28-Oct-2009
Important Soaks Club information evening - 4th NovDear Soaks Club Member,
The Club is hosting an important information and discussion evening on Wed 4th Nov @ the Clubhouse from 6 pm. All club members senior/juniors, sponsors and supporters of the club are duly invited.
This purpose of the meeting is to assist the Club membership to understand some of the challenges we face in the changing world of amateur and Club Rugby in Perth, but more importantly it will help outline a potential way forward that may assist the club to become an even better club for all its members. There are a number of issues that have prompted this initiative, not least of them being:
Soaks is currently fully managed by volunteers. This takes considerable time and energy from very committed club members to keep the club at the forefront of Rugby in the state.
Soaks is one of the “role” model rugby clubs that others look to for how to nurture and grow a club through juniors to seniors. However we have struggled in recent years to achieve finals in the senior grades.
The rugby environment in Perth is changing. Clubs are spending more to run themselves. This includes on administration, players, coaches, supporters and sponsors in order remain competitive.
Soaks “home grown talent” advantage is eroding, this is very evident in the increased competitiveness for players in juniors going into seniors and the reducing numbers of juniors in our club ranks.
Also crucial in this is that Clubs need volunteers with the time available to commit to assisting and administering. In today’s busy society these are harder to find and unfortunately we miss out on some great skills and professional credentials because people are unable to commit the time and energy required.
As a club we are at risk of being left behind as other clubs become more professional in all aspects. This is at both Junior and Senior levels.
The club membership needs to recognize this and engage in discussion and dialogue on these matters with regard the way forward for the Club. If it is left to only a few it will be very hard to adapt and respond.
As a Club what do we possibly need to do and consider in order to compete:
A full time administrative staff/club manager ?
Change to the constitution to better amalgamate our Juniors/Seniors ?
Better use of the club house facilities for commercial return ?
Expansion and use of the club membership for sponsor benefit and marketing/business development purposes ?
All these are possible but are they necessary or what the club needs ?? Fortunately there is an opportunity to have a discussion and to hear a presentation on how another local Amateur Club undertook a change to adapt and respond to the changing professional environment they found themselves in.
Presentation. Craig Smith-Gander is the President of North Cottesloe Surf Club and a former player/member at Soaks. Craig has agreed to provide an over view of how the North Cottesloe SLSC has stepped up from a fully amateur club that struggled with memberships and volunteers to take on crucial roles, to become one of the largest Surf Clubs in WA and Australia. Overall it is an excellent case study and example of a club that has recently adapted and grown very successfully and importantly sustainably while retaining its heritage and focus on local community. Importantly Craig will highlight how:
The club retained its focus on its heritage and past members while building new membership levels.
Built a club culture on excellence that was supported by professional staff to remove the burden of administration from the club members and volunteers. The club now has 3 full time staff and a number of part time staff/coaches.
Generated significant membership and sponsorship levels through a dynamic and wide range of sponsors and partners.
Fully engaged and integrated the junior and senior membership into a whole club structure
Supported and encouraged its “home grown” talent while integrating additional athletes and expertise. The Club has an excellent Juniors program that continues to grow. It rewards, encourages and supports its local talent.
To all Soaks members, supporters, sponsors and friends of the Club it is necessary to hear how they did this to see what are the strengths and weaknesses of such a course and more importantly whether this is something Soaks would wish to do or could do as a club. The Club is at a cross roads and needs to fully and openly review how it moves forward if it wishes to build on past success and not get left behind. If this requires change then let it be with knowledge and understanding of how this can work rather than concern and introspection about such change.
To many senior club members this is an important discussion opportunity and initiative that we would hate to see fail because of a lack of involvement or understanding of the issues at hand. This is an important preparation for further discussions and decisions that may need to be taken at the Club’s Annual General Meeting. To all parties we really encourage any club member past and or present to attend and get some useful facts.
Please join us on Wed 4th Nov at the Club.
Bob Hunter on behalf of concerned Club Members | 
