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
Mike, at the end of the day USSailing needs us more than we need them, so stop telling us that we need to get onboard. You and I both know that if USSailing went away tomorrow it wouldn't change anything for 98% of the multihull community. USSailing needs to wake up and deliver a service that encourages us to join or at a minimum just gets out of the way.
FYI, the registration upcharge for non USSailing members is NOT a reason to join USSailing. I happily pay the upcharge because that money goes to the club and does NOT go USSailing. Now if USSailing would kick in a few bucks for every USSailing member that attended a regatta that might encourage me to join, let me know what Jack thinks about that idea.
And Mike, the folks that did your job before you understood how USSailing works too.
Still waiting for the minutes where USSailing agreed to waive the $50 per competitor fee and sponsorship restrictions.
"Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda "Excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent" - Two sista's I overheard in the hall "You don't have to be a brain surgeon to be a complete idiot, but it helps"
