News
2024 Australian Sailing Club Survey results
Published Sun 08 Dec 2024
Overview:
Overall, the process of conducting the 2024 Club Survey has been successful. We received 149 unique responses (down from 197 in 2023) which represents 42% of clubs nationally. Pleasingly we had responses from every State and Territory (except ACT) and from a wide range of clubs (big, small, metro, regional, dinghy, yacht).
State Breakdown of responses:
Position of respondents:
Engagement:
Nationally in 2024 we received an improvement in engagement rating. The result is that clubs have identified they are the happiest/most satisfied that they have been in the last three years with the levels of club engagement.
Club Challenges:
Clubs ranked the top 5 challenges to be:
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1. On-water participation
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1. On-water participation
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Club’s importance rating of current AS Programs and Services:
Clubs ranked the top 5 AS programs and services as:
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
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Club’s usage of current AS Programs and Services
Clubs ranked their top 5 used programs and services to be:
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
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Club’s effectiveness rating of current AS Programs and Services
Clubs ranked the top 5 effective programs and services to be:
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
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Notes/Comments:
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Three years of consistent questions allows for great year on year comparison.
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Year on year comparison of the – Challenges | Importance | Usage | Effectiveness – shows consistency which can be used to confirm club needs and our AS support offerings. Generally, we are focused on the same items that our clubs are challenged by.
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Year on year comparison of – Club’s priorities of AS Strategic Projects – shows consistency and alignment with current AS operational plans. Note that National Safety and Integrity Framework has dropped out of the top 5 and has been replaced with the Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility plan. This relates exactly to our priorities as the Integrity Framework has largely been implemented and communicated and a shift towards the Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility plan has taken place with formation of the National Working Group and presentations at latest Sailing Summit circuit.
Australian Sailing Strategic Plan
It is worth noting that the priority order of the strategic priorities listed below remains relevant and aligns directly with the feedback received from clubs. This presents an opportunity to earn goodwill with our sailing community if we can communicate effectively to educate them on these projects and their outcomes which will no doubt have positive effects on the clubs challenges, should they choose to adopt them.
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Participation and Membership Growth
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Club Support Program
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Coach, Instructor and Officials Development Plan
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Sailing Participant Pathway
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National Safety and Integrity Framework
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Stakeholder Engagement Plan
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Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Plan
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Environmental Action Plan.
Conclusion:
The annual Club Survey remains a useful tool to “check in” with clubs in a robust manner to capture a collective view and feedback. There is room to improve the uptake of the survey and the number of responses from clubs which will continue to be worked on. The information gained from clubs with regards to their challenges and views on the current AS services and programs is in line with current perceptions of staff which is gained from their conversations and insights into clubs and the sailing community. For this reason, the club survey remains a great qualifier of AS strategy and operations as set by the Board and Senior Management.
The Club Survey will now be alternated and complimented by the introduction of a Class Association Survey in 2025. The next Club Survey will be conducted in 2026.
