Page 12 - July_August 2019 Kwasind

RCYC IS A MEMBER OF ICOYC
Mike Newbury
Just what is this ICOYC, and what does it mean to us?
On the wall near the elevator on the first floor there is a big blue and white burgee with ICOYC on it. We learned about this organization through a guest participation at a regional conference event in San Diego in 2014. There appeared to be considerable value in being involved, so RCYC accepted the invitation to become a member in the International Council of Yacht Clubs. In the years since, this decision has proven to be of value to the Club, and our involvement has brought some subtle and valued benefits, as well as considerable information regarding the operation and management of being a world class yacht club.
‘The Council’s mission is to foster closer relations at Flag Officer and General Management level between leading yacht clubs around the world in order to improve the quality of the yachting and other services they provide to their members. The Council shall also promote a proper awareness of the environment and responsibility towards it.’
The Council serves as a network for the leading Yacht Clubs of the world. Currently there are 41 members: Africa 2, Asia 3, Pacific 6, Europe 15, UK 3, Americas 12. Royal Vancouver and RCYC are the only Canadian members. This membership has a unique value to the individual members of RCYC it has created an informal reciprocity arrangement where you as a member of a Member Club you can be assured of a courteous welcome at any of the Council Clubs worldwide. I recently visited RCYC (Royal Cape) in Capetown and had a marvelous time. If you are traveling you can contact a Member Club to get local information for your visit. There is a wonderful cruising opportunity as each year a Member Club hosts a cruise in their home waters that any member of a Member Club can participate. Any RCYC member can sign up and join these events. Council cruises in the past have been held in Bay of Islands near Auckland, the Islands of Norway in the Baltic Sea, the San Juans with all those private outstations of the Royal Vancouver and Seattle Yacht Clubs. Beyond that, you’ll find invitations to regattas, club cruises and events issued to Member Clubs year round, posted at the Council site, www.ICOYC.org. With 41 well known Member Clubs, the opportunities are vast.
The Council undertakes regional conferences and world forums in which club leadership and management can confidently exchange experiences
and information in the knowledge that they are interacting with ‘peers’ who share very similar opportunities and challenges, and respect the confidentiality of such exchanges. Those exchanges take the form of private conversations between individuals. Regional Conferences occur (ours is the Americas) annually, and a World Forum held about every 18 months, and hosted by a member club. A regional Conference was held at the Eastern Yacht in Marblehead in early April this year, and the next Forum will take place in September at Royal Cork Yacht Club that is celebrating its 300th anniversary.
The events are characterized by day long meetings composed of presentations, discussion and debate, all on a set of topics selected by the Member Clubs in a survey of their interests. The topics can be far ranging, but a few seem to be constants in the agendas, like Membership Development, Financial Planning, Sponsorship and Operations Management. All of the presentations and discussions are published on the ICOYC website for the private use of the Member Clubs. In the course of these meetings new ideas are often discovered, and experiences, both bad and good, described. Every participant learns something of value to his club, and the list of ‘take- home’ thoughts developed by most is revealing. Sometimes the very best ‘take-homes’ are learning what NOT to do, when hearing of things tried that plainly did not work. What results from all this is a fulfillment of the Council goal, to work together toward the improvement of the sport of sailing our club services and benefits for our individual club members. Most all of those improvements are subtle and unseen by the membership, but in total lead us to better club operations and services.
The membership of our Club in the Council opens a wealth of opportunities for the taking. All the above and other information is published at www.ICOYC. org where you can learn even more about what this unique organization is about, and find some terrific ideas for your next adventure.
The personal contacts with other senior members of yacht clubs creates an informal network that can be accessed to obtain ideas, help design policies, provide detailed information and offer assistance to solve issues. Mike Newbury is the RCYC representative at the ICOYC he is also a director of the Council, contact him if you have any questions or seek additional information.
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JULY/AUGUST 2019 • KWASIND
SAILING