Royal Brighton
Managing change within your Club
The trials, tribulations, tantrums and tears of our recent changes
August 2018
•Where we started
•Where we are now
•How we went from A to B
•What causes change
•What can you learn from our pain?
How Royal Brighton effected change
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
"If you want to make enemies,
try to change something“
US President Woodrow Wilson
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• We weren’t in bad shape to start with ….
– Great clubhouse
– Great hard stand and marina
– Great RC boats and equipment
– Lots of junior sailors
– High quality Etchells fleet
– Strong cruising group
– Stable keelboat racing fleet
– Cash in the bank
Where we started
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
Great Clubhouse
Great RC boats and equipment
World Class Etchells Fleet
Keelboat racing
• Ageing membership
• Inability to transition juniors to intermediate
• Lack of off the beach racing
• Juniors / Youth sailing boats that no-one else sailed in Victoria
• A 100 year old, uneconomical boatyard being used less and less
• Not much room for OTB boats
• Perceived “Fortress Brighton” exterior sending the message:“Members Only” (i.e. you’re not welcome)
• Reducing membership income
But everything wasn’t rosey in Camelot
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Average age of members 2014 - 2016
Ageing membership
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
2014 2015 2016
• Age profile of members
Transition juniors to intermediate
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
05-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 90-100
• The last club to have a fleet of Sabots and 12ft Cadets in Victoria
• Sabots are a great racing boat, but not so good for learn to sail
• 12ft Cadets were great in their day and good team building boat having
a 3 person crew
• Our juniors seldom went to other clubs, and no-one visited our club!
Orphan boats
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Facilities
– Removed the boatyard and replaced it with OTB storage / rigging area
• Boats we sail
–Optis and Quests replaced Sabots and 12ft Cadets
• Events
–Attracting the right regattas and running high quality, fun events
• Some of this was part of a plan, some of it forced on us, and
some of it we just got lucky
Three areas of change
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Removed the 100 year old slipway and boat yard
– Replaced with a yard with fake grass and OTB boats
– Renovated downstairs area into a bistro open to the
public
– Changed our front and back fences
Facilities
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Average age of the members has reduced for the first time in years
• Kick started the off the beach racing
• Attracted several groups to train out of RBYC
– AS, VIS, VIODA, Laser squads
• Younger RBYC sailors now compete inter-club, interstate and internationally - and we now have “visitors” to our club!
• RBYC has become a venue of choice for regattas
– We are booked out until mid 2020
• Income profile has changed considerably
So what effect has this had
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• For the first time, the average age is decreasing
Average age of membership
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
• Membership fees – 16%
• Marina, hardstand, OTB storage – 25%
• Food and beverage – 50%
• Average monthly food and beverage spend of members
up 70%
Income profile
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Two types of agents of change
– Boiling Frog
– Christmas tree lights
How did we make this change?
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
If you put a frog in boiling water
it will jump out straight away
If you put it in cold water and heat
it slowly, it will sit there and boil
• Boiling Frog scenario
• Slowly ageing membership, slowly declining income
• Christmas tree lights scenario
• Our slipway failed
RBYC managed to have both
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
100 year old slipway pylons failed
• There had been an understanding of the “Boiling Frog” issue
– but there was no compelling date where change was required
– the water was just getting warmed up
• Then hit by “Christmas Tree lights” - the failure of the slipway
• What followed was an independent evaluation comparing:
– Repair the existing slipway
– Replace the entire slipway
– Remove the slipway
• It became evident that the slipway and boatyard were not commercially
viable.
• Very few members worked on their own boats any more
What happened next?
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Committee decided that rather than just remove the
slipway and concrete over the yard that they would look at
the bigger picture and do the job properly
• Decided to create a new café open to the public to
generate a much bigger food and beverage income
stream
• “Significant resistance” to the change in particular
removing the slipway and the yard
Resistance to change
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Obtain an independent review of the financial viability
• Hold a number of meetings with the members
• Listen to objections
• Revise the plan
• Eventually it came to election time
• Re-electing the same Committee recommending the changes gave the Committee the mandate to proceed
Overcoming resistance
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Change from Sabots to Optimists– A number of members purchased Oz Optis and just had them delivered to the club
– RBYC Parents taking their kids to Black Rock so that they could sail Optimists
• Change from 12ft Cadets to Quest Dinghies– Quests are a teenager and adult trainer – Pacer equivalent
– Boats donated by generous members, with the support of the RS dealer
• Our Sabots and 12ft Cadets were donated to other clubs and also a school
The boats we sail
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Resurrection of the George Mac Regatta– Initially a Sabot event, but changed to be an Open event
• Hosting of Sail Melbourne– Loss of World Cup status for Sail Melbourne resulted in a significant drop in funding
for the event
– Needed to find a central venue with less expensive infrastructure costs
• Hosting of selected Class Championships– Preference for State Championships
• Easy to run – volunteers are happy to put in a weekend or two
• Shot in the arm for club sailors – a buzz around the club
• Possibility of attracting members, either in the short or longer term
Hosting selected events
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Fortunate to have good equipment (3 hard bottom boats and 12 rhibs)
• Able to call on good RO’s, course layers etc so quality racing
• Understand the fun element
• DJ onshore
• Bread and a sausage when you come ashore
• Icy poles on the water between races for the kids
– 20 for $2.80
– $21 for 120 Optimists and club volunteers
• (pity about the parking)
Run events that are Quality & Fun
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
Run events that are Quality & Fun
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
Run events that are Quality & Fun
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
•Change occurs when D x V x F > R
– D - Dissatisfaction with how things are now
– V - Vision of what is possible
– F - First concrete steps that can be taken towards the vision
– R – Resistance
• Because D, V, and F are multiplied, if any one is absent (zero) or low,
then the product will be zero or low and therefore not capable of
overcoming the resistance.
The theory of change – Gleicher formula
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• 1. Communicate a compelling need for change– People need to understand what the problem is and why they can’t continue the way
they’ve always done it
• 2: Get people involved in proposing and making changes– One of the worst things you can do is make people feel like change is being done to them.
Let them air their concerns.
• 3: Be prepared to adapt your own plans based on feedback– Keep your ego in check – you are better to get 95% rather than 0.
• 4: Commit to the change yourself in action and not just words– If you don’t, you can’t expect others to.
• 5: Expect it to take time– It will always take longer than you think
The steps for change
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
• Beware of the boiling frog syndrome
• Don’t buy cheap Christmas Tree lights and beware of 100yo slipways
• Significant change can take place (even at very conservative clubs)
• Keep your eye out for opportunities that might fall in your lap
• Look for the strengths at your club – our changes are not for everyone
• “Town Hall” meetings with members really do work
• Don’t force change upon your members – get them involved
• The number one requirement for a Committee member is a thick skin
What can you learn from our pain?
Australian Sailing | Royal Brighton Yacht Club
Thank you ……
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