Membership Report

Well, we have rattled through another year in the blink of an eye! During 2009, we welcomed 64 new members, and sadly lost 86 members. Therefore we have seen a small reduction in overall membership levels for the year. We now stand at:-

• 162 full members, and

• 10 masters

In addition we have 39 registered officials, and 6 non-executive and honorary members.

We are still reasonably well-stocked with swimmers, and have enjoyed full participation in a wide range of internal and external competitions in 2009. Our waiting list stands at 39, and we will be looking to bring as many of these swimmers into the club as soon as we can.

Towards the end of the year, we had to contend with the closure of Bushey Grove Leisure Centre, and needed to re-arrange swim sessions at alternative locations and times. I would like to thank you for your patience and understanding during this period. We have come through it extremely well (and have managed to retain one of the temporary locations on a permanent basis for this term).

It has been quite a task keeping track of all swimmers and sessions this year. There have been a large number of class moves (which is a good thing, showing a lot of progress and improvement). We do try our best to keep you all informed of class moves, and the reasons for doing so. However, please remember that we have to consider all members of the club when making decisions, and it is not always possible to give you the most convenient sessions. Please bear in mind that the future success of the club depends on progress across the board and we have to deploy our (limited) resources in the most effective manner for the whole club.

Our fee structure has been modified for 2010. The annual membership fee now includes automatic entry to all internal club swimming events (Club Champs, Time Trials, 200 & 1500m competition). Being a swimming club, we expect all members to take part in these events where appropriate, as progression through the club and selection for external competitions depends on personal best times achieved at them. Our 3^rd Club Champs in 2009 was held at Woodside, where we raised our game considerably, and brought a new level of professionalism and organisation to the event. This was a huge step up for the club, and was extremely well received. We are actively pursuing more of the same this year too, to raise our game even further.

While on the subject of fees, can I please remind everybody once again that fees are due four weeks before the end of each preceding term, and must be paid before the end of the term to ensure continued membership. Again this year, it has taken too much effort to chase fees from some members who have paid late. To give an idea, we start this year slightly down on members (and therefore down on income and resources) as we had not received fees from over 50 members by the due date – 20^th December. The knock-on effect is that we had to keep their places open (some of whom did not tell us that they were not coming back) and so could not fill them from the waiting list. So we are now not running at full capacity, which affects our ability to fill gala squads, to improve training and to fund the club’s activities. This is a direct effect of not renewing membership on time. So that there can be no misunderstanding, fees are due four weeks before the end of EACH preceding term. It is your responsibility as a club member to ensure that they are paid on time. You are not allowed to enter the water at any training session or represent the club at any level unless your membership and swim fees are fully up to date.

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 Wood

Membership Secretary