Fishing clubs will be dead in 15 years time

Went to a meeting the other night and met an old friend, and I mean 'old'.

Lovely chap and whilst we werre talking he said how he had two other meeting to go to this week, both fishing related. I asked what positions (I knew he had more than one) did he hold in the club now. "Well, I'm President, Secretary, Membership Secretary, a Trustee and I'm also Vice Chairman, but seeing as the Chairman cant do the job now, I'm Acting Chairman as well. Then I'm secretary of ***** ****** Consultative and I also attend the ***** ****** Consultative."

I said, "It's time that folks like us were putting our feet up and letting others do the runnign around, I'm 66 and I reckon you might have 10 years on me."

"Actually" he replied "I'm 82."

NOW COME ON!

No one will take his place or any of his positions in the club. Fair play he is pretty fit and good health to him for many years to come, but where are the young folks to take over? What has happened in the last fifty years, has all the new generations got an uncurable shyness, don't want responsibility or is it just that they can't be arsed?

His club is not alone. I hear about another club more local in that no one will stand against the secretary (who is also Chair and Membership etc.), but everyone moans like billy-o about his attitude and how the club is running into the ground. Where are all the moaners at the AGM? Having their hair set or their nails polished?

If there is no new blood coming up soon to run these long established clubs they will die out. All the licences for fishing they have held will go and then anglers will be moaning that there's nowhere to fish but commercials.

Get out there and do something you young 'uns. Care about your fishing enough to get involved.

An interesting post that reflects reality within many angling clubs. A tiny percentage of the membership keeping the whole plot going - normally with the best of intentions - whilst most of the remainder of the membership moan and berate their efforts.

The fact that for riparian owners, setting up a syndicate is probably a lot less aggro and just as lucrative as leasing to an angling club, further casts a shadow on the future of the clubs.

Indeed, we should be careful what we wish for.....

Where are they? They're all probably sat/asleep in their Bivvies, Jeff.

The CSG has just held its AGM with over 50% of the members attending. Many travelled over 150 miles to get there, I and a few more had a 700 mile round journey.
Mind, the Wye Valley ale at the Red Lion was Bootiful

I'm sure that when/if the current committee stand down there wont be any shortage of takers, its just that the current bunch are doing such a great job

For my own club, membership numbers have increased year on year for the last 6 years, ever since in fact we ousted small group of 'specialist anglers' who thought our only stillwater to be their very own syndicate type water and discouraged anyone else from fishing it, by any means they could. I ended up in the local A&E dept after being battered around the head with a piece of 2x2, but we continue to grow and develop the waters for ALL sections of the club.

Jeff Woodhouse said:

Get out there and do something you young 'uns. Care about your fishing enough to get involved.

Click to expand...

It's more systemic than just Angling Clubs, one of the reasons I'm fishing again is that running football teams was becoming hard work and not leisure. People are always prepared to let others do the graft if they can reap the benefits.

It is a very sad state of affairs but sadly it is the nature of the beast.

The good clubs will survive and get bigger while the small ones will wither and die.

Some really good clubs have gone from around me, and for that I am sad.
Those that take on the positions within clubs and at great personal cost run them to the best of their ability, but like others have already pointed out, there seems to be no-one coming through via the ranks to fill these voids as the old guards pass to the big pool in the sky.

A good club and committee are to be treasured. You will all miss them when they are gone.

the wise one said:

The good clubs will survive and get bigger

Click to expand...

The club I have been a member of for 13 years now is such a club. We had about 300 members when I joined (the numbers just keep going up sequencially, I believe, I was 305). I brought a lot of members with me from my old club and anyone ringing me for advice on how to joing the old club, I put them onto the new one (sneaky sod!)

They now have about 9 lakes all with good stocks of fish and are not afraid to invest more into them and regularly have around 900 members each season. Their river sections, apart from two, are open to the Association that I am secretary of along with a further section of river and Wey Navigation which we, the association, have just taken on. So the club goes from strength to strength and the main committee chaps are still young enough (Roy will thank me for that), but there is always the worry of what happens next. Nothing is certain in this life and even our club should be preparing for worst possible situations. We need young blood on the committee, learning.

I worry more for the clubs that only have river sections.

For the clubs that only have rivers, the answer is simple- get a stillwater.

OK stillwaters aren't cheap to rent like rivers, but a small 1/2acre farm pool can only cost a few hundred £££.
It also gives the members somewhere to fish in the closed season, which keeps them involved.

Canals are also worth looking at, both for the match lads and those with a more specimen leaning.


Regarding committee recruitment. The difficult part for me has been to select those that fit the bill as team players and those that are only in it for what they can get out.
Sadly the 'Carp/Barbel' specimen anglers are somewhat self centered and tunnel visioned, so I try to avoid getting them involved.

The young all rounders are sadly a rare breed nowadays, but they are still around if you look hard enough.
Its always difficult handing the rains over.

Best of luck to your club Jeff, sounds like it is in good hands.

Clubs need to start utilising the funding options out there to help them with junior development.
I'm not just talking about a handful of kids having 10 minutes each with a whip, I'm implying that more clubs need to be a guiding arm from the very first fish to a point of proficiency enough to have the confidence to fish alone or with their peers. Then you will see a linear path forming as well as recruiting those passionate and able enought ot take over the reigns.

Recent years have shown to me how selfish we anglers really can be, the amount of delegates meetings where I have requested coaching assistance from the various clubs who make up the association and recieved no reply compared to the complaints I get about certain clubs not having any new members sign up for years is comparable.

Yet again, everyone knows what the problem is and how to fix it but don't want to apply the time to do so.
Like you Jeff, I do worry, I'm by far the youngest on my EC.

Jeff Woodhouse said:

The club I have been a member of for 13 years now is such a club. We had about 300 members when I joined (the numbers just keep going up sequencially, I believe, I was 305). I brought a lot of members with me from my old club and anyone ringing me for advice on how to joing the old club, I put them onto the new one (sneaky sod!)

They now have about 9 lakes all with good stocks of fish and are not afraid to invest more into them and regularly have around 900 members each season. Their river sections, apart from two, are open to the Association that I am secretary of along with a further section of river and Wey Navigation which we, the association, have just taken on. So the club goes from strength to strength and the main committee chaps are still young enough (Roy will thank me for that), but there is always the worry of what happens next. Nothing is certain in this life and even our club should be preparing for worst possible situations. We need young blood on the committee, learning.

I worry more for the clubs that only have river sections.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a good club Jeff
Jerry

the wise one said:

For the clubs that only have rivers, the answer is simple- get a stillwater. It also gives the members somewhere to fish in the closed season, which keeps them involved.

Click to expand...

You have just nailed one of the fundamental problems there.

barbelboi said:

Sounds like a good club Jeff

Click to expand...

It is. You and Squiffy (or is it Skippy ) aught to join - again

Will Barnard said:

Clubs need to start utilising the funding options out there to help them with junior development.

Click to expand...

I agree, Will, but we have had one of the biggest blocking bits of legislation preventing anything to do with the young in every aspect of life, the CRB checks. That put paid to a lot of club's tutorial days, I used to organise loads of them, but now (even though I have a CRB for a job I had) I would have to apply for a CRB to take kids fishing. And then there's insurance for fear of getting sued because their little darling fell and hurt his ankle.

Life has changed so much in the past 30 years, for the worse, IMO.

The problem with club (not just fishing) is there are always those that don't want any involvement but are happy to just pay and play

What is needed is for the committee to have "junior" positions or vice positions such as vice or junior secretary - who helps out and learns how things are run.
It can be daunting to go from no involvement to a position on the committee - a slow learning curve is the best way

Paul, very much on the right track there, I'm currently working with a few 'young enterprises' wherein it is the young people that are on the committee with adult advisories in place.

All clubs could do this, hand over the junior section to willing and able junior members, this promotes inclusion which is certainly one of the biggest barriers to entering a club as a junior member.

Woody, the CRB isnt a legal requirement, yes it is a pain but there is no legislation about it having to be in place.

That said, and I'm suprised you didnt pick up on this.
If you align your club to clubmark, everything falls into place, funding for equipment from your county sports partner, funding for coaches up to level 2 who, as part of their certificate get their public indemnity and of course crb checks.

The funding pockets and how to find and use them is a nightmare but if you do get the clubmark your local adb officer should point you in the right direction.

Will Barnard said:

Paul, very much on the right track there, I'm currently working with a few 'young enterprises' wherein it is the young people that are on the committee with adult advisories in place.

All clubs could do this, hand over the junior section to willing and able junior members, this promotes inclusion which is certainly one of the biggest barriers to entering a club as a junior member.

Woody, the CRB isnt a legal requirement, yes it is a pain but there is no legislation about it having to be in place.

That said, and I'm suprised you didnt pick up on this.
If you align your club to clubmark, everything falls into place, funding for equipment from your county sports partner, funding for coaches up to level 2 who, as part of their certificate get their public indemnity and of course crb checks.

The funding pockets and how to find and use them is a nightmare but if you do get the clubmark your local adb officer should point you in the right direction.

Click to expand...

Thanks Will

I do have the odd momnet where I contribute to the site

Lord Paul of Sheffield said:

I do have the odd momnet

Click to expand...

No argument here M'Lud

When i was about 15, several decades ago now, I was the "Junior Rep" on a club committee. In those days the club went to some great waters like the Hants Avon etc but these were difficult for the juniors to fish - not least choosing the right swim, as the best spots were grabbed by the older members who knew the stretches.

One of the other members on the committee complimented me at one meeting for being the only person on the committee who consistently stood up for members interests in a fair way. I was well chuffed and never forgotten it.. I havent held any positions since though - probably best to leave on a high note.

If they are still in the archives, Jeffs series of articles on how to run a club as a business are worth a read. I kind of drip fed them into my clubs re development of our one single water; worked for us.

As for the mention of cheap river fishing not up here it ain't

Clubs will still be around in 15 years, they just evolve, that's all. In my early days people joined clubs to go on Sunday coach trips. When the members all got cars they still joined clubs to fish favourite waters. Or to get into a 'match scene'. The old style club may fade away but a new one will replace it. These days internet forums like this one on FM are clubs in themselves. Like-minded people always seem to find each other one way or another, whatever the fashion.

Lord Paul of Sheffield said:

What is needed is for the committee to have "junior" positions or vice positions such as vice or junior secretary - who helps out and learns how things are run.

Click to expand...

Brilliant M'Lud. Absolutely brilliant.

PS: I do hope you get to read that compliment before your nightly session with the port takes hold.

I joined the committee of my local club because I couldn't get any changes made from outside the committee, which was very match orientated at the time. Some 20 odd years later, I'm still on the committee and doing my bit to benefit all club members. Needless to say, most of the committee members when I joined are still there with me. Young blood is very hard to find.

Terry D said:

Needless to say, most of the committee members when I joined are still there with me. Young blood is very hard to find.

Click to expand...

Exactly Terry.

You look at golf clubs and to some extent rugby clubs, and at the AGMs, people are fighting to become Chairman or Secretary, but go to a fishing club AGM and when it comes to election of officers a blind person would think he was in a vacuum. The room goes silent. People even go to the bar, if it's a pub or club, and would rather buy another round of drinks (Yorkshire excluded of course ) than volunteer for the posts.