Tell me this makes any sense at all, will ya?

What were they thinking? Or were they thinking at all?

We have a DN Class Association that Governs the Class and here's why;

"With the following stated purpose.

'To promote, protect, and perpetuate DN one design iceboating, to advance the art and skill of DN Ice Yacht construction and sailing aw well as the future development of the DN Class Ice Yacht and the sport of Ice Yachting on all the hard waters of the world.'"

Sound nice doesn't it, what a laudable reason to exist, it's not the mission, that's subordinate to the charter.

What does this really mean, not the way it's interpreted or constrained today, rather what do those words really mean?

To Promote, which is indeed the Prime Imperative of the Charter for IDNIYRA, that's why the IDNIYRA exists: from Thesaurus.com
Main Entry: promote

Part of Speech: verb

Definition: help, advance

Synonyms: advertise , advocate, aid, assist, avail, back, befriend, benefit, bolster, boost, build up*, call attention to, champion, contribute, cooperate, cry*, develop, encourage, endorse, espouse, forward, foster, further, get behind, hype*, improve, nourish, nurture, patronize, plug*, popularize, propagandize, publicize, puff, push, push for, recommend, sell, serve, speak for, speed, sponsor, stimulate, subsidize, succor, support, uphold, urge, work for

Antonyms: condemn, discredit, dishonor, hurt
* = informal/non-formal usage

How many of these meanings of Promote by definition require a budget to actually reach an action that is contemplated? ADVERTISE, BACK, SELL, SUBSIDIZE, SUCCOR, SPONSOR all seem to mean somebody's gotta write a check and somebody collects some money to achieve the acts of advertising, sponsoring, etc. Most all the other synonms don't have a conflict with that.

Dissecting Protect and Perpetuate will come later...

These primary obligations seem to imply term growth as the primary reason to exist... as a group we have failed miserably at all of the above.

Why have we failed to grow the sport?

1. It's already built in, guaranteed failure. The By Laws of the Class are in conflict with the Charter of the Organization.

Article XI - Amendments and Changes ... Two thirds majority of votes cast for any change to the Constitution or By Laws... This is onerous, it may on it's face serve to "protect the flavor of DN racing, but by the demographics of the fleet, now almost exactly 10 years older than the fleet was a decade ago is very troubling, if the trend continues, in less than 20 years the fleet will all be dead or in a Rest Home.

12) No Commercial Information will appear on any DN parts... this in my face conflict with the primary charter, Promote! Advdertise! Make People Aware, Sell. Promote, Hype.

13) The IDNIYRA is an amateur racing association, managed by volunteers, and financially self sufficient, ... it's members will not participate in any commercial promotion at IDNIYRA Events... again, in my face conflict with the primary charter, Promote! Advertise! Make People Aware, Sell. Promote, Hype.

Comments

Bitter

Really! This seems to be extremely negative. In fact we have the finest sailing craft in the world and one of the most successful one design classes in the world. The bylaws have allowed for evolution in a way that has promoted technology at a reasonable rate and allowed the class to evolve. May I suggest that if you instead of criticizing, produce positive input and help a great class grow. Maybe sponsor an opti sailor? Or just volunteer to help at an event. At very least be positive.

JD US4691

JD US4691

not bitter, but not happy either...

Many of us are passionate about this wonderful sport of ours, an occasional rant is to be expected... endured, forgiven or ignored.

Writing is a difficult game as well, finding the right words as challenging as finding the right boat tune for changing ice conditions... both skills I wish I were a bit better at.

Club growth

Wondering why the sport is not expanding?
Take a look at mccarthy's post on Dec 18, 2010 titled new guy.
Here is somebody who wants to participate.
How much help did he get?
Want to grow? Figure out, on an organized basis, how to help people participate.

Rochesterguy

promoting via advertising and sponsorship

Sponsorship of an individual sailor with the sponsor advertising on the sailors' equipment usually means that a the sailors with the best race records receive money from the sponsor, thereby giving those sailors a financial advantage over the other competitors who are working to reach the top of the race results. This can be a negative for growth of the sport.

However, sponsorship of an event or sponsporship of a class promotion effort is worthwhile. The problem usually is that sponsors want to see value for their investment. It is difficult for an organization as small as the DN class to demonstrate to a potential sponsor that there is value in the investment being made by the sponsor.

It seems to me that the decline in participation by the younger generation can be related to the availability of suitable ice conditions and to the costs involved. For example: Forty years ago we raced with one set of three runners and one sail. The total DN cost was approximately 5% of the sailor's income. Now we race with three sets of stainless runners, two sails, carbon masts. The total cost can easily exceed 20% to 25% of a young person's income. And fewer components of the racing DN are readily home buildable. The move away from weekend events also makes it difficult for young people to participate. All these factors negatively impact DN participation.

Yet Class members are unwilling to sacrifice the performance benefits of the modern equipment. I fall into that category. Therefore we find us all sailing better performing boats but find that fewer people can afford the investment of time and money to participate. Do we want to satisfy the appetite of those currently "hooked" on DN sailing, or do we want to take steps to limit equipment to a lower cost level to attempt to attract newbies? My experience tells me that various efforts to attract the fringe seldom are of any value. The aluminum mast/plate runner division is an example of a program that failed to encourage participation.

DN racing is what it is. It seems the best promotion effort is for each DN owner to mentor newbies as they build and sail their boats. Proactive members of the DN community can contribute to Class growth.