We're just trying to come up with new ideas.

Claiming that the Alter Cup is an important (some say the most important) benefit of membership, then giving a list of reasons that only a select few need to join is simply not a compelling argument.

US Sailing offers a variety of benefits, and I try to think of new ones, or better ways for us to leverage other parts of the organization all the time.

Even when we come up with things we all agree are important, it's impossible to ask for things when we have less than 100 people who bother to join, and no real promise that anyone would join if things were changed.

We can live in fantasy land all day, bit the reality is that US Sailing is our governing body and our segment is not big enough to fundamentally change the way they operate.

Our best (probably only) chance to succeed is to identify ways to work with them to add benefits, not to demand special treatment. I went to bat for us in San Fran (it was not pretty) and managed to retain our core structure. It was duly noted that we are set up differently than anyone else. Most resistance came regarding championships.

I understood this as the way to proceed on Day 1. The sooner the rest of you do, the more chance we have to be successful.

Mike