By Terry Anglin
Across the country, golf clubs have a fairly predictable cadence of events: 3-4 annual tournaments punctuate the recurring schedule of Ladies Day, Couples Evening Golf, and the group that has the 7:00am tee time every Saturday. At yacht clubs, we host regattas (a.k.a. sailboat races). The frequency and magnitude of regattas are completely different from golf tournaments. On an annual basis, most yacht clubs host significantly more regattas than golf clubs do tournaments (30-40 regattas, compared to 3-4 tournaments). Plus, most regattas feature boats with 2-12 people on them (several of whom are not members), unlike a golf club's member/guest — further compounding the costs. Just like golf tournaments, regattas can be expensive to host. Trophies, social events, swag, staff mobilization, race committee organizing and food and beverage all add up. Often, a regional or national regatta can have a six-figure price tag. To further explore today's regatta landscape, I interviewed the General Managers of several prominent U.S. yacht clubs.
I spoke with:
All four yacht clubs have been designated as some of the best in the country, based on criteria determined by the Club Leaders Forum as Platinum Clubs of America. In talking to these GMs, I wanted to gauge which regattas they are hosting, how frequently they host, who is competing and — always a big question — how they are funding them.
To start, I wanted to get a feel for how busy these clubs' regatta calendars are. The answers ranged from 20+ regattas per year to 100+. The scope of the regattas ranged from youth to adult, one-design to handicap, local to national or world championships. Obviously, the larger the regatta (especially when you're talking about nationals and worlds), the more boats enter, multiplying the efforts needed to ensure a successful event with happy sailors, members and staff. Most clubs host 1-3 marquee regattas per year. These large regattas become an all-club event with many volunteers (I spoke of the volunteer component in my last article), extensive food and beverage demands, complex staff involvement and prizes. A specific nuance that seems to plague every yacht club is lack of parking. Waterfront property is expensive, and most yacht club footprints encompass the clubhouse, 1-2 tennis courts and/or a swimming pool, leaving little room for members' and guests' vehicles. Yacht clubs then have to use the phrase, "we have neighborhood parking" — whatever that may mean.
Every club I spoke with referenced their club's mission and traditions, and how it is all about sailing and being on the water. In other words, it's not a matter of if they will host regattas, but rather how. Regattas are in their blood, and no club is jonesing to trim back the activity. So, how are these clubs funding regattas, and coping with rising costs? Most of the GMs indicated that a good portion of regatta costs are absorbed in the entry fees and/or subsidized by the club itself. However, three of the four clubs stated that they actively pursue sponsorship dollars. In other words: they charge a fee for entities to brand their regattas, or they find entities to pay to brand a series of club-hosted regattas. The sponsors range from food and beverages to clothing to insurance to financial services. Increasingly, sponsors are donating products rather than cash, meaning that less club funds, subsidies or entry fees are used to add value to the regatta. Three of the four clubs have active sponsorship committees or club employees handling the sponsorship recruitment. One club has a full-time club employee whose job is soliciting partners. This program has designated various levels of partnership depending on the value of the items offered and secured. Again, most of the club partners are utilizing in-kind donations as compared to cash.
Has participation increased, decreased or remained static? The responses indicated that most regatta entry lists are static or have decreased slightly. The decreases were attributed to scheduling conflicts, participant travel costs and competing events which affect the viability of certain races. The events cited for increased participation included junior events and one-design events. The increase in junior events, the respondents felt, was related to the higher number of younger members joining the club and having children in the club's sailing program. All the clubs mentioned that their junior program is the pipeline for continued club participation and future club members.
Funding for regattas will continue to be a challenge that clubs will meet using a blend of subsidies, partnerships, increased entry fees or reductions in social events/trophies and swag. We may see more yacht clubs with sponsorship committees or professionals on staff, depending on what suits their club the best. We certainly will see race offices' scope of work expand to include more fundraising and cost-savings efforts. From the four GMS I spoke with, one thing was clear: Club-hosted regattas are the mainstay of private clubs, and the organizations will rise to the occasion to find ways to host them. Even as regattas become more expensive and complex to manage, the tradition of yacht clubs remains steeped in on-the-water competition and camaraderie. Therefore, clubs are willing to adjust operations to find a way for regattas to be hosted sustainably.
