>Previously RE: [BD] Qualifiers and Rostering and Midlands Regionals - still space
I think that we all agree that the UKU could be better, but the fact is that nobody is actually being paid to take control of the whole thing and put some serious energy into it. For example I think that the DoC should be a paid part time job; it's not fun, easy or particularly rewarding otherwise. Regarding the fees; I don't think that £25 is really too much - to play in most sports you have to join some kind of official organisation who's fee's are generally far in excess of the UKU membership fees. Personally I would up the fees and up the service. In fact, as nobody seems willing to donate hours of their time for free, there seems little choice other than putting up with the situation as it is. Unless of course you would like to do something yourself? Jack > I must admit to having been thinking similiar things for some time. > >> 'Full Membership. Benefits:- Eligibility for all the official >> UK Ultimate championships (The Tour, Outdoor Nationals, >> Regional and National Indoors.) You get a bi-monthly newsletter, >> personal accident insurance, a cool email address, a car sticker >> and a membership card.' > > I can't help but think that I'd rather be back in the situation we were in a > couple of years ago, with a tournament tax on each tournament (£12 per team > per tournament) rather than everyone paying £25 per year. Assuming 8 UKU > tournaments a year, that's about £3 per tournament, and so you can see > straight away that we're paying more, given that every team has more than 4 > players! > > And whilst we're on the subject of tournaments, it's not hard to see that > since the BUF tax was abolished, tournament entry fees have rocketed. All > these tournaments cost about double what they did a few years ago. And the > UKU provides what, exactly? A standardised schedule, ... erm... cones, > scoreboards and water bottles, ... erm ... insurance. Anything else? > > I know the whole tournament scheduling just recently has been a mess, and > that's not the fault of any one in particular, but why are we still have > elected volunteers for all this stuff? Isn't this supposed to be what the > UKU salaried staff member is supposed to be doing? If not, what does that > role entail? And why do we still need people to volunteer to be a TD for a > competition? Shouldn't the UKU be actively organising and hosting the > tournaments that are critical to the season? > > The personal accident insurance seems to be of very limited use at all. It > seems that any tournament that isn't one of the main UKU events, then it > isn't covered. Given that most sports venues already have public liability > insurance, and the fact that the "personal accident insurance" doesn't seem > to cover anyone for injuries it seems an utter waste of time. > > And the other extras? Well, it is very nice to receive the glossy > newsletter, but the rest of the newsletters contain pretty much nothing more > than a list of results, and as Simon pointed out none of the other perks > ever materialised. > > I'm sure that UKU acheives far more things for the Ultimate community than > we see, but often it does seem hard to see where all our money is going... > > Ralf. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 05 March 2003 14:51 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [BD] Qualifiers and Rostering and Midlands Regionals - > still space > > > To take Tom up on his invitation to have a lively debate, I thought I would > add my opinion on having to renew our membership to UKU since I feel a > little more than just Tom's 'sense of irony'. > > I must admit that I am loathe to pay my £25 since I am not sure what the UKU > is meant to be doing, other than the vague notion that it is 'responsible > for the growth, development and promotion of Ultimate Frisbee in Great > Britain'. The only explicit information I can find on how it will benefit > me is found on the 'Join UK Ultimate' page of the website and this is what > concerns me: > > 'Full Membership. Benefits:- Eligibility for all the official UK Ultimate > championships (The Tour, Outdoor Nationals, Regional and National Indoors.) > You get a bi-monthly newsletter, personal accident insurance, a cool email > address, a car sticker and a membership card.' > > Personal Accident insurance: I have heard that this exists but have failed > to see any evidence. Surely I should at least be entitled to know what I am > covered for and when I am covered. Some information about it isn't too much > to ask, perhaps on the website? How long would this take? 5 minutes? > > A cool email address, a car sticker and a membership card: Did mine get > lost in the post? When I paid my money to the UKU I believe they entered > into a contract to provide these. Although I don't feel these are > particularly important, I'm also not happy about having my money taken under > false pretences - when should I expect my refund? > > Bi-monthly newsletter: I feel that this and the website would be the perfect > medium for the UKU to alleviate my concerns and to inform their members what > they are doing, but for some they have chosen not to. The glossy Ultimatum > was very nice and seemed worthwhile, but the photocopied newsletter that > periodically drops through my letterbox seems nothing more than a > regurgitation of 2 month old Britdisc articles with added spelling mistakes. > This is wonderful for those who don't receive Britdisc but I would hope it > might also contain other information specific to UKU and not for general > consumption on Britdisc. > A perfect example of the missed opportunities with the newsletter is one of > my friends who didn't realise that he had to renew his UKU subscription > because he's not on the internet to get Britdisc or check the website - why > wasn't some mention of this made in the newsletter we received a couple of > weeks ago? This would seem like simple common sense. > > Official UK Ultimate championships: I think the problems with these must be > evident to everyone. The whole Ultimate diary seems far more disorganised > than it ever has been in the years I've been playing. Again, one of my > major problems is the lack of communication, for example, why did no one > have the decency to tell us the indoor coed nationals would not be taking > place and remove it from the events reminder? Providing details of > tournaments early is wonderful but it is a waste of everyone's time if these > dates are not adhered to. I'm sure numerous people are now having to miss > tournaments because they booked holidays around the incorrect dates given > out by UKU, or because tournaments now clash. I personally would have loved > to have gone to Dublin after having a fantastic time there last year, but > had to decline because it clashed with indoor nationals which have now been > moved! If tournament dates are only provisional then please make this clear > or don't bother to publicise them at all. > > UKU may or may not be doing a good job, but I have no choice but to assume > they are not considering the total lack of any information they are prepared > to supply their members with and the disorganisation surrounding tournaments > at the moment. I would welcome some evidence to the contrary. > > I do respect that people are doing this voluntarily, and would have neither > the time nor the inclination to undertake such a position myself, but surely > they must realise what they are getting into when they apply for these > positions. According to the website voting for this year's Board has been > taking place for over a week. Could anyone enlighten me as to how someone > can actually vote as once again there seems to be a rather distinct lack of > information. > > Simon > > P.S. Schmindoors is great Tom, thank you for organising this coming weekend > at such short notice! > > __________________________________________________ > BritDisc mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://pootle.near.me.uk/mailman/listinfo/britdisc > Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/informed.asp > __________________________________________________ BritDisc mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://pootle.near.me.uk/mailman/listinfo/britdisc Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/informed.asp
