Dear Queensland Windsurfers,
There is some big news for the Windsurfing Queensland club this year which we hope will open the way for an awesome season. Windsurfing Queensland will step back into an administrative role and promote the generation of affiliated clubs more personalised to your needs. It is hoped that by doing this a number of clubs will form based upon location, common interests or particular disciplines. The aim is that more Queenslanders will be able to join a club and take advantage of the social, competitive, and skill sharing benefits they offer. We also hope to see an increased uptake of the sport by the wider community due to the visibility clubs provide through their organised events.
You may or may not be aware that Windsurfing Queensland used to act only as an administrative body while a number of affiliated clubs ran independently around the state. This was a very successful format and is currently used by many of the other states with similar success. In previous years this was simply impossible to employ in Queensland due to dwindling member numbers, which basically forced Windsurfing Queensland to become the only club in Queensland.
In the last two years a lot of effort has gone into building the club back up to the point where it is in a position to go back to its administrative role and offer an umbrella so that individual clubs can form under it once again. Obviously the process for this change needs to be taken one step at a time and the Bayside Sailboard Club have been used as a test case, setting up all of the infrastructure to make the affiliation possible. The information and processes used to set this club up will be shared with other interested parties who would like to form a club so as to make this task easier.
Having multiple clubs throughout Queensland will benefit the windsurfing community by allowing sailors to join clubs that are located closer to home or that concentrate on the discipline of the sport they are most interested in pursuing at the time. Currently there is interest from four clubs and we are expecting more to form once the format is finalised and the message is out.
What this means to current members is that you will no longer become a direct member of Windsurfing Queensland but will be able to join one of the affiliated clubs that best suits your needs. Most clubs will have social and competitive membership options and it is perceived that the fee structures will not be a lot different to what was in place last year at WQ. It is intended that sailors from one club will be able to join in on the events of other clubs as long as they meet the requirements of that club.
Because the insurance only covers two levels of affiliations the club you join will pass on your details and the insurance part of your membership fee to Windsurfing Queensland who will in turn pass this onto the AWA. You will therefore become a WQ member by default so you can benefit from the same insurance cover you have in previous years.
WQ will be charging the affiliated clubs a small fee so that it can cover its costs but in order to help clubs in their start-up all affiliation fees will be waived on a clubs first year and a one off payment of up to $200.00 will be offered to clubs in order to help cover their incorporation fees. There will be conditions to meet in order to receive this payment and the money will only be paid once the requirements of affiliation have been met. It should also be noted that there may be restrictions in the number of clubs that are offered affiliation. This is in order to give new clubs the best chance of being viable and not spreading member numbers too thin.
We will keep the Windsurfing Queensland website running and will be adding all of the relevant information as it comes to hand along with an events section and links to the newly formed clubs. Obviously this is a big change and with all new ventures there will be a teething process but we ask for your patience as we believe the new structure will be of great benefit to individual sailors and the sport as a whole.
Looking forward to a great season.
Regards, Scot Farley (Treasurer Windsurfing Queensland)
