RYA Club Membership Census 2022
A link to complete the 2022 RYA Club Membership Census has been sent out to club contacts and will again provide vital data which enables us to tailor programmes of support for you.
As clubs continue to emerge and stabilise following the pandemic, against a background of staycations and a boom in watersports, the 2022 census will be a vital tool for highlighting key trends, spotting opportunities for club development and shaping bids for future funding.
Participating clubs receive their own bespoke report, which club committees find a useful tool for planning and making informed decisions around supporting or growing their membership.
National and regional insights meanwhile will be shared at the Affiliated Clubs Conferences over winter. The census went live on 1st June 2022 and the deadline for responding is 14th August 2022.
This year’s online form asks questions under the same headings as 2021 but has been redesigned to make it more streamlined and easier to navigate. Users will again be able to save their progress and return to it when they have time or the data they need, so it can be completed in bite-sized chunks.
As Victoria Lenz, RYA Data and Insights Manager, explains: “The main themes are the same, but we’ve incorporated some improvements to make this year’s census a more user-friendly experience.
“Please look out for an email notification about the census and if you’re a club contact, who did it last year but you haven’t seen it for 2022 yet, contact us and we’ll get a link sent to you.
“For robust data the return rate has to be over 85% and it was 90+ last year – so a big thank you in advance to all our clubs for helping us to gather this valuable information.
“We need a high return rate to give us the best confidence levels for insights and trending the data from previous years, so if you could please ensure your club responds, ideally at the same time as previously and before the middle of August, that would be much appreciated.
“We really need this snapshot and the more people who respond, the better our intelligence will be for supporting our RYA Affiliated clubs as effectively as possible. Help us to help you!”
2022 RYA AFFILIATED CLUB CENSUS - AT A GLANCE
- What is it? The annual RYA Affiliated Clubs Census started in 2013 and provides valuable insights into membership trends across the RYA affiliated club network. All RYA affiliated clubs are invited to take part via an e-mail with a link to complete their return online.
- Who receives it? The previous responder at each club is emailed and invited to complete the census. If the census is not returned it will then go to the designated club contact.
- What questions does it ask? The census asks your club a variety of questions about membership, including: total number of members, joiners and leavers; adult/youth split; gender, ethnicity and disability. It also asks about affiliated groups (eg. SUP, rowing, swimming) and activities provided by the club.
- How does it help the RYA? The census provides an overview of the health of our clubs and highlights overall trends year-to-year, enabling the RYA to tailor its support for you on a national, regional and individual basis and be responsive to your needs. Regional insights from the data inform the Affiliated Clubs Conference. Elements of the overall results are also reported to Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland, Sport Scotland and Sport Wales.
- How does it help your club? Clubs taking part receive their own individualised report, providing insights for flag officers and committees, supporting informed decision-making and providing useful information for club development, communications and grant applications.
- Do all clubs have to take part? Every club’s census return is important and valued, with a minimum response rate of 85% needed in each region to ensure reliable conclusions can be drawn from membership patterns and trends.
- What is the deadline? Clubs are urged to respond to the census as close as possible to the date they did it last year for maximum benefit in comparing results and trends, and by no later than the deadline of Sunday 14th August 2022.
Look out for the RYA Affiliated Clubs Census in your inbox and if you have any questions, get in touch or contact your Regional Development Officer, who will be pleased to help.