Trott talks to Youth and Sports Minister Dennis Lister about his Ministry's role in assisting the clubs and the clubs'own responsibility to help themselves to thrive in changing times.

Getting Bermuda's workmen's clubs to think "outside the box''! That was the aim of Dennis Lister when he met with all field and club operators last summer in a attempt to address the needs of the clubs.

The Sports Minister, a club man himself as a member of Somerset Cricket Club, used the feedback from the meeting to gauge the concerns of the clubs. To further identify the individual needs of the clubs, the Ministry has commissioned a survey to be done on all field operators.

"We met with all the field and club operators at a meeting at Ocean View Golf Club, to bring them all together under one roof to talk about some things and also to talk about my view which was trying to get the clubs to think outside the box,'' said the Minister.

"We need to look at the operation of our clubs from a business perspective, meaning that if a business was doing today what it has been doing for the past 30 years it probably isn't in business today. As times have changed, the approach has to change.'' Added the Minister: "Having sat here for two years now, one of the things that became quite clear in the first year or so was the need for the clubs to upgrade themselves with financial assistance, because there are financial restraints that the clubs are faced with.

"My view is to try to have on hand a full perspective of the situations that the clubs are in. I met with field and club operators in regard to their individual concerns, minor things and major things.

"To address that I had commissioned a survey to be done of all the field operators to look at compiling individual information and finding out what in that information is collective as far as common ground, common issues and individual issues.'' Mr. Lister explained there was a 100 percent response from those invited and an almost 100 percent turnout at the meeting. But he says the information in the follow-up survey has not been returned by the clubs as quickly as he would have liked.

"We want all the tools in hand to help the clubs as they go forward,'' said the Minister.

"The survey was launched in the fall of last year and I will admit I have some disappointment in that the information isn't being provided as quickly as we would like to see it supplied. We can't react to the information unless we have the information and as long as the clubs are dragging their feet in providing information in response to the survey, it hampers the whole process of putting together a package to assist them.'' Some of the questions asked of the clubs are their physical dimensions, the age of the club, size of membership and the club's financial state. Also they are being asked to provide information on vacant space within their club, space that could be used to create something which could provide additional income for the club.

One idea Mr. Lister bounced off the club representatives was creating a gym, if space allowed, within the club which both that club's players and people within the community could utilise.

"My view is let's try to find ways to draw people to your facility on a regular basis,'' said Mr. Lister. "I don't have the crystal ball with the exact route of how to get there but collectively as we talk we can come up with ways of getting there. One suggest I threw out was as we look around our community today we see folks becoming more health conscious, folks out jogging and walking and coming into the city to the health clubs and most of the health clubs in the city are thriving right now.

"However, I have a club within my community and suppose that club was to start looking towards providing such a facility. Then, I, as a member of the community, could say `rather than race into town, there is one in my neighbourhood that I can fit into my schedule'.'' The Minister says community involvement in the clubs is what will help turn the clubs around. "Right now all the clubs depend very heavily on their bars,'' he concedes.

"However, at the same time all admit that support for their facility has declined and is continuing to decline. What that says is what was the draw before is no longer the draw today.

"My view is let's try to find other ways of drawing people to your facility on a regular basis. What was done before isn't bringing the success we once had.

"I am wide open in regards to having discussions with the clubs on how we can refocus and regenerate energies into the club in that regard. That was the main purpose of that meeting and I was pleased with the amount of conversation that it did generate.'' Added Mr. Lister: "The persons in the room that night were very open to looking outside the box, in the right context, and therein led to the need for the survey.'' The completion of the National Sports Centre remains the top priority for the Ministry, but funding to assist the clubs could also be allowed for in the Budget.

"The survey would allow us to have on hand information that we can plan into our budgeting process, meaning if we know there are certain key projects that are going to take a fair amount of budgeting, we can look at our long term planning as we plan our Ministry budget each year,'' explained the Minister.

"If you look up and down the Island we have some nice locations for facilities, however those facilities haven't been upgraded to any real degree for decades.

"If we continue to leave those clubs on their own we may not see any upgrading for another long period of time. We want to be able to work with them to bring their facilities up to standard.'' Another initiative by the Ministry is a Management Certificate Programme which is a combined effort with the Bermuda College which would allow club leaders to develop the right skills so as to lead their clubs as a business.

Mr. Lister says he hopes that programme will be implemented at the college by September of this year.

"We have recognised a need within the clubs to have the right skilled persons managing their facilities,'' he stated.

"Through this programme I, as a member of a club who is interested in stepping up to executive level at the club, can take the course and be schooled in the things that I as an executive member of the facility should be aware of. As membership is declining so too is the pool (of qualified persons) diminishing.

"The objective is at the end of the day to have a pool of persons throughout the Island who can say: `I'm committed to my club, and whether I'm serving now or when my times comes to serve, I have some skill sets provided so that when I step into the role I can bring this to the table and help take my club forward'. National governing bodies of sport will be able to benefit from this.'' The Ministry can also facilitate the use of the audit department so that clubs can be audited.

"It's something we can't force on the clubs but the clubs can come to us and say that is the type of service they would like to be put into place to assist them,'' said Mr. Lister.

"In the past, one of our major clubs was in a real financial bind and through the assistance of the auditing department was able to turn their financial state around and put in place structures to help keep them moving positively financially.

"I have seen our clubs for years continue to decline in support and it's a real personal issue with me because the clubs have played and can continue to play a valuable role in our community. The only way we're going to turn that around is to get the pride back into it.''