With nearly 150 unique responses representing 42% of clubs nationally, the 2022 Club Survey has provided a comprehensive and successful overview of sailing communities around Australia. In total, 146 responses were recorded (up from 117 in 2020). Pleasingly, we had responses from every State and Territory and from a wide range of clubs - big, small, metro, regional, dinghy and yacht.

Engagement

The results of the Engagement section of the Club Survey were positive, with 41% of clubs stating that they were ‘Very’ or ‘Extremely’ engaged with Australian Sailing (AS). A further 36% rating AS as ‘Somewhat’ engaged, bringing the percentage total of positive responses to 77%.

Whilst these results leant towards the positive end of the spectrum, AS has made note of some required actions in an effort to improve the the positive response. These include but are not limited to:

• Continuation and more extensive roll out of the Stakeholder Engagement Project for clubs and class associations.
• Further development of systems and process to enable General Managers and Club Support Officers to be more proactive with club visits (quantity and quality).
• Development of a “Pulse Survey” to ensure clubs are feeling their voice is being heard more often. The plan is for this to sit in Club News as an option for club committee members to provide regular feedback whenever they desire and allow for the Club Support Team to distribute electronically after their visits or interactions with clubs. Further details to be provided in due course.

Club Challenges

There results suggested widespread agreeance from clubs on the main challenges they face. Whilst these challenges did vary slightly based on location and club size, the top 5 challenges (in order) were ranked as:

1. On-water participation
2. Recruiting and retaining on-water volunteers
3. Funding for infrastructure and maintenance
4. Attracting new members
5. Retention of existing members

They key Australian Sailing strategic projects that aim to combat these challenges include the Club Participation Programs​ – for which rollout has already begun – the Participation and Membership Growth Strategy​ and the Club Support Program. These projects, conceptualised with club and class associations in mind, will provide support and programs to benefit clubs in a multitude of ways.

Ranking of AS Programs and Services

The club survey saw clubs rank the importance of various AS programs. The top 5 (in order) most important AS programs and services as ranked by clubs are:

1. Officials training and development.
2. Provision of the racing rules of sailing
3. Safety information and advice
4. Safety policy frameworks (Member Protection, Child Protection etc.)
5. Instructor and Coach training and development.

Clubs were also asked to rank how often they use certain AS Programs and Services. Clubs ranked their top 5 used programs and services to be:

1. Online Support and Assistance with revSPORT
2. Provision of the Racing Rules of Sailing and AS Prescriptions
3. Instructor and Coach Training and Development
4. Officials Training and Development
5. Discover Sailing Centre resources and support.

In addition, clubs were also asked to rank the effectiveness of the same AS programs and services. The top 5 (in order) were ranked as:

1. Provision of the Racing Rules of Sailing and AS Prescriptions
2. Online Support and Assistance with revSPORT
3. Officials Training and Development
4. Instructor and Coach Training and Development
5. Safety information and advice

These results provide huge insights into the AS programs and support that clubs utilise and value most. They also prompt some interesting points of conversation, some of which are noted below:

• Recruiting and retaining on-water volunteers aligns well with Officials Training and development which is consistently ranked highly.
• Safety information and the Provision of the Racing Rules of Sailing feature prominently, with awareness of the safety information likely tied to increased communications via the Safety in Focus eDM and the regular Safety in Focus section of Nautical News.
• Marketing and Communications - specifically that with a club focus - is key to educating our community on our services, programs, and activities. Marketing and Communications Resources rated 11^th in Importance, 10^th in Usage and 12^th in Effectiveness, suggesting more effort in this space is required.

Australian Sailing Strategic Plan

The priority order of the strategic priorities listed below aligns directly with the current focus of AS staff to develop and implement these projects over the next 12-24 months. All efforts will be made to communicate these projects effectively for the benefit of clubs and class associations.

1. Participation and Membership Growth
2. Club Support Program
3. Coach, Instructor and Officials Development Plan
4. Sailing Participant Pathway
5. National Safety and Integrity Framework
6. Stakeholder Engagement Plan
7. Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Plan
8. Environmental Action Plan.

The annual Club Survey remains a useful tool to “check in” with clubs in a robust manner to capture a collective view of the Australian Sailing community as well as receive both general and specific feedback. We thank all participating clubs for their time in completing the survey, and encourage all clubs to participate in the survey in 2023.