2007 has been a busy year in the membership department. Although our numbers have remained relatively constant (we have 194 swimming members), there has been a lot of movement within our club. Since September alone, we have had 34 new swimmers joining us, and most of our existing members have progressed further through the club. As a guide, we register swimmers with the ASA based on the type of competition they will be taking part in. In 2007 we registered 40 members for Category 2 membership (the highest ASA membership level available). This is the largest number of swimmers we have ever registered at this level, indicating that our standards are improving all the time, and more of our members are looking to take part in more challenging competitions. This will continue in 2008, with more Category 2 registrations around the corner I am sure!
Thank you for responding positively to our change of payment procedure. As explained at the time, it really helps with the organisation of the club. As a practical example of how this has helped, we are inviting a number of new swimmers to join us with immediate effect. This is the first time we have been able to do this in January as we already know the make-up of our classes following the Christmas break. This means that we can keep the momentum going as we enter this very busy gala season.
Thanks also for completing/correcting the information we hold about you. It is important that this is kept up to date, as we may need to contact you at short notice. Please let us know at any time if there are any changes to your details. We use this information only for club business, and for forwarding to the ASA for their records. For all registered swimmers we hold details of your ASA registration number, and this is available at any time, on request (sometimes it is needed for entry into Open Meets, for example).
In general, we experience a natural membership churn of approximately 25% (over the course of a year, 25% of members leave, to be replaced by swimmers on our waiting list). 2007 was no exception, and we were able to fill the places directly from our very healthy waiting list. Going into 2008, although our waiting list is still good, it is not as ‘long’ as it was at the beginning of 2007. Looking ahead, we need to maintain this list to ensure that we can continue to provide a full complement of club and gala squad swimmers. If you are aware of any other children (particularly youngsters aged 5 – 8) who you feel would benefit from joining the club, please ask them to get in touch with us, and we’ll be happy to talk them through who we are and what we do. Do remember though, that we are not a replacement for swimming lessons, but are able to offer a broader exposure to swimming, and an introduction to competitive swimming. In other words, ‘spread the word’ about Bushey ASC.
It just remains for us to welcome you back to the new year at Bushey. Once again, we wish you a very successful year, and happy swimming!
Jon and Janet Wood
Membership Secretary
