlins competitvely after 50+ years! But the replies I got make good reading, in fact excellent reading. I would get fantastic technical documents from Merlin builders such as Guy Winder. I ran an article on Laurie Smart, an extremely talented boat builder who lives up the road from me in Haywards Heath, Laurie built Pat Blakes boat (see link)http://www.merlinrocket.co.uk/gallery/default.asp?folder=gallery/building_and_repairs/lawrie_smart and I ran the article in the mag and it even made its way to the pages of Y&Y! There are guys who wrote and still write articles for the Merlin mag on vintage boat restoration. So there are plenty of ideas just a case of upping the bar a bit and setting the level. The OK class has loads of guys who im sure would put finger to keyboard and do something. Its a great boat, a great class the profile just needs to be pushed a bit other than being branded an ‘also ran’.

[X]

Until now i hadn’t seen the OK branded an also ran. I think it is recognised as a thoroughbred racing class & generally has quite a high profile in the Yachting press.
Richard – you have Peter’s contact details. Clearly you have some idea’s. Please help him get the magazine off the ground. The first issue is always the hardest, once there is a fomat the rest is straight forward.

Terry

[RB]

Hi Terry,

Could you let me have Peter’s details as unfortunately I don’t have them, I can then drop him a line or better still cal him and have a chat about a way forward.

Thanks

Richard

[RB]

Think I might have found Peter’s email address in the Oct 2008 minutes! I’ll drop him a line in the first instance.

[Author]

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