beyond ice & rocks club operations & development “life in the ‘trenches’ of an arena...
TRANSCRIPT
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Beyond Ice & Rocks
Club Operations & Development“Life in the ‘trenches’ of an arena curling club”
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Sandra McMakin Curling Background
Raised in Red Deer, Alberta Parents curled Started curling around 11 years old Curled high school, juniors, ladies, mixed Playdowns – juniors & mixed Leagues – ladies, mixed, open Leagues – Red Deer, Avonair (Edmonton), FLC
(Calgary) Bonspiels* – dozens to hundreds Recreational curler that likes to bonspiel
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Curling Volunteer Background
Organizer of dozens of leagues & bonspiels Everything from funspiels to 64 team provincial
bonspiels Curl Canada Instructor – 1985 to 1991 RDCC Board of Directors – 1991 to 1997 President 1993-1996, Treasurer 1996-1997 PghCC Board of Directors – 2002 present President since 2004 Level I USCA Instructor (2004) Level II (R)
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ExampleBoard of Directors (Very Large Club)
PresidentMember of all Committees
Human Resources
DirectorInstruction Coaching
Clinics
DirectorSchedulingIce & Draws
DirectorBuilding
Equipment Maintenance
DirectorJunior Development
High SchoolCollege
Vice PresidentStrategic Planning
Bylaws
DirectorBonspiels
Competitions
TreasurerFinance
Fundraising
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ExampleStructure of a Large ClubBoard plus Staff
Board of Directors
Club Manager*
Head Ice MakerIce, Equipment & Building*
Ice Crew
ManagerFood & Beverage
Staff
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Ice MakerIce, Equipment & Building
Rocks, pebble tanks, hacks, etc. etc. Ice making process SOMEBODY has to be focused on:
1) Organizing and streamlining the ice conversion process (arenas)
2) Investigating and recommending equipment for acquisition
3) Evaluating and improving the ice surface (including working with arena ice personnel)
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Ice Quality – Arena Curling ClubsTake heart…
Curled in dozens of clubs Large 8+ sheet clubs to 2 sheet natural ice Even dedicated clubs have “imperfect ice” Many rural Alberta clubs have ice similar
to arena ice (negative, falls, runs etc.) If you’ve got one reliable turn – you’ve got
a game so “Get over it!” Continuously work at ice quality.
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Fact:
All across Canada, curling clubs that own their own rocks, equipment and buildings are CLOSING.
Therefore, we can assume that rocks and ice alone are not enough to make curling “go” OR to keep it going.
What is the difference?
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People
Board of Directors
Club Manager*
Ice, Equipment & Building* Head Ice Maker
Ice Crew
Food & BeverageManager
Staff
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Club Manager Main contact for the club Answers inquiries, provides information Organizes registration and administration Ensures organization and operation of the club
over the course of a scheduled season Ensures organization and operation of the club
on a day to day basis Follows the board approved policies and
procedures
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Club Manager Primary purpose is to manage people.
Must effectively communicate with:
1) Curlers (members)
2) Potential members
3) Board of Directors
4) Volunteers
5) Others (suppliers, sponsors, staff, parents, etc.)
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Club Manager
In a “nutshell”, what do we expect club managers to do?
- “fill the ice”
- provide excellent customer service
- get along with people
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Board of Directors Ensure the club’s “future” by developing curlers,
leagues and volunteers as well as planning for equipment & building purchases and/or replacement.
Responsible to membership/shareholders that elect them
Sets the direction and goals for the club Sets general operating policies Represents the club externally to communities,
organizations and associations
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The Challenge for New Clubs
To keep the big picture in mind and accomplish the “goal and direction setting” of the board of directors
At the same time, perform the functions of a club manager including member recruitment and customer service
All while teaching people the sport of curling
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The problem for many curling clubs…It’s usually one of two: There’s too much “board” and not enough
“manager” Somebody has to “roll up their sleeves” and
take care of the week-to-week details of organizing
There’s too much “manager” and not enough “board” We can’t get lost in the weekly details of
organizing at the expense of advancing the club year-to-year (or beyond)
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How many club presidents are here today?
A large amount of the workload falls on the club president who then becomes more like a “club manager”.
As the club grows, the workload of organizing must be spread out over more people.
Do not be afraid to “give things up” as you find that people are willing to take them on.
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Try to make a plan – or two. Think ahead even 2 to 5 years What are some goals you can set for short
term gain Another challenge for clubs is that their
volunteer boards change over – and the plan gets forgotten unless the plans are spelled out specifically and referred to
Clubs without some kind of plan can stay the same for years and most likely will decline.
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Example of Board (7)
PresidentMembership
PublicityStrategic Planning
Vice PresidentDraws & SchedulingLeague Development
TreasurerFinance
Fundraising
SecretaryClub Roster
Forms/administrationCorrespondence
By-LawsCommunication
DirectorInstruction
Curling DevelopmentJuniorsCollege
DirectorIce
Equipment
DirectorSocial
Warm RoomEvents
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Example of Board (9)
SecretaryRoster
Administration
DirectorIce &
Equipment
DirectorMembership
PublicityDirectorSocialEvents
DirectorSponsors
DirectorInstruction
Juniors
TreasurerFinance
Fundraising
Vice PresidentDraws &
Scheduling
PresidentStrategic Planning
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Board of Directors - How many? Adding more people to your board can help
increase volunteer manpower Not everyone needs or wants to be a board
member The more positions you have on your board,
the harder it is to fill each year with elections People generally want to be on the board
when things are 1) really good! or 2) really bad!
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Club President
Responsible for ensuring that a “season” of curling is planned, scheduled and executed
Responsible for getting the “best” out of each of their board members
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Use your people’s strengths!
Do they have special skills such as accounting, law, engineering, computers or business
Are they detail oriented, or idea people? Are they experienced with curling,
instructing, events, sales, organizing or other volunteering
Are they just plain crazy?
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Okay, back to serious. What about the Club Manager?
Crazy people are fun!! Curling has to be fun!
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Create the Atmosphere of Club
Create a warm room Put up bulletin boards etc. Have a place for people to visit. Have curling games on a TV
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Club ManagerResponsibilities Divided – Goal “Full Ice”
MembershipRecruitment
Spends summer months contacting returning and potential new members.Guides them through the registration process and arranges for Instruction.
SchedulingWeek to week scheduler of ice surface. Takes the draw,
Verifies teams, identifies any open sheets or team positions. Books groups or “Learn to Curl” sessions for open ice.
Helps teams arrange for spares if necessary.Spares are any member, associate member or
potential new member*
Ice & DrawsDraw Master
Works with membership to place people on teamsAnd teams into different leagues. Then takes teams and
puts them into a league schedule or draw. Responsible for sheet allocation including such things as make-up games.Proposes a season leading to playoffs and championships.
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Where do we get the people from for membership to contact?
Publicity wherever you can get it Some kind of central email address
Clubs have to become VERY good at collecting email addresses etc. of people that contact asking for information
Contact information should be stored in some kind of a database or email list
Membership can then contact people at a later time
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Websites
During the Olympics, our website was getting over 18000 hits per day. Even before the Olympics, it was averaging 2000 hits per day. Our website is our main form of communication with our members and with anyone interested in curling Western Pennsylvania.
The website is fun, interesting, and changes often – we let a crazy lady run rampant on there!
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Newsletters
Have someone write a newsletter on your club and send it out to all contacts on your email list.
OR Send a copy of Stone Soup with a note from your club president inviting them to come and try curling or telling them about some upcoming club events.
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Instruction
In a place where nobody knows what curling is, instruction is KEY.
Instructors should be the first people that new people meet.
They should be the “ambassadors” for your club. They are your main recruiters.
Instructors should have some options available for people after they have tried curling - perhaps they come back and spare in a game? Follow up is crucial.
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Instruction Takes Many Forms
We deal with the limitations we have Many of us don’t have ice time for several
sessions of instructional time In the “early days” of our club, we kept one
sheet for instruction and made up teams of 3 to leave spots open for new people.
We went over basics, delivery, sweeping then they went straight into a game.
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Value of Time with your ClubObservations from the Olympics
Out of 1000 curlers throwing one stone you might get 40 (4%) back to try it again. Out of the original 1000 <1% might join your club.
Out of 100 people spending 2 hours in a “Learn to Curl” session you might get 10 (10%) people back to try it again. Out of those you might get 4 people to join (4% of original)
Out of 40 people spending 3 to 5 weeks with your club in a novice or instructional league, you might get 20 (50 %) of them back to join.
The lesson is: the more opportunities that people have to spend time with you, the more likely you are to get them as members.
One reason why people tell us they don’t want to join a league is because they don’t think they are “good” enough
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Arena clubs asTraining grounds for curlers
Experienced curlers must be spread over teams
Focus becomes more on teaching and learning rather than winning
New curlers have much to learn – where to stand, when to sweep, how to keep games on time
Clubs should have very open atmosphere conducive to coaching
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We don’t “mess” with curling
Experienced curlers work to instill the “spirit” and the “etiquette” of curling
We strive to have games run on time curling games are 8 ends in 2 hours
We try to communicate with skips about how curling teams work
We try to have skips’ meetings to discuss ways to improve, provide information
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Who are your instructors?
Experienced curlers Members very interested in teaching
others about the sport and the club Every club should try to have at least
one Level I Instructor Experienced curlers/instructors can
have meetings to demonstrate instructional techniques with newer volunteer instructors
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Instruction & training brings the knowledge of the entire club up
Build a library of instructional resources If you don’t have experienced curlers in
your club – see if you can get help from other clubs
Those attending Instructors Clinics will improve their own game
Don’t be afraid to ask questions Don’t be afraid to make changes
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League Development During and after the Olympics we ran novice
leagues Sunday Olympic League had 40 new curlers with
basic instruction We had instructors behind each house to help
them Another observation: you can’t throw a bunch of
new curlers on the ice and hope they will learn the game
Before you know it, the rules have changed and the game is different
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For Curling Clubs to survive…
they must behave like a business.
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Revenue Sources – Large Club
Revenue - Large Club
Ice40%
Bar/Food40%
Other20%
Ice
Bar/Food
Other
Other includes: merchandise, sponsors, raffles and other fundraising sources.
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Expense Sources – Large Club
Other can include – reserve, debt servicing, insurance etc.
Expenses - Large Club
Wages30%
Utilities30%
Maintenance & Supplies
10%
Property Taxes10%
Other20% Wages
Utilities
Maintenance & Supplies
Property Taxes
Other
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Challenge for Arena Clubs
Develop revenue/income streams Possibilities include:
Membership fees Fundraising projects (raffles etc.) Sponsors, stone banks Logo Merchandise or pro shops Events, bonspiels, clinics Teambuilding, revenue sharing with arena Partnerships with Arenas*
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Partnerships with Arenas
Contract for ice time “share the risk” to build curling into additional ice slots
Provide volunteer labor to the arena in return for free ice time
Provide teambuilding sessions where both arena and club benefit
Bring them in as a partner for events
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Club expenses
Overhead Ice rental Stone payments or rent USCA/association fees Liability insurance
Variable & Discretionary- Equipment and supplies- Other (could be anything)
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How does an arena club move forward financially? They set goals each season. Goal #1
We pay our bills
Goal #2
We acquire the equipment that curling clubs own (hopefully we are reducing overhead)*
Goal #3
We build our revenue streams toward a level that could support a dedicated building**
Goal #4
We plan, investigate and work toward organizing the funding for our own building
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Goal #2 Acquiring the equipment that curling clubs own. Types of equipment you can be acquiring
Stones Rock boxes, pebble tanks, large brooms Instructional material, videos, TV/DVD etc. Promotional materials – banners etc. Office equipment, storage cabinets etc. Warm room equipment, trophy cabinets,
trophies, club memorabilia Larger equipment such as scrapers, nippers
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Goal #3Building revenue streams toward a level that could support a dedicated building.
Revenue includes ALL money directed toward curling – even if it’s not paid directly to your club.
Show growth each year
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Saturday Attendance
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Oct. 2nd Nov. 1st Dec. 2nd Jan. 4th Feb. 3rd Mar. 2nd
2004/2005
2005/2006
Saturday attendance
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
2004/2005
2005/2006
Total attendance in Dollars Saturday Evenings
2005/2006 $8950
2006/2007 $11300
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End Result
Each season should look different Increased number of members Increased budget New program New event More volunteers
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