WE NEED YOUR HELP

Hi ya. Well welcome to the Northern end of the Goldie. I believe you are the guys that leave from Main Beach at 5.00 pm.

There is just one problem I have with some clubs and that is unfortunately I have to work and cannot often make the early times that are set (in the middle of summer a later start on the water can be doable). This does not give me time to go home and get my board (nowhere to store it at work). I do however live across the road from the Broadwater in Labrador and would be nice to have some fellow suppers join me sometimes after work. I often sup before work.

Anyway hopefully I will be able to get some time off work so I can join in.

It looks like this

We want to do things a little differntly and we need feedback from paddlers to tell us what they need. Thanks to SUPSA I have been down to a few of your events and club days ......You have been doing it for a while and we certainly will take any advice you would like to share
Our group have not done anything as yet we just want to get the framework up and then we will let you know our club days and when we will be training.

We have a coach who will be doing private training and learn to SUP classes ....We are very keen to have a big social side to our club and also offer the elite athlete status as well.

We will know on Mon 20th if we get the home we are after .....It has all the facilities including a bar. We will have to work to get our storage shed but eventually we would like to be able to store our members boards etc ....anyhow big vision so we need members to join .....in a couple of weeks

You've got drive & enthusiasm - with this in mind, I reckon you are 9/10's of the way there. Good luck with it all.
Did you say you are getting a bar ? You've sold me - except I'm 1000k down the coast. Good luck and make sure you send all the members down to the Alley on occasions. They would love to have you all down there. There's heaps of room they tell me.

I think having a members storage shed is a great idea. Being on the northern end of the Goldie you will potentially have a lot of members from Briz coming down and joining your club. Transporting surf sups and race boards for a couple of people on roof racks at the one time is difficult plus you always have the security problem when you are out using one and the other is left on the car.

To have a storage place close to the water where members could leave their boards, and not have to guess what the conditions are going to be might gain a lot of support

Thanks for the great input guys much appreciated. It seems there is a little concern from Pete Dorries about our commercial interests. I thought it was a given that an incorporated club is legally bound not to be commercial.We are fully incorporated and registered and are certainly not starting this club for commercial interests.

The northern end of the coast needs to have a club and with the sport expanding at an exponential pace it is my opinion that the SUP community should be in consultation with the development of the sport and that means they need to be heard.

Why would we volunteer to run a club when we could run a business . If people need to sniff around non profit organisations to rustle up business they probably are not very good coaches or business owners.

However you are likely to see a more business like organisation in our structure because most of us have a business and marketing background. I for one, believe you start with the vision you want to end with and you utilise and run an organisation like a business with the profit going back into the club and its members..The more business- like you become the more your club prospers and the more your members benefit. This club has a specific goal and we will be commercial in a non profit way so we can build sheds buy equipment and buy boards.We have a big vision for juniors and families.

I have set up several clubs (not SUP) in my past life and have a very good understanding of what is required .Healthy clubs are communities that work best in a collaborative manner ..... members need ownership. Where organisations fall apart or find conflict is when people are not heard and committee members take over the control and remove the input of the general members.

My reason for asking the SUP community what they would like to see in an ideal SUP club is you don't try and reinvent the wheel. You find clubs that are doing it well and you duplicate the process. We are already collaborating with a couple of really large USA clubs and getting lots of tips on how they run their clubs.

We do have a committee and a coach.
My reason for approaching this forum is to get ideas from our local community and and find out how they would like to see a club operate.
This is a club for the members and thats the way we want to build it ….
I notice there is strong feedback to develop a solid social aspect and happiness there might be a bar lol
..If we get the home we want we have a bar and a clubhouse ….Yay !!!! let you know Tuesday

KEEP THE COMMENTS COMING …..even the negative comments are good because you will understand our culture and our intention and we can get feedback on what turns you off …..and what you would really enjoy in a club. I will be setting up a survey in the next day or so and would really appreciate you helping out

Thanks again for the feedback from you all its already helping to formulate a framework.

The sport is really growing and each community has a different vision of what they want from the sport. Super clubs never work in the interest of the sport. We dont need one club dominating we need several strong clubs for competition and growth.

Supsa will continue to grow at the southern end and we will grow on the northern end and that way we cast the net wide. We also want to nurture a junior team and focus on families and beginners in our first year to build a broad based membership.

Elite athletes are the easiest clubs to build because they are self motivated anyhow. We have a completly different vision and this can only be a good thing ....The alley doesnt need more visitors

We are moving back there sometime this year and would be looking to join. Sounds like you have put a heap of thought and effort into the club.

its a bloody long way to travel south for those of us that choose to live on the beautiful broadwater,and the areas even further north. this is a great idea,being done by people with a positive attitude. how many people havnt joined supsa cause it is just too far from them to get too? i say its a good thing the north being represented

It's a free country so anyone has the right to start up a new club anywhere. I am a bit confused as to why SUPSA is now being portrayed as a "Southern Gold Coast" club. It represents the whole Gold Coast region and always has. I would have preferred to see the people who live further North to have joined SUPSA and helped develop things on the north end more. SUPSA had its AGM recently and this would have been the perfect opportunity to make a contribution and express your views on the focus areas and direction of the club.

Also, SUPSA is very family focussed and some have even argued that it has been too family focussed over the years - to the detriment of the competitive types.

SUPSA is by no means a super club and it has gone through some tough times over the years. It nearly shut down a few years back but was kept going by a few dedicated people, most notably Just Wrong and Secret Agent.

Anyway, your new club is a reality so good luck to you.

Amazing feedback thank you so much. Just to clarify what I meant by "super club". With the sport coming into its own this is the time to expand.When you build something and you have a vision for it you are looking to the future just as we are .
When I talk about a "super club" Im looking to the future and how SUPSA will organically expand simply due to the numbers joining the sport and because they already have a very good reputation. SUPSA is a club that is strong established and standing on its own and will continue to grow .The numbers alone will make it a super club.

We want to offer an alternative and eventually a competitive edge so we can compete against each other and promote the sport . The more clubs we have the more exciting the paddling environment and the more choices people have to fit in where they feel comfortable.

Our vision is different to SUPSA as we would like to expand to a cross training paddling club including outriggers dragon boats and kayaks ....this is a long way off and might never happen but this is on our vision board for now.

Im sure SUPSA can start a northern club if thats what they want . I would like to see us work together to improve and develop the sport and to combine to host great events. It will never be a them and us mentality on our behalf because we are here to offer a club at the northern end but work towards the growth and development of the sport with all clubs ....We appreciate SUPSA and would hope they will help us build the sport and mentor us when we need it ......

Im all for i, looking forward to seeing you all soon

GCSUPclub it is good that you have a postive attitude and a desire to help promote SUP, Dragon Boating, Outrigging and Kayaking in the future.

My input into what makes a perfect club is a committee who is honest with its members and the community (Transparent). Creates an environment for like minded people to meet and socialise. Provides the participants of their chosen sport with a chance to develop their skills and guide them to a higher level of competition if they desire. And that the club is there for the community to promote the sport in a positive manner, without conflict of interest from manufacturers, suppliers or any type of sponser. This would be the perfect club.

Thank you so much...... I am really gleaning a lot of information on what we need to offer in the development of our club ....Adpt hopefully we will be exactly what you have mentioned. I have run enough clubs to know that when there are vested interests and the committee leaves the members behind you have trouble in the camp.
I love consensus . I think surveys are an ideal way of getting peoples expectations heard. When big decisions are made they should always be thrown open to consensus.Im also really keen on the competitive side of development of the club and introducing coaching clinics etc. My background is as a sport coach so I
understand how important it is to have good training and coaching and lots of competition as well as a social club to relax and have fun.....something for everyone ...
Thanks again for spending the time to help us out ...your input is more valuable than you realize.

I'm with you