URSC Members

Questions for the players, the management, the UAFC, the URSC or other supporters... Someone might answer you!! (and pigs might fly)

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Cockatrice
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URSC Members

Post by Cockatrice »

As many of you are aware when UR released its application for Season Ticket holders it also included the opportunity to join the URSC and to pay the appropriate fee.

It would appear that UR are now unwilling to forward the list of those that joined the URSC to the club. In a practical sense this means that the most urgent need is so that the URSC knows whether those wishing to turn up at the Lions Breakfast's are actually members. Indeed one would hope that some common sense could be applied to allow the URSC to get on with organising events and being able to contact its own membership.

If any of you are members I would be grateful to hear from you either in public or in private so that I could attach your responses to conversations that will be ungoing.
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BR
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Re: URSC Members

Post by BR »

Ahhh - but if I reply - how will you know if I'm a member or not? :?

Also - I believe there may be some confusion among 'members' as the season ticket situation is still unclear. Are they URSC members or not?

What is UR's problem? Technical, legal, pig-headedness ....?
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pwrmoore
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Post by pwrmoore »

Hi CT I ahve applied for my season ticket and renewed my URSC membership at the same time. The cheque has been cashed - so I assume my membership has been renewed.

I don't understand what grounds UR can possibly have for refusing to forward to the club a list of its own members, especially as UR volunteered to collect the subscriptions for us.

Is there a recommended course of action we should all take - it might be more effective than individuals acting on their own.

I am certaily of a mind to e-mail UR to complain about this ridiculous treatment of the URSC members - they seem to want our money - but don't really want us to be a club with control of our own destiny.
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Post by Cockatrice »

pwr - That is one reason why I have asked people to contact me to compile a list of comments that can be attached to other things ongoing. This should then allow some of the views of URSC members to be reflected.

BR- Those that wanted to join the URSC had the option of ticking a box and paying the extra fee so at least they should know who they are. The problem with the CL should not effect membership as joining wasn't depended on having a CL. Unless UR plan to close the business we see the supporters club functioning whether there is a new CL or little more than an inter-provincial series.

As for why well I don't know and that is the worry and is one reason why I have highlighted it. That is also why I ask members to reply so that their views can be expressed to those that matter.
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ding dong2u
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Post by ding dong2u »

Fully agree that we have a URSC no matter what the fixture list is and it's bloody ridiculous that UR won't release a mebership list. makes you wonder why we have anything to do withe silyy buggers :x
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Post by fermain »

When does the last years membership run out? I fully intend to renew. The URSC will be around a lot longer than MR will be in charge at UR.

Is the only way to renew, to print out the form from any of the 3 current websites, if we are not applying for season tickets?
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Post by Cockatrice »

I think that this years runs out at the end of June hence new membership forms are on the web here and elsewhere and can be obtained from the committee. I also suspect that someone will be at the breakfasts with forms as well.

Part of the idea was to get a programme of events together for the coming year present them for approval to UR and get some information out to new and old members alike. Even that is proving a problem and it now may hinder getting the programme together.

URSC does have the old membership which included all the season ticket holders but what it doesn't have is those that rejoined a few months ago as part of the new deal. These numbers will reflect where the URSC actually is with the people that wanted to join it instead of all those that were given membership automatically.

Another thing to consider was when UR made the announcement of the URSC membership package and membership fees it hadn't then been decided by the URSC what was on offer. I know that I had a couple of ideas on further benefits for members which had to simply be dispensed with for this year.

Maybe UR were just happy to collect the money.
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colinh
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Post by colinh »

Myself and Magical hava e both rejoined. The cheque has been cashed so you can count us 2 country boys in.

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pwrmoore
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Post by pwrmoore »

The problem at the moment is that UR have provided the working capital for the club and in return have sequestered all the subscriptions under the guise of "administrative help". I think this has shown itself to be very advantageous to UR and a complete bugger for the URSC.

Perhaps for next year the URSC might re-consider this arrangement. I suspect the headache of administering the membership and trying to gather up seed funding from subscriptions will be worth it for the benefits of

1) knowing who the members are!!!!!!
2) being able to contact the membership about URSC events directly
3) being able to set a programme of events for the members benefit
4) being able to adjust that programme without having to seek additional budget from UR
5) being able (at the end of the year - or at other times as the members see fit) to contribute any surplus funds to the benefit of Ulster Rugby

Horse first - cart behind.
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Post by Cockatrice »

pwr- I know what you are saying but in truth it is you and I the supporters that pay to join that are providing the working capital.
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pwrmoore
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Post by pwrmoore »

I agree CT, ultimately we are providing it.

But the MOU dressed this up in the guise of assistance to the URSC from UR:-

UR advance the agreed budget of £4500 (or whatever) to the URSC (very generous, you might think) in return they collect ALL the URSC subscriptions and URSC forward to UR on a monthly basis any that are sent to the URSC direct.

This agreement seemed very helpful to the URSC as they didn't have to wonder whether/when ths subs. would roll in - and could start business right away. Effectively though it gave UR a stranglehold on the URSC budget. And allowed this development where UR refuse to supply the URSC with a list of its own members to arise.

Unfortunately what I was woried about in this arrangement has already manifested itself only weeks into the relationship. We are the much smaller part of a very unequal partnership and are apparently treated with disdain by UR whose main interest appears to be short term monetary gain and not the long term development of a healthy supporters club - which many of us believe would ultimately be more beneficial to UR.
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Post by colinh »

This thread may be going slightly off track but I would like to develop one of the points. The relationship between the UR and the URSC or more importantly the attitude displayed by the UR is a very short sighted one. If they had any sense at all they would realise tha they had a great assett second only to the players for generating money. The fan base of Ulster Rugby is probably one of the most loyal in these islands. I would have thought that with a little bit of coopertion from them they could use us and the many talents members have to raise some ready needed funds.

Colin :twisted:
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Post by ding dong2u »

Spot on Colin but for some reason we seem to scare MR. Closing down websites and behaving petulantly towards a group of people who have the same aims is not in the best interests of UR. They seem to want to court the corporate sector more than the average fan and I am not convinced that's agood idea beacuse one stays with you forever and the other only uses you for it's own ends. A vibrant working URSC can only be good for UR
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Post by Rooster »

If as you say CT that membership runs out at end of June then the current member list from last year is the correct one to use, for anyone who has just joined this year and not last year their membership under this assumption would not actually commence until 1st July even though they have paid up front :? Perhaps this is the way UR are looking at this fiasco :roll:
For the record the 4 of us have all renewed membership along with season tickets and cheque is cashed.
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Post by pwrmoore »

good point rooster - sounds like the 2004/2005 members are those with a valid membership - includes the Cheese and I either way 8)
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