Junior Member Proposal Feedback

This proposal was approved unanimously at the November 5, 2009 general membership meeting.  Thank you for your participation in adding this feature to our club!  (Click here to view or print the new TCSC Junior Membership Form)

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We appreciate your participation in studying this issue.  Comments received via e-mail have been compiled below in an anonymous format for your review.  Additional comments will be added as they arrive.

Proposal Explanation with Q & A section

Current Club Constitution

Proposed Amendment to the Constitution

To e-mail the committee:  JuniorMember (at) TripleCitiesSkiClub (dot) com

Member comments updated 10/29/09:

And along with this constitution insert --- it should state….that even though the parents are TCSC members and their child has this Junior membership card – anyone under 21 is still NOT permitted on the TCSC bus trips !
Otherwise….your comments look good.
[Adding a line to the trip policy located on our trip sign-up forms may address this concern.  The line that could be considered is "No persons under the legal drinking age in New York State shall be allowed on bus trips where TCSC will serve alcohol."  This Trip Policy change request needs to be sent to the Trip Committee for consideration. (Request submitted Oct 31)]
perfect…..add the underage statement to the trip policy versus the constitution. The constitution already makes the broad statement that you must be of 21 years of age to be a TCSC member.

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I am really not interested in having junior members in the club at any event. If you want to issue a separate jr card for ski discounts, that is OK. But, for that purpose only. NO ONE UNDER 21 at any event.

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I think it would be great to offer a Junior Membership to the TCSC! I have talked for years about having such.
I have a now 14-year old son. I can't see myself ever going on an awesome trip out west, or even to Vermont, without including my son, who is a rabid snowboarder. I would love to see a few more events open to "families", or at least to those who have Junior Memberships (with the stipulation that all "Juniors" must be accompanied by their parent/guardian who is an adult member - and maybe even set a minimum age limit (such as 10 or 12-18 yrs., so you don't have infants along). Remember, kids are almost always well-behaved when they are not with their peers, and with their parents! I can see the point of those who do not want "kids" around, but those of us who do have a kid want to include them in all our special moments, while we have them around - they grow too fast!
I would request consideration be given to opening up some of the special trips as indicated above - you may be surprised that you get a better turnout if we can bring our kid(s) along.
Thank you for putting this topic out for comment.

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Good first effort.  I am not sure but thought the question of liability for under 21 was also another reason for not having a Junior Member.
[The proposal is limited to providing a means of obtaining skiing related discounts.  What would we be liable for?]

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I like the concept. I see you state jr mbrs only save on ski tix. Is there then a fee for jr mbrship or is there no fee as long as in the same family as an adult mbr?
[$10 per Junior Membership is being considered.  What do you suggest that it should cost? ]

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I think it is a good idea, even though my children are all adults. It would help families afford to go skiing and the more skiers out there will help keep the ski resorts operating. I don't see any adverse affect to the club. As the Junior members become of age, they may be more likely to take an active part in club membership.

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I think that juniors should be issued a card for ski participation. I don't mind if the junior ski members are a part of ski trips where the parents drive. I also don't mind if they are part of family picnics.

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I support the proposal.
Some additional perspective: I moved to the area in 08. Joined TCSC b/c I saw an ad for the ski sale. I didn’t know anyone in the club at the time. I was not particularly active last season (Elk Day / Greek informal event / 2 meetings). I will be more active this year – signed up for Stratton and Windham, am hoping to attend more meetings, have done some of the social things recently, etc. I am married with children ages 10 and 7. The family has season passes at Greek. While I personally enjoy the opportunity to have a few days of skiing without the responsibility of my children I would certainly also enjoy being able to include one of my children with me on some club trips. I am also fortunate in that my wife is a stay-at-home mom which makes it a little easier for me to take adult time periodically.

There are 3 other families in my neighborhood who ski. Their children range in age from 8-14. I have attempted to interest the adults in each of these families in joining TCSC. While the sport activities of the club are of interest to all of them, they simply don’t have the chance I do to ski / bike etc. without also bringing along at least one child – hence the club doesn’t meet their needs. I’ve been a passive participant in a conversation about the “adults only” status of the club at one prior event. There were some strongly held opinions that it should remain so.

As a newer member, I admittedly do not have the perspective of knowing the membership patterns over the years (are we growing / shrinking? Aging / getting younger? What % of membership is inactive etc.). I do have the perspective of being a newer member without prior ties to the area. To me, the club seems heavily skewed to empty-nesters and doesn’t seem to have strong growth in new members or broad participation in core activities. If the actual data is consistent with those observations, the trend for the club is fairly self-evident – we’d be in decline. If that is in fact the case – at what point does it become the responsibility of club leadership to consider whether personal preference needs to give way to the long-term interests of the club? While I have the luxury of enjoying the club for what it is – many skiing families do not - as evidenced by my failed attempts to interest 3 different families (all of whom invest not insignificant time in skiing) in membership.

The proposal for which I express support is so exceedingly modest that it should not even engender this kind of discussion. That it requires as much is more evidence that the “adults only” issue is a flashpoint for some of the more active and vocal club members. While I don’t have a pressing personal need for change, my perspective is that holding on to our current membership rules will ultimately be short-sighted. I offer that perspective in the best interests of the conversation and with genuine appreciation of the work involved in being a club leader – work from which I and the other members enjoy largely free benefits.

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This was attempted with another ski club. It was unsuccessful and resentment was built. Let's keep it the way it always has been, an adult club (an escape for adults). The kids can join when they are twenty-one. As far as discounts go, several tickets/or items can be purchased by the parent for their child at the ski lodge or ski shop. Let's not change what is working especially at the cost of losing members.