 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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D G Orf, I can't really be bothered. But I'm told the David was the main contributor to the Ski Club's environmental committee. There's a bit of a problem there because he is biased against air. Now that would be ok if he'd done the research you have suggested. But it appears he hasn't bothered to check all the facts before making his recommendation. It seems he just relied on rail company propaganda.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| PJSki wrote: |
| D G Orf, I can't really be bothered. |
You actually prefer typing to flying, it would seem. Try typing your way to the Alps, using a keyboard that generates forward motion.
Does anyone have a view on a Ski Club of Great Britain in a 'post reps era'? [if things pan out that way]
snowHeads seems to have some very valid things going for it as a 'club model', though it is quite proprietorial at heart. Graham's got a good brain, though. Not the 'Ultimate Brain', in my view, but a cut above the average.
No one has ever explained to me why no other national ski club in the world has reps, if reps are the future.
The box below this message should be viewed as a clean slate. Paint your national ski club here:
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Well, there would be ME as Owner/Chairman/CEO. Membership would be free to females under 30 and who go to the gym a lot. Men can join but it costs £7,500 per annum. There would be a club sauna bar open to members only. Female members would be paid to turn up. Think that's about it.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| Does anyone have a view on a Ski Club of Great Britain in a 'post reps era'? [if things pan out that way] |
Is there any suggestion that things will pan out that way?
Assuming things do pan out that way I'm not sure I see a future for the club. Not for me anyway.
The magazine was a good read when I last read it but they're not a publisher. The discounts can be easily matched bettered - often by just phoning up and asking for money off. I've never taken one of the holidays. They did look good but this is an era of lots of variety/competition in ski hols.
Actually, I quite like Bode's vision, but in my ideal world I'd hoodwink him into believing I'm female and under thirty (which would take quite some doing!)
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Wed 21-01-09 18:35; edited 1 time in total
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Swiller, I said a 'clean slate'.
Amazing how you can suggest something tasteful and constructive and it's instantly soiled.
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David Goldsmith, actually semi-serious. Today, if someone were to be insane enough to start a ski club they wouldn't start where SCGB is at the moment. These days things need to be far more tailored to specific market segments. The club is stymied by history and age profile - a club made up of older skiers will never be successful at attracting younger skiers or boarders. Frankly, there should be an "off-piste ski club" a "lardy ski club", a "yoof ski club" etc. Clearly, I haven't applied much grey matter in that but hope you get the drift.
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Bode Swiller, you could start up a club initially based on a forum. By keeping an eye on what people are organzing for themselves - and then step in and offer a service to do the organizing at knock down rates. If the guys were getting together at a snowdome, you could offer bargain entrance rates, and lay on some ski tests. If the guys wanted to get together in the Alps - you could help that, lay on some training, off-piste guiding, and a race. In other words, make some sort of sense from anarchy. That might work. Mind you, your first idea could work, too.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Wed 21-01-09 19:16; edited 1 time in total
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Bode Swiller, have you looked at the age profile of the club recently? You might be surprised.
but I like your thinking...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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stoatsbrother,
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the age profile of the club
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Where does one find that? (I'm helping to lower the average - have just cancelled my standing order.  )
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| stoatsbrother wrote: |
| Bode Swiller, have you looked at the age profile of the club recently? You might be surprised. |
I might be. From the outside it looks like an "old" club trying to appeal to the "young". Doomed from that point of view.
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what a good idea achilles. I'll put a team of my best people onto implementing it right away 
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You know it makes sense.
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admin, I suspect you're too late, he already kind of runs a club and will be beavering away right now on the masterplan. At least my club allows women in.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Bode Swiller, I've noticed. Ours does, but not as members. I think that's out of date - but oddly, the Club is thriving, so maybe the market is right.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Bode Swiller wrote: |
| David Goldsmith, actually semi-serious. Today, if someone were to be insane enough to start a ski club they wouldn't start where SCGB is at the moment. These days things need to be far more tailored to specific market segments. The club is stymied by history and age profile - a club made up of older skiers will never be successful at attracting younger skiers or boarders. Frankly, there should be an "off-piste ski club" a "lardy ski club", a "yoof ski club" etc. Clearly, I haven't applied much grey matter in that but hope you get the drift. |
One or two flickers of inspiration in there, Swiller.
I've never seen skiers as being particularly 'clubbable' people, frankly. Clearly there are common denominators, with the emphasis on the word 'common' for most of us. Most skiers just jump on an annual plane for an annual slide and don't get heavily into the obsession. It's not a sufficiently frequent activity. Golf and angling are very different.
On the age thing, I'm not sure that snowHeads has captured the sub-middle-aged bracket either. With no disrespect to the individuals concerned, the photos I see of snowHeads socials/bashes look mildly menopausal: 'well fed', 'well lubricated', 'pubby', 'tubby', 'sofa surfers' spring to mind.
What about the Tea Club? With a membership rate discounted to nearly a third of the full rate (£20 instead of £55) for under-24s (and therefore, I think, heavily subsidised at the price), the SCGB should be teaming with students and new workers/professionals but - as you suggest - the breakthrough does not seem to have happened.
The Beeb (founded 1922) always impresses me in terms of its creative cunning in attracting young audiences. The Roundhouse in Camden (built in 1846, entertainment venue since 1964, gutted/relaunched 2006) where I do some voluntary work, uses revenue from big gigs - mainly people in their 20s and 30s upwards - to fund masses of programmes (training, arts, music) for kids. I like that model. Strong creativity.
Loads and loads of kids ski and board. Where do they communicate? Maybe Natives and SCUK more than here?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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David Goldsmith, I gave up my £20 ski club membership because I got absolutely nothing from it (apart from guess-work-snow-forecasts which I can get from... wait for it... snow-forecast.com). The discounts are for stores and companies I will rarely and probably never use.
The only time I communicate with other 'young' skiers is when I am skiing with them or getting drunk to the point where I wish I hadn't started drinking in the first place.
Edit: LOL at the hyperlink.. don't know the history but made me laugh.. a little
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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arv, I assume you received the four copies of Ski and Board magazine per annum?
So, what's the most attractive deal for penniless skiing/boarding students: http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk ?
What in heaven's name is the solution for the youth of today?
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David Goldsmith, yes. The magazine is pretty terrible.. I don't care that La Rosiere is 'family firendly'. Not interested in the ski improvement section. Don't want to see a feature on skiing Sun Peaks.
The most attractive deal is not being part of a club and spending my £20 on cheap wine. If I am being completely honest I am not penniless either but it is still a waste of money (in my eyes).
I don't think there is any real solution. Is a solution needed? Probably not.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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arv, indeed - the mag includes 3 pages on the "City ski championships" which I am sure was done only a few years ago - I think some of it is getting better - but still My wife and kids - who are also members - find nothing in it that interests them at all. Fall Line is rather better.
But is there a problem? I think not. I don't think anyone (except David perhaps) expects all skiers aged 20-30 to want to join.
According to the annual report - only 3.9% of the members are >65 (with about 8% unknown) and 52% are <44. The figures suggest lower membership in the 24-34 sector - then picking up as people become 35-44.
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arv, how old are you?
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PJSki, neeaarly 19.
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stoatsbrother, shocking stats.
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| According to the annual report - only 3.9% of the members are >65 (with about 8% unknown) and 52% are <44. The figures suggest lower membership in the 24-34 sector - then picking up as people become 35-44. |
This means that a couple of the contributors to this thread were...oh my God...misinformed! They probably allowed their ingrain prejudice towards the ski club to cloud their posting judgment.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| arv wrote: |
| PJSki, neeaarly 19. |
I'm told a lot of the female staff up at SCGB HQ are really 'hot'. Maybe a calender aimed at young lads? Maybe just leaving a tantalising 'bit' to your young fertile imaginations? Something for those long winter evenings spent laying on soft pillows and indulging in the pleasures of the palm?
Mind you, what with the internet, I daresay the avialiablity of porn isn't a problem for the modern youth. In my day we had to rely on the odd copy of Razzle that someone had considerately left in a hedge.
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I am concerned you were raking a hedge for a well-used Razzle (which would most probably be more hassle than it was worth) rather than doing what most of the 'modern youth' do and actually go for the real thing.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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arv, different times back then. In those days we had to go courtin', which could take months before you got anywhere. The gals were always well chaperoned, you see. And of course, we didn't have the convenience of Rohypnol either.
Anyway, you make sure you bag up. Wouldn't what you inadvertently joining the STD Club of Great Britain!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| stoatsbrother wrote: |
arv, indeed - the mag includes 3 pages on the "City ski championships" which I am sure was done only a few years ago - I think some of it is getting better - but still My wife and kids - who are also members - find nothing in it that interests them at all. Fall Line is rather better.
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I certainly would not be interested in joining for the sake of the magazine.
It is available in WH Smiths etc alongside the other ski & board mags, but I can't remember the last time I bought a copy. I buy just about every copy of Fall Line, and most issues of DM S&S (in future to be Metrosnow I believe). I don't usually bother with Snow, as it is available free on-line, and The Good Ski guide is very sketchy in its distribution now.
The ski club one is the only regularly available one that you can't get free that I don't buy.
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Ski and Board actually carries some excellent articles for the true ski connoisseur. It's a bit less shouty than the others.
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You know it makes sense.
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| ... the true ski connoisseur. |
What's one of those then?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Someone seeking quality writing and the hidden depths of the sport, its heritage, and the wider reaches of the ski world.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| Someone seeking quality writing and the hidden depths of the sport, its heritage, and the wider reaches of the ski world. |
OK, so peripheral activities to, you know, actually going out and doing some skiing.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I'd have thought that being inquisitive about the outer zones of skiing implies some interest in skiing them. I've skied on five continents: Europe (incl. Lapland, Scotland and five Alpine countries), America (4 states), Asia and Australasia. Both my boots recently disintegrated catastrophically in Milton Keynes, which could be the subject of a future article if the editor will have it.
The editorial heritage of the SCGB goes back to 1905 (British Ski Yearbook). Other magazines come and go. I doubt if any of them make a profit, so we should be thankful that any of them even exist!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| I'd have thought that being inquisitive about the outer zones of skiing implies some interest in skiing them. |
There's a world of difference, if you excuse the pun, between an armchair traveller and somebody who actually gets out there and does it. I know which one I'd describe as a connoisseur (which my online dictionary describes as an expert judge in matters of taste).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| ... the true ski connoisseur. |
What's one of those then? |
A tw@t who talks a good ski.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| Ski and Board actually carries some excellent articles for the true ski connoisseur. |
Does it? I maybe would have said that about Skiing UK (RIP) which required, as a minimum, a degree in quantum physics to understand the ski tests. S&B still looks very advertorial to me I'm afraid. Being a mag that has the luxury of not having to break even, I think they could make it way more cutting edge actually.
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Bode Swiller, Do you want to pm Jackson Hole about this
But I think I agree...
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| stoatsbrother wrote: |
| Bode Swiller, Do you want to pm Jackson Hole about this |
good idea, that fella hasn't dropped in for a while has he. I expect he has an army of spies though.
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Bode Swiller, bit confused. Why doesn't S&B have to break even?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| PJSki wrote: |
| Bode Swiller, bit confused. Why doesn't S&B have to break even? |
Well a large proportion of the copies are sent out to members as part of their subscription, rather than being sold through newsagents. So they don't enjoy any "real" income from those copies, and can't possibly sell the rest for enough to make a profit (or even break even) overall.
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FAQ
