President’s Piece to Members for Web News.

March ‘08

I would like to start by wishing all Club members a happy and prosperous New Year.

We have raised the annual subscription amounts this year for the first time in many years - $20 for full members and $10 for Juniors and others. The increased rental for Thredbo has required us to do this.

This is our first attempt at a web based newsletter – we hope to be able to put up a regular bulletin with points of relevance and interest to members.

The web should make it a great deal easier to contact members and by including links we can get information out to members without a great deal of fuss and expense. We will try not to send out so many that people lose interest, and if it really irks you to receive emails then we will gladly remove your name from the circular list.

We anticipate sending a hard copy to those members for whom we do not have an email address. Members can update their membership information by going to their personal Contact Details in the Member Section of the Club Booking system at www.sydneyski.com.au/booking .

We are also looking for someone to take up the role of newsletter editor – to set up a regular newsletter along the lines of this ie, gather stories and photos that may be incorporated into the website and then send out an email to members advising of the updates on our website. If you are interested then please contact me at system@sydneyski.com.au .

Here’s hoping we have a great season this year.

 

GENERAL

Please remember to treat all members and guests with courtesy, even the ones who drive you mad. Let’s not forget Marita and the great job she does for us, and please remember that Marita is not there for mediation and conflict resolution!

The membership currently stands at 414 and members can view an analysis of the membership statistics by age on the booking system. We are not desperate for new members however we are always on the lookout for people who may be interested in joining.

Don’t forget that you can now book and pay for accommodation on line as well as pay your subs, at www.sydneyski.com.au/booking . We have also updated this site to show statistics for lodge usage. Bookings made directly online are still subject to the long standing rule that no booking is definite until confirmed by the Booking Secretary. Furthermore bookings made in March, either online or by mail, for the upcoming season are all unconfirmed whilst a ballot allotment is done by the Booking Secretary to ensure that we maximise the bed allocations for all applicants.

We encourage members to book and pay online as this makes life a great deal easier for the administration side of things; not only as there is less paper being shuffled around but because it all has to go into the online system in the end anyway.

We are introducing a $10 admin fee for all bookings sent in by mail that must be entered by us – so if you are sending a booking by mail please add $10 to your payment for accommodation. Please also remember that payments by cheque can only be accepted from members.

BOOKINGS

Bookings for the new season do not open until March. There is no point trying to jump the gun by trying to book in February; besides all bookings remain unconfirmed for March regardless of when they are made until they are confirmed in writing by the Booking Secretary – this gives us time to meet as many booking requests as possible, and to maximise our bed use.

BLAS

The Board have decided to extend the BLAS (Building Levy Allocation Scheme) to existing Juniors and non family applicants from 1 st of March this year. Members will be advised of the details when the Subscription notices are sent out in early March.

THREDBO

We have a new Lease coming up for Thredbo. As you will all know we have exercised our option to renew but we have yet to receive the final lease for perusal. The Thredbo lease will run to 2050. We are also looking to refurbish Thredbo in the next 12 months. A sub committee is being set up to oversee refurbishment plans.

PERISHER

We are also looking at the opportunity to take up a new lease on our Perisher holding – we already have a lease that will take us through to 2025, however NPWS are offering a new lease (to replace the current lease and that will run to 2027) that will carry a renewal option for a further 30 years. Of course there is a price to pay, and the new lease is slightly different to the present one. Many of the commercial lodges in Perisher are eager to take up the new lease however there is not the same enthusiasm amongst the lodges such as ours. We have given NPWS an in principle undertaking to take up the new lease, however we are waiting to see the final lease and to discuss the matter a bit more with other lodges. The Board have yet to make a definite decision as to the offered new lease.

We anticipate the installation of a new BBQ before the ski season

Work Parties - Summer/Autumn 2008

Once again we are sending down work parties in late summer and early autumn. The first was on the weekend of 16/17 February to Perisher, consisting of Arthur King and some of his family members. Arthur will be taking down a number of supplies and tackling some painting and varnishing work aimed at keeping the lodge in pristine shape.

Another work party is planned for Thredbo in March with Ben Rourke and some others, including the Atkinson boys. Their major task will be to gravel the path that runs across the front of the lodge, but they will also be attending to the outdoor furniture, the screen doors, plus general cleaning of interior walls, etc. A regular task is making sure supplies of cutlery, glasses and kitchen wares are evenly distributed among the various apartments - it is amazing how these items manage to move around the lodge all on their own!!

NPWS Newsletter

Finally we also include a PDF of the NPWS Newsletter which may be of interest.

click here to see the pdf

Hope you all have a lovely year, and don’t forget that the lodges are available all year!

Regards, James Cooper President. If you wish to receive newsletters by email in the future, click here. If you wish to unsubscribe from future newsletters, click here.