| WHANGANUI SKI AND SNOWBOARD CLUB NEWSLETTER MAY 2020 A little snow is starting fall! But the COVID-19 pandemic has brought it’s challenges. We hope you are all safe and well and have not been too badly impacted by this pandemic. With the current COVID-19 levels, and where we are tracking, the optimist and now even the realist in me would suggest that by the time we get to mid July – we might just get a ski season this year! Obviously, we as a club will follow the Government guidelines for our operation. The committee continues to meet monthly and although we are not sure how the season will shape up, if and when the season does get underway, we intend to operate the club within the government parameters and health guidelines. WHAT DOES COVID-19 CURRENTLY MEAN TO OUR SKI CLUB? Financially Our current financial position pre COVID was solid. Under this new normal we will take a hit. The club can survive with no revenue for one season, beyond that it would be extremely difficult without a financial top up from our members. A season with no revenue and no subscriptions would wipe out the financial gains we have made as a club over the past few seasons. To run our club and maintain our facility, it cost us approximately 35k-45k per year. These costs are related to food, electricity, fire wood, rates, insurances, DOC levies, building repairs and maintenance. The Club subscriptions generate around 15k of revenue which is what we need to set up and kick start the season. The reminder comes from nightly accommodation fees we take during the season and from fundraising events. Subscriptions for 2020 The reason we are late issuing subscription invoices is that we wanted to see the potential impact COVID-19 might have on the ski season and on our club. The initial scenarios from government lead us to believe that we may not have a ski season. However, it now appears that we have every possibility of a great season ahead! So, we would like to ask you, to please support your club and pay your annual subscriptions when you receive your invoice. The early bird discount for annual subscriptions has been extended to the 30th of June 2020. If the worst case scenario happens and the ski season is cancelled due to COVID-19 or RAL can’t operate, we will transfer your subscription to next year – the 2021 season. We also understand that some of you may have been significantly impacted by COVID-19 and employment circumstances may have changed. We do not want to lose you from our Whanganui Ski Club whanau, so if wish to remain in the club please contact us and we will see what we can do to assist. Club Operations for 2020 Looking at New Zealand’s COVID-19 position, we are now more confident than ever that the impact of COVID-19 will be reduced to where we can safely operate the club this season. We are still unsure of final details, but skiing will likely take place within certain parameters for level 2 and level 1. The committee is proactively making plans on how the club will operate given our communal dining, sleeping arrangements and shared facilities: • There will be clear guidelines around social distancing in public spaces• As a club, we will be isolated more from other clubs, we will not likely have shared functions with RSC, but we will still try to do the evening ski races in the holidays • We will also be undertaking a more rigorous cleaning regime of our shared spaces like bathrooms and bunk rooms. Everyone will be expected to do their bit. This is the perfect opportunity for teenagers to really excel in life, after all of the excellent training at home in lockdown over the last 6 weeks! • Most importantly the club will be operating a track and trace system, which cover what you did during the day • If you are sick – we love you, but please stay away • If you turn up sick, – we still love you but you will be asked to leave • If you have booked accommodation and become ill, we will transfer your booking We all know it is up to us to continue to play out part. If we all follow the guidelines, I’m sure we will be sliding and grinding on the white stuff later this year! If we don’t play our part… well I don’t even want to even contemplate the alternative! I love my kids, I love skiing with my kids, but I’m not overly keen on spending another 6 weeks in lockdown with them at home in the suburbs of Auckland! Non-Members Staying at the club At this stage non-members will not be able to stay at the club, unless they are a guest of a member who is staying at the club. Non-members have to be a friend of the member, not just someone you have met the night before, unless you are talking about Jacinda or Ashley Bloomfield or Lynsey Von, in which case they will get a life membership along with yourself! This will be consistent with the track and trace system we will have in place at the club ski club. Ski Host At this stage we are not going to operate with a ski host at the club. This step has been taken to reduce the operational running costs for this season. Obviously, this means we will be requiring members to do rubbish removal and stores runs more frequently. However, if you are a Superwoman or a Superman like Michal, and a club member who loves skiing or boarding, then we look forward to seeing you at the club as often possible to help with stores and rubbish removal! Accessing the Club On weekends (unless the weather is crap) and throughout the school holidays a committee member or senior member will be on duty at the hut. If you have not been at the club by yourself, do not to worry we will have an experience member or committee member on hand to show you the ropes on opening and closing the club. It is not that hard – the big rule please don’t burn the place down! Todd is also making a video for our website that shows the steps required to open and shut the club. RAL It is our understanding that RAL are now getting ready for the season and intend to operate this year. I see the Prime Minister said Cardrona Ski Field was getting ready, so one would expect RAL to do the same. Of note on the RAL website, if you have a 2020 season pass they will transfer it to next year, if they do not operate. Working Bee Thank you to everyone who attended the work parties. The club is looking superb! The weather was good over both weekends and a social time was had by everyone, especially Toby! We all know, these work parties are essential for the smooth operation of the club during winter. It’s awesome to see new members attending the work parties, everyone bringing great enthusiasm, and the excellent skill sets which will see our club facilities well looked after into the future. As a general note the work parties are extremely good fun, social and very rewarding. A huge thank you to everyone who helped out. Names of those folks who attended are here, Also, thank you to those folks who had confirmed to attend the second working bee, but had to pull out the day before, due to last minute COVID-19 level changes. You will still be able to book alongside those who could attend the working bee. On behalf of the committee, I look forward to catching up with you during the season! Gordy Horsley Club President 027 431 6348 |
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