RYA - a way forward???

[Twister_Ken]

One thing that seems very evident about the RYA is that many members (and non-members) don’t identify closely with it because it is too broad a church. It has chartered itself to cover such a spectrum of interests in an homogenous manner that it is difficult for ‘us’ to believe that it cares about our special interests. The magazine seems to reflect that perfectly – in trying to provide something for everyone, they end up satisfying no one.

Although it is against corporate nature for an organisation to decide to get smaller, rather than seeking always to grow, this is perhaps what the RYA should do. I could envisage a set-up in which there are separate bodies covering special interests, which operate under the umbrella of the RYA, leaving the RYA itself to function only where common interests were at stake. So for example, we could have:

RYA – deals with questions of access to water (mooring, marinas, slipways, planning); of impending legislation affecting broad swathes of water users, RCD, legal advice, etc

RYA Watersports - sail and powerboat racing at all levels from club to national and international championships and the Olympics. Liaison with international bodies like IYRU. Membership – racers

RYA Cruising – under sail or power, deals with rallies, Solas, safety, build standards, anchor testing, pilots and guides, Colregs, etc. Membership – cruisers from coastal to blue water.

RYA Recreation – for windsurfers, jet skiers, water skiers, sea-kayakers, sea anglers, occasional dinghy sailors, etc. Concerns itself with promoting events, safety advice, hosts ‘good practice’ teach-ins, etc. Membership – water users that don’t see themselves as racers or cruisers, but who want a body to represent their interests and help them get more out of their hobby.

RYA Training – a commercial organisation, setting and developing syllabi, licensing training establishments, seeking to set international standards. No membership.

By giving most members their own ‘bit’ of the RYA which responds more quickly and more appropriately to their needs (and which they can influence more directly) it should be possible for the existing RYA to become much more proactive and relevant for individuals, to get out on the water and be seen and met, and for the current ‘amorphous jelly’ perception to be broken down.

All IMHO, natch.


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Twister_Ken on 15/01/2003 11:25 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[IanPoole2]

An eminently sensible idea.
I only read about 2 pages of the mag, just not interested in the rest.
I joined the RYA primarily as a method of supporting the Olympic sailing team, and have only stayed a member through inertia.

 

[miket]

May be I am missing something, but it seems to me that you just defined the current structure of the RYA !!

The separate bodies that you speak of are actually the Committees that current exist to cover all the headings that you name plus a few more.

Under their new structure plan, following the McKinsey Report, the individual committees have more autonomy and the RYA staff have more ability to act on behalf of the committees, with the committees themselves (mainly volunteer RYA members) giving guidance in certain areas only.

Not a perfect definition but I am sure that Rod Carr will correct me.

My connection to the RYA?
A past member of Council, and past member of the Motor Boat Committee now demised.

 

[IanPoole2]

Top down v bottom up

Essentially I think what is suggested is (correct me if I'm wrong) is that we join the specialist association
e.g. RYA Cruising etc

Which then feeds DOWN to RYA (Central), which then acts on area's of joint interest between 2 or more committee's, rather than

Join the RYA and then register an interest in an area.

 

[Cornishman]

I have read your post through a couple of times, and I think I must have been labouring under an illusion all the years I have been a member.
I have always thought that what you propose is already being done, only slightly differently, by the various divisions within the RYA. If you have ever visited the rabbit warren at Eastleigh (I know they are on the move) this becomes evident. Indeed, each division seems to be so independent of the others that on one occasion my visit to Training I ended up in another department who could not even give me directions!
I am inclined to agree with you about the magazine, though. YM tries hard to stick to cruising, but even it strays into racing news from time to time. But the RYA mag is a hotchpotch of the whole and I sometimes find only a couple of paras relating to my particular interests. Is it really necessary at all I sometimes wonder. A quarterly newsheet from the division(s) each member is interested in might do better in disseminating information

 

[yachtcharisma]

Agree with the point about the magazine. I posted an (unused) question to the discussion making a similar point. My suspicion is that the RYA actually gets on with representing the interests of water users to government etc - who, I'm sure, are much happier dealing with a single body - very well. However, the water users themselves feel dissatisfied because a lot of what the RYA is doing is irrelevant to their own particular interest. ie the problem is largely one of communication / perception. The magazine contributes to this in its current form, and several more focused publications in its place would probably do a lot to improve the RYA's image to boaters.

Cheers
Patrick

Sailing a Corribee in Plymouth
vzone.virgin.net/patrick.fox

 

[Twister_Ken]

It may be that the RYA is organised in the way in which I suggested, but it doesn't portray itseld in that way. It markets itself as "all things to all men/women", and we subscribe to the RYA generally. If we communicated with, paid subs to, and attended events organised by 'our' section, knowing that the section's primary concern coincided with our particular interest then we might feel closer to the organisation and support it through thick and thin.

My own status - left the RYA long ago because I felt it was becoming a series of self-serving, self-glorying committees, and instead joined the Cruising Association which is run by cruisers for cruisers and is involved in very little that doesn't reflect my own concerns.

 

[FlyingSpud]

You have to be careful taking this approach too far, no doubt the MCA et al have heard the maxim ‘Divide and conquer’

 

[Twister_Ken]

Smaller targets are more difficult to hit!

 

[FlyingSpud]

And to ignore!