Field Trial Finance & Administration ( Time for a rethink)

As the field trial season draws to a close, I suspect a number of New Year meetings will be dominated with discussions about trial dates clashing and competitors withdrawing at the last minute!

It’s also that time of the year when most annual subscriptions become due, and for some too soon after Christmas, albeit a cost, which the casual observer would think very small? (Or is it small?)

Back in 2002 the typical cost of membership Range from £4 to £7, over the years the majority of clubs have increased subscriptions to £10. The average cost of a field trial entry fee was £25 and nomination fees £2.

Nomination fees are now slowly disappearing and the cost of a field trial entry is now £35-£45, which in my opinion is excellent value, when you consider guns are paying anything from £250 to £1000 per day.  The generosity of guns that shoot at field trials, should never be taken for granted, without them our sport would be very expensive in deed.

I have nearly 5 empty cheque books on my desk (over one hundred cheques), the vast majority of these cheques will not be cashed, because I failed to get a run or withdrew because I qualified out of novice, had alternative runs, illness/injury or bitches came in season.

Some Clubs and Societies cash cheques immediately after the field trial or within days of closing dates (nomination fees). However I currently have cheques dating back to August 2012, which have not been cashed and should have been weeks if not months ago! I have no idea what I owe without spending some considerable time checking stubs with diary entries or compiling some sort of spread sheet?

I have on 2 occasions had insufficient funds to clear cheques owing, causing slight embarrassment and know doubt further administration burden for some secretaries.

It was over 10 years ago, I suggested at a committee meeting the administration and collection of fees and data for field trials and working tests could be made so much easier via the internet!

The idea was dismissed because of fear/ignorance and a lack of willingness to implement change because the job was undertaken by volunteers with little computer experience.

Any suggestion that we should pay for the expertise from reserves was dismissed on the basis that not everyone has a computer!

I now see a system where some clubs/societies have abandoned nomination fees, introduced email notification of draws, yet we still do not have a club/Society that will accept an entry or payment online as a normal procedure!

The defence that not everyone has a computer in  my opinion is a poor one, even if you do not have a computer, the majority of people now have a mobile phone that can receive text messages as well as emails.

Competitors and Administrators need a system with maximum flexibility and minimal administration.

Online payment systems are very cheap and secure, online entry forms, schedules and draws can be accessed automatically. Emails and text messages can be sent automatically reminding competitors of closing dates, draws and results etc…

Payment information obviously need to be secure and private, but schedules, running cards, draws and results do not need to be secure, access to this information should be available to anyone who desires it,  the more transparency we have, the less controversy we will have!

Why shouldn’t we be able to enter a kennel club registration or stud book number and an entry form be instantly sent with no spelling mistakes!

Its taking far too long for the gundog community to sit up and take notice of new technology and how it could remove the burden of administration and hard copy paper trail, may be the kennel club should take the lead or will this be another evolution by trial and error from a bunch of volunteers that will take another 10 years!