Part of the problem is the idea of a ¡®club¡¯ in itself.
Years ago a club was the only way you could meet up and learn with others of a similar interest. Some members would be highly committed, serving on Committees and working as Officers. Many put huge amounts of time into the structures, which often led to political manoeuvring and ¡®us and them¡¯ cliques. Such problems were often worse the larger the group became. (I recall CB clubs seemed better at the socialising side though!)
In the 3rd decade of the 21st century however, I would argue such a structure is not fit for purpose. Clubs generally are struggling because, as was pointed out in the session, a) there is far more information online than one could get from a club and b) people do not socialise in club formats anymore but more in online communities, which are more instant in appeal and response.
So why do Hams want to meet at all? It¡¯s a solitary hobby in so many ways and yet paradoxically we make many friends through it!?
I suspect online communities are the way forward and perhaps the RSGB could help here by gathering them together more? From that will probably come the ¡®bottom up¡¯ movements as and when people want to do things together.
In times past, one successful club activity would have quickly become an annual feature on a club¡¯s calendar, but in future, we have to get used to initiatives ¡¯coming and going¡¯ based on members¡¯ interests and not try to make them permanent fixtures because ¡®we¡¯ve always done it this way¡¯...
