I have just read through this thread and cannot believe the negativity.

In 2011 before the YCP approached Carlton, my brother in law and I approached the club to do the exact same initiative as this (without the professionals part!). We started planning for this with the club and a few weeks later I found out my wife was expecting #1 and I didn't have time to commit to do it properly.

While I haven't joined YCP as yet (I have recently had twins and only now is my life returning to normal) and have NO link to the launch of YCP, I think the BASIS of the initiative is fantastic. While I personally dont agree with the "professionals" requirements... I have to agree on the age grouping requirement.

Lets put the age limit aside here.. How many of you complaining are members of a private golf club or have friends that are? They have entry requirements too (You need to know people to get in there).. But why does someone join a private golf club? Is it to be Elitist? Unless it is Royal Melbourne I'd say no... Is it for networking? Perhaps... But the members I know joined to play at a course where they have like minded golfers who care about their course and dont leave divots with a "fu&k it I have played my shot" mentality.

LIKE MINDED INDIVIDUALS

Why does AC Nielsen ask for a specific demographic if they are trying to do a survey? Are they being Elitist... No they simply want to get opinions on the lay of the land from people from a specific demographic.

The same exists here...

The club has been accused of being stuck in the 80s and "old school ways".... Initiatives like this bring some young and fresh ideas to the club. The use of social media, networking, turning a 20 something who has their first job into a PAID UP member.. all of these things can be driven from youth.

Are they dictating our recruitment, list management and game plan??? NO! But all is takes is a few good initiatives and the club will be better off for it.

As an example... I am a member of a private golf club (Cranbourne). Several years ago I saw members aged 40 and below leaving as they were having kids and couldnt commit to playing every week and a membership in excess of $2000 becomes expensive when you are playing 20 times a year and also need to start paying for school fees!!! I privately approached the board (all of whom are 50+ and do not see the issues the younger members feel and see) and suggested that the club introduce a 20 game membership for people under 40. This enabled young members to stay connected to the club and when they were older and could make a larger financial commitment of a full member they would already have a connection to the club and be less likely to go elsewhere. At the end of the day I didnt want to see my club having an aging population and die a slow death.. The youth are the future of any organization and you need them to build solid foundations for the future.

While I am unsure how old a lot of you are who are negative about the idea, but I think that we need to think about the following.... Members who are 40+ have seen success in the Navy Blue and have a connection.. I believe that the demographic this is focussing on is where we will have our biggest struggle as a footy club.. The demographic who were too young to TRULY appreciate the mid 90s and have only seen us struggle. That same demographic has totally different financial, technological and social means than those who are 50++++ like the rest of our board and members of our Coteries. We need to connect to them and get them to make a financial commitment to the footy club not only now but moving forward as they have junior blues!!!

While I don't agree with the "Professionals" bit, I think the negativity surrounding the idea is not called for and anyone who is happy to commit their time for the benefit of the club I am all for....

Congratulations on the twins but Carlton is now in common with a private golf club?
Think about forty five thousand members for a second... And private golf clubs.

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So it's ok to be negative about the"Professionals" bit, but NOT about the "age" bit?

I disagree. A 46 year old has as much to contribute as a 45 year old.

Why are you so negative about the "Professionals" bit, btw?

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actually i reckon a 46 plus year old unprofessional moshe would run rings around anyone in that group... hes a professional but u get my gist....

there would not be one person in that group that could hold a candle to a guy like moshe.. except the smoking bit..

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the worlds first THINK TANK that I know of which has an upper age barrier to membership

(I bet that if the few guys who have been pushing this YCP group were 46 years of age, then the age limit may have been set at 50. Apparently idea generation within humans physiologically and intellectually decays away once that critical age of 45 is reached - everybody knows this. Somebody should have told Socrates, he never stopped with the ideas even when he was drinking Hemlock)

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Vice President, International Extreme Sarcasm Society (IESS)

To be member of the Women of Carlton you need to be a woman!! What a farce. I think men offer just as much as women..
The Blues Coterie has a dress code that all men wear a collared shirt and tie to their events! What a farce. Men in a blue singlet and thongs have just as much to offer as men in fancy shirts.
The Carltonians boast a blend of members from leading business identities, corporate executives and entrepreneurs. What a farce. Why don't they boast about their unemployed, dole bludging, welfare dependant members?

It's a group with some restrictions on who can join, just like so many other groups. If you're looking to join a club with no restrictions on membership, hmm I dunno, maybe a club membership is what you're looking for..

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@cecil_anderson

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dane's trolling again

I think there's a few people who just don't get it....

Agreed wholeheartedly. Should do a poll...a lot of us don't qualify for the YCP. Me included.

Not sure why Doc.
I'ts elitist, exclusive and pretentious.
We need to change that stupid ye olde English Class System crap and get real.
Anyone can think a great thought at anytime, having been born anywhere in the world.
It matters not what clothes you wear, what profession or lack thereof you have.
If you are a passionate, CFC supporter, we want you, no..we need you, and we want you.
Come and be a part of our rebuild.
Come and make yourself at home.We are nothing without you. Our valued supporter.
We respect you, and your opinion.
We want to hear your ideas.
We want to change.
We no longer want separation.
We want togetherness
Inclusiveness.
We are ageless and timeless.
Come in everyone. Be a part of our brain storming.

Out of adversity, often come the great thinkers, and movers and shakers of our world.

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That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

I'd be kicked out in a year, but otherwise I think I'd qualify.
But I generally steer well clear of these networking organisations where business is done via contacts. It's just not my thing. And I think at the heart of it, this is a networking organisation a little like YPO, except for the young carlton elite. I doubt its key function is to selflessly help the club. That's what volunteers do. This is a different beast entirely.

Again, for a club that desperately needs to be inclusive, it doesn't quite fit with that ethos. Didn't the club just push out the #UNITY thing today?

#United

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*(grow - fun - gah)

Yeah but whatabout your whataboutism.

Thanks for the congrats! As for the Private Golf Club part as I dont know which part of what I said you were querying... I'll answer it in two parts. The first part is about the fact that the club is Elitist... Whether it be YCP or a golf club, both examples have barriers of entry and even exceptions (a woman can't play on a Saturday while a man can't play on a Tuesday Morning). However, both of them in general (there may be the exception) are there for like minded individuals with common reasons for joining and in neither example just because you need to be a member and meet criteria make them elitist.

As for the second part of what I wrote, while the scale of a football club is many times larger (basing your arguement of scale Carlton can't learn from Manchester United or Liverpool as their fan base is many multiples bigger and in a different sport), the same issues are faced in a macro sense. Those in charge are in most cases over the age of 50 and not in touch with the younger members and their views and how to attract and retain members. There are different stakeholders all with their own agendas in both examples... Not only that, financial and time pressures make it harder today for someone in their 30s to commit to anything whether it be Footy or golf. I heard David Shwartz say last week on SEN that when we was in his teens a footy membership was $20, today it is a couple of hundred $. His view is that his generation you were a certainty to continue to support your club as it wasn't much of a commitment ($20) and it became engrained in you to have a membership and support your club, however today it is so different.... Keeping a connection between a member (in golf or footy) until they are at a period where they can commit the time or energy or even make that initial connection (for the 20 somethings that YCP are focusing on) is the key for the future of any member\supporter base.

Moshe... why I am negative about the professionals bit?? I believe the club needs to do more to connect to the younger demographic so I agree with the need for an age criteria but is my opinion worth less than someone who is unemployed? I'd say not and if anything their opinion in some areas may have more weight.... Having the criteria starting at 20 also makes a mockery of this as most people are at university or trade school at 20 and not working full time!!

Imagine Collingwood had "Employment" criteria... They would be able to cater an event with a six pack and a family feed.

As for the 46 v 45 thing.. If it were up to 46, people would argue 47 v 46... You need to have a cut off somewhere if you are trying to target a specific audience so I have no problem and if anything I think 20-45 is too wide.. I'd probably keep it 25-40 but I am not on the committee!

Anyway.... Lets support this the same way we should support our new President (and PLEASE CEO!) when they come in to hopefully correct everything that has been so wrong about the way the club has been run in the past few years and prior to that!

My point exactly bg72...hey...I tried...

Great post bg......

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

the more we have these silly splinter coterie groups headed by relatives of directors the more we are divided....

carlton is a rabble.....

Exclusive? Yes. Elitist? I don't see how. At $220 for membership it's about as elitist as buying a fancy pair of sneakers.

We've already had an example on here of a working class bloke with no ties to powerful people within the club who is a member of the YCP.

A question for Doc S. If the supporter alliance concept was to get off the ground, a group inclusive of all, and sub groups of the alliance were then formed, such as a YCP, a women's group, a pensioners support alliance etc. would this be something that would get your tick of approval? An overall inclusive supporter group surrounded by sub groups targeting more specific types of supporters?

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@cecil_anderson

Meeting of the YCP.....

[youtube]gb_qHP7VaZE[/youtube]

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience!!!

After Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says W T F .........
Visit http://fromthemoshpit.com/

_________________
That’s not a political statement — it’s a harsh reality, and we must act,” she said. “He is a clear and present danger to the things that keep us strong and free. I support impeachment.”

We need a Carlton geriatrics club.

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In the fullness of time
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