With almost 300 members, the SRDBA is a new and strong organization. Have a voice, be informed and involved. Find out why you should join as well!
The SRDBA was formed over the past 6 months by a group of volunteers residing here in the southeastern region. At the direction of the USDBF Board of Directors, the SRDBA was asked to pilot a new type of membership program that would help to build and grow the sport in the United States.
The new membership format that the SRDBA is piloting has a new level of membership added to it – INDIVIDUAL membership. By creating a level of membership that is tailored to the individuals of the sport, the SRDBA and the USDBF will be able to communicate directly with the grass roots of dragon boating (that’s you!). Individual members can look forward to receiving up to date information on what’s going on in their region, as well as throughout the United States.
This map (courtesy of PDBA) shows the split of the eastern region into north and south…
Ever wonder where National Team Trials were held? Sign up for an individual membership and you’ll be the first to know!
Ever wonder how you can be involved in choosing your regional championships or formatting a regional ranking program? Sign up for an individual membership and you’ll allow your dragon boat CLUB to have a heavier vote! (details here)
Do you just want to receive updates yourself instead of relying on your team captain or manager to forward it to you? Sign up for an individual membership and you’ll get the updates in YOUR inbox.
How does all this help grow the sport? I’m glad you asked! Connecting directly with the grass roots (again, that’s you!) of the sport of dragon boat racing is so important. Paddlers want to feel involved in the thing that they spend so much time, money and energy on. When paddlers aren’t well informed, or kept up to date, they tend to lose interest. The SRBDA and the USDBF want to gain interest and momentum, not lose it. The more participants that know about a regional or national championships means the more that are likely to attend them.
As this new membership program starts to take shape, the opportunities become endless. All of a sudden, with more members, there are more paddlers attending events – locally, regionally, and nationally – and then there are more festivals popping up all over the place. Then you’ll start to see retailers of all sorts looking to provide membership incentives, and product exclusivity, which leads to sponsorship dollars (aka funding for more growth!).
While it may sound quite simple, it all must start at the bottom with the individual membership, and blocks will be built upon that!