Like in many Facebook posts you should read right to the end to get the joke.
I expect the ice is coming off ponds across this vast country and radio sailing clubs will be coming out of
hibernation and getting racing programs going for 2025. I thought I should do a brief report on how
things are going in terms of membership processing. By the way, thanks for renewing. I figure anyone
who us keen enough to read this is also responsible enough to have renewed their CRYA Membership
for 2025.
As of this morning we have 228 Active paid up members. Within that membership are 21 new members,
most of whom have also registered their boat(s).
Sadly, there are still 46 individuals who were active in 2024 but have still not renewed for 2025. They
have received reminders in various forms but have not yet responded. This group remains a challenge
which might require a bit of a group effort to get them motivated to renew. More on that later.
As a new registrar and first-time user of a database program I have to say the job is way more
complicated than I thought. Fortunately, I received massive support from a number of members who
together got me up and running on the software, the mechanics of processes, the historical records and
the importance of the registrar role in this very disbursed organization. Special thanks to Bruce Silzer our
outgoing registrar who coached me and supplied the massive amount of data we own organized to
perfection. Also, a big shout out to Art Puffer who helped me master the basic database tools required
to process renewals and boat registrations. Now that I am settled in I am finding the position very
interesting and enjoyable.
Like any newbie I started thinking there might be ways to improve things and that resulted in a couple of
little improvements to the database layout that made the mechanics a bit easier. In consultation with
the Treasurer a decision was made to change the process associated with members who made multiple
payments. In previous years those double payments created considerable complexity and opportunity
for human error for both the registrar and the treasurer. All that extra work was simply enabling folks
who made the mistate and renewed multiple times. So, for 2025 the treasurer simply reimbursed the
extra payments and hopefully gave the member a solid memory that would help them not repeat their
mistake going forward.
By February I realized that the flow of renewals seemed too slow. On March 1 when we reached the late
payment date when unpaid members lost their “Member in Good Standing” status it was clear
something need to be done. To help get folks moving I sent out reminder e-mails aimed at groups like
those who were last active in 2024 and those who had not been in good standing since 2023. Each
reminder generated a few renewals with most coming from the 2024 group.
I also noticed that a search of the database to produce club lists resulted in a huge lists containing
names of folks who had not renewed with CRYA for years. To clean this up and focus the club
associations on current sailors I consulted with the Club Contact linked to each club. These very helpful
leaders were able to identify folks who had passed away, left the sport, moved to another province, etc.
At the same time, I asked these leaders to encourage any current members of their club to consider
renewing their CRYA membership. In addition, a few of their sailors who had never joined CRYA were
approached. Many renewals and a few first-time memberships were the result of this human contact.
One very creative Jim Goddard took it a level higher and implemented a system where the Halifax Area
Model Yacht Club collected an extra $10 along with their regular club dues and paid CRYA for 27
individuals together. This was super efficient for me and the treasurer and earned this club the highest
percentage of members who have also embraced CRYA. On a sadder note, one of the Club Contacts
replied to my request with the news that they had lost so many members that Fifty Point Yacht Club had
ceased to operate and remaining members move on to other clubs.
I want to thank everyone who helped with these initiatives that over the 200 mark.
But what can we do to bring people who are still racing regularly back into CRYA. Everyone knows we
get fantastic vale for the $10 fee. If anyone challenges that I start by asking them what number is
displayed on their sail and take it from there. There are plenty of other ways to describe the value
proposition. I suspect some simply forget or become complacent. E-mail reminders are only partially
effective. I think it’s the person to person contact that will motivate the missing 46+. So, if any Club
wishes to identify who on their start lines are not in CRFYA I would be happy to provide the data.
Another initiative that might really work is asking for proof of current CRYA membership for events
where the Notice of Race calls for it. If that is done at registration there would likely be time for me to
get a certificate out to the person quickly.
So, you are probably saying, “Where the hell is the funny April Fools joke?”. Well that’s the joke, there is
none. I may be verbose but I am seldom funny.
Al Oliver
Registrar CRYA
