Is the economic downturn affecting your club in any way, such as a decrease in participation, (or even increase if swimming is seen as a cheap pastime, like movie-going and rentals?) Is your club doing anything as a result, or is it preparing for a bad economy in any way? Any drop or increase in meet participation attributed to it?
Parents
Former Member
Very recently the management of the facility that sponsors our team has cut 3 coached workouts down to 12 from 15 per week. Prior to this we had not lost any members, in fact paid memberships of around 170 has been steady for years. They said it was a money saving thing due to the economy. Membership dues exceed coaches pay by around 4 to 1. The pool is open anyway, they still have to pay for lights, heat, chemicals, lifeguards even if were not there. They don't have any revenue generating replacement for us. This has been pointed out to them and the math works out to a loss of just 11 members and any savings realized would disappear and net revenue would decrease. Several members I know have said they plan to drop there memberships due to the practice cuts not the economy. This seems to be a classic reactive management of show me your doing something, even when nothing needed to be done. :confused: My favorite swim blog writer and swimming colleague has wrote several entries in her blog regarding this.
Winds of Change
The Mercenary Life
Very recently the management of the facility that sponsors our team has cut 3 coached workouts down to 12 from 15 per week. Prior to this we had not lost any members, in fact paid memberships of around 170 has been steady for years. They said it was a money saving thing due to the economy. Membership dues exceed coaches pay by around 4 to 1. The pool is open anyway, they still have to pay for lights, heat, chemicals, lifeguards even if were not there. They don't have any revenue generating replacement for us. This has been pointed out to them and the math works out to a loss of just 11 members and any savings realized would disappear and net revenue would decrease. Several members I know have said they plan to drop there memberships due to the practice cuts not the economy. This seems to be a classic reactive management of show me your doing something, even when nothing needed to be done. :confused: My favorite swim blog writer and swimming colleague has wrote several entries in her blog regarding this.
Winds of Change
The Mercenary Life
