We have a huge discussion going on here in Norway these days. The sailing association dont have enough money they say to do what they want to do. So there is a proposal that everybody who participates in regattas have to buy a "license" to compete.
For personal licenses you get a small insurance that cover damages to a certain extent. Has to be renewed yearly.
Big boats will be required to pay a license fee for each series or event they participate in.
Personal license is proposed to be NOK330 (US$57)
A series/event fee for boats where the any crew dont have personal license is proposed to be NOK150 (US$26)
The license is of course in addition to club membership and regular insurance.
Is this kind of solution common in other countries?
US Sailing uses a different motivator to encourage membership in the US. Clubs that belong to US Sailing (and also receive a reasonable insurance policy in return) are asked to provide a $5.00 US discount on the entry fee of their regattas for individual US Sailing members. Though it's presented as a discount, in reality, most clubs charge what they need to cover the costs of the regatta including the discounts. Non US Sailing members pay a little more to participate in the regatta.
At the end of the day, my US Sailing membership usually costs me very nothing after all the discounts I get at regattas throughout the year...but that's usually thanks to the non-US Sailing members that participate at regattas (in a really round-about way).
