R O W has had a turbulent few days and maybe it is time to reflect on a few things.

NOBODY but NOBODY is irreplaceable in the club (and that includes me) but I am tired of the constant attacks on the club and its policies from a few individuals who just never seem happy with whatever is done.

R O W can be painted as the worst club in the OGAE family, yet it will always have more members than 50% of the other clubs because it is a vibrant club, it is dynamic and it is active and it delivers to its members. We have never claimed to be perfect (nobody can) but we try to be as open and transparent as possible, allow everybody to comment on things. Remember that we try to manage club made up of members from 30 different countries and it is not an easy task from the start.

With the privacy issue now, I got several private mails with total opposing stands. Some suggest the problems happen because we allow TOO MUCH FREEDOM, we should not make for example the ticket list or points table public, but imagine the outcry if we do not, then someone will say we add names of our friends or give points to our favourites or delete names of people we dislike.

WE will NEVER be able to please everybody, that is human nature, but we are happy with our policies and we can defend it even in an open debate.

Also this week I had a mail from someone saying that I go against some policy in our ticket allocation by allowing new members taking part in the ticket list – yes the policy has been discussed at length and agreed on by the board that nobody should get a ticket package with LESS THAN TWO YEARS MEMBERSHIP. But this is just in an extreme case scenario if

1 – where we get very little packages and

2 – where the demand from existing members is extremely high.

Under normal circumstances, if we get say 70 packages but only 55 are taken by existing members, there are 15 left, why should these not be made available to new members (2016), as some of them are really dedicated, did tasks and gather points.

One of the hallmarks of R O W has always been its flexibility – to adapt to new circumstances and this has made us the envy of many. Currently we’re passing through a transitional period in OGAE International and several new changes that have been brought by it, thus we try to adjust our club policies to the new changes. But we have the policy in place should we say get just 55 packages and all 55 are taken by existing members. Then newcomers have no reason to blame us as they knew the policy months in advance.

In all aspects of the club activities, we always try to find the best FIT for all, look at all possibilities and therefore things can change quickly and we try to be ready for that. We’re always welcoming members input in the future ticket policies and everyone who wants to share their thoughts and ideas for possible changes in the next years is welcome to contact us.

I am against a VERY strict implementation of the policy – yes I am all for having it in place long in advance so it is not a sudden surprise to anyone, but it is nice to be able to help also those newcomers if we indeed get more packages. All of us should be members of the club for ONE REASON only and that is to enjoy EUROVISION – we are not a political party who fight each other on issues or a high tech stock exchange company who wants to push all opposition out of the way and get the biggest market share. This is not why R O W was created 10 years ago.