At present rule 46 has a prescription that after three races all crew of any race shall also be a club member; and that Australian Sailing was reviewing the requirement.
 

From 1 January 2021 the Australian Sailing prescription to the rule will require that all crew are members of an affiliated club and registered with Australian Sailing- regardless of the number of races they have competed in.

When publishing the RRS in 2016, Australian Sailing informed competitors (in the rule itself) to note that it was reviewing these requirements and to expect changes to be made requiring that all crew of any race to be members of an affiliated club and registered with Australian Sailing.

Since that time Australian Sailing has made enough changes around database tools that enable the easy registration of clubs’ members, flexible membership and registration systems allowing for short-term or introductory memberships, and we’ve disconnected club’s affiliation fees from their levels of membership.
 

This is to say:

1. Advance notice of the change (now approved) has been published for the past four years, and
2. The systems used for club membership and registration with Australian Sailing are ready for the change, and
3. This is not a revenue raising exercise. Your clubs’ affiliation fees are not impacted, and
4. Alternative solutions (ie Crew Club in NSW) will be discontinued.

Competitors’ membership of clubs and registration with Australian Sailing has for a long time been a major strategic priority for the sport of sailing. These strategic priorities are completely compatible and in line with the priorities of any given club.

Where your club and Australian Sailing needs your support is in making sure the crew on board your boat have signed up as a member of a club; either using SailPass or their normal membership offerings. This simple check and encouragement are something any and all of you can do. Guide people enjoying this sport to be members of a club and registered with the sport.