21 November 2021

Members Update – Renewals

Major change on the way for 2022 membership renewals…..

As we mentioned a number of weeks ago, there are some big and significant changes coming for next year, 2022. We realise that some of these may require a period of ‘bedding-in’ and so, over the course of the last month or so, we have been giving members information in bite-size chunks.

Probably the biggest change to impact members during 2022 will be a change to ‘online renewal’ of memberships. What this means is that members can pay for and receive their membership card directly online.

There are a number of very important reasons why we have made this step and it brings membership renewals in alignment with our online day ticket system which we have been running for a number of years.

Cost

All of our venues are under increasing pressure from invasive weed, impacts of climate change and increases in bird and otter predation. Club costs, both in terms of combating this threat and dealing with it’s effects have escalated considerably (by 6 figure sums!). In order to prevent these costs being passed directly onto members, we have looked for ways the club can reduce it’s operating costs. A big annual cost, running into multiple thousands of pounds, is the cost of the current, paper based membership system. Postal costs, printing, envelopes, administration etc is significant. By shifting to an online solution, these can be reduced, meaning we have more money to spend on things which improve the quality of the fishing.

Service

Under the current system, from the point of paying there is a turn-around time, during which no fishing is permitted. The online solution is instant. As soon as payment is made, the membership is ‘live’ and the angler free to fish.

Lost Cards

The paper system requires a member to hold a physical club membership card. Every year, we have lots of members who lose their cards, resulting in a cost to the member for a replacement. The ‘copy’ of the membership will now sit with the member.

Electronic Memberships Cards

As with our day ticket system, membership cards will now be able to be held electronically on a phone or other device. This will be much more convenient for the majority of our anglers.

Member Login-In

Each member, having completed their online transaction, will receive a unique and personal login to the website. This will be called ‘MyWADAA’ – very similar to many other websites that purchases are made from. In this section there will be multiple benefits – and these will be added to over time:

My Gate Codes

Members will be able to view the gate codes for venues linked to their membership type. If the gate codes are changed, this listing will be automatically updated. Members will always therefore have access to the gate codes they need

My Catch Returns

Members will be able to select and view all the entries (made anonymous) in the catch return system. By selecting their chosen venue and date range, they will be able to view all the available information

My Bookings

Members will be able to make bookings online. This could be for overnight fishing or entry into events and competitions. Similarly, members will be able to see the number of anglers booked onto venues into the future.

We realise that for some members this may be a big step. Of the circa 1200 members we currently have in the club, only 23 do not currently have an email address. We now only accept new members into the club if they have an email address and online connectivity. Though we want to strongly encourage members to make use of the online system, where a member genuinely cannot renew online, the club will continue to provide a paper-based solution.

As 2022 memberships open up later in December, we’ll release further information and help guides on how to complete the online renewal. In the meantime, please ask any questions you may have regarding this change.

It is very important for the club to make this change, we have to make every pound we receive go further and at the same time, look to provide a better service for our members.