Australian Discus Association

[Proteus]

I have just got back from the February ADA meeting, and to be blunt, the Association needs your help to maintain it's place as being one of the most respected aquaria based associations/clubs in the country.

Some fund raising will be done here on the forum, by way of holding a raffle with a prize that I am sure will get a lot of attention. (Think high end desired product for your aquarium, with raffle tickets to be sold for a few dollars - proceeds to go to the ADA).

One thing that was heavily discussed is getting hobbyists from all parts of the country involved with meetings, say once every few months.

How would this be done???

We would arrange to have select meetings throughout the year, webcast (streamed) to interested parties. These meetings would feature demonstrations and discussions from various people and experts within the hobby or related fields, so as to further our knowledge, plus give us some tips on things like home made foods, etc.

To access such meetings via the internet, a nominal fee of a few dollars would be charged, which would be used to further promote the ADA and Discus keeping in general within Australia.

We need to make this a truely national club, and this cant be done without your help. Once membership numbers start to build, and the associations financial situation improves, regular items such as the DISCUSsions newsletter may be re-introduced (an editor is needed btw for those that may be interested) along with other benefits to members once they have joined.

I have added a poll to this post to get an idea of what people think. This idea has been raised in the past, and if given enough support now, will certainly be something that the association will look into and arrange.

[goldenpigeon]

i would be interested. does it matter if a group of us get togeather and chuck in a few bucks each for viewing?

[Proteus]

At the moment I think the association would be open to any suggestions to increase it's presence in areas outside of Sydney, whilst still generate some much needed funds.

[goldenpigeon]

hmmmmm, it would be good for a branch of the club to open up in melbourne as many of our members live there and i think there would be a good response to that. also a branch in brissy as there are a fair few members there and i can get to brissy. being that is the Australian discus association i think it would be good to set up a few clubs where we have many discus keepers. then it is a more australia wide sort of thing.

also there is a huge amount of discus lovers in sydney.... how many people are in the club already?


would it be possible to put up a bright notice in SLS or something???? being discus central of sydney?!


also just an idea. what if the club was to become like a " Australian South AMerican cichlid/catfish association" ? of course need some work on the name but there will be more members and there will still be a very strong interest in discus!

[Proteus]

hmmmmm, it would be good for a branch of the club to open up in melbourne as many of our members live there and i think there would be a good response to that. also a branch in brissy as there are a fair few members there and i can get to brissy. being that is the Australian discus association i think it would be good to set up a few clubs where we have many discus keepers. then it is a more australia wide sort of thing.

also there is a huge amount of discus lovers in sydney.... how many people are in the club already?

I have only been a regular member of the association for the past 2 and a bit years, and I know this issue has been raised before. I believe there was a sub-group in Melbourne at one time...

I will let Wayne talk about member numbers when he see's this thread.

Overall member numbers are down, as an example, a year ago you would go to a meeting and there would be 40-50 people in attendance, last night there would have been close to 14-15 people... i.e. people are needed to attend in person as well...


also just an idea. what if the club was to become like a " Australian South AMerican cichlid/catfish association" ? of course need some work on the name but there will be more members and there will still be a very strong interest in discus!

Whilst it sounds like a good idea, it would take the emphasis away from the Discus side of things. Whilst in reality it isnt a bad thing, from a clubs point of view it would a lot of planning. Once again I will leave this one to Wayne as well to answer.

[goldenpigeon]

mmm ok. why is there such little interest now than before?

it would take the spotligt off the discus a bit but its a good way to get numbers and discus can be kept as a continuos topic in the meetings.

many of us keep cory cats, geos, apistos etc and it would be more of a reason to go.

anyways im interested in supporting the aus discus!

[DiscusMan]

I have said on the Forum here before. Our club tried in vain to make it more national and failed as the interest in other states was minimal.

IF there is people out there who wish to start up sub branches in other states then i would say that sounds great and i would very much encourage that.

Joining our club with sub groups in other states is really what our club is hoping to do in the long term for the good of all keepers.

THe only thing that would have to be determined is who this would effect our insurance premiums but again you do need to work out the interest levels and willing participants to try to organise somethign locally in your own states.

We could then have a national newsletter of which content form more members input would be much larger.

All good things from my opinion.

Interest in club is somewhat detracted by this very site. People are to busy to join clubs and for that quick bit of information jump onto the forums to find out. THe clubs are really more of a social event where you chat and talk about the same stuff.

I would rather people join the clubs and come along and chat and maybe get invovled in organising discus shows and the like to display our stunning fish to more people. Clubs also provide a mechanism tro trade fish and make good contacts with people as well.

Wayne

[marg]

Proteus and Wayne :

I would be interested in your idea.

I have been wanting to go to Sydney to join up and attend some meeting but unfortunately that's not too easy for me.

If you decide to go ahead with your idea, count me in.,

Regards,

Marg,

[Daetarek]

Should have a yearly camp/bbq weekend :)

[marg]

What a great idea Daetarek!!

We could have it at a nice time of year when the weather is good (not too hot, nor too cold) and turn it into a big day - have some Experts there to speak with us who want to learn more in regards to say Feeding, Breeding, Worming and General Care - We could have a Raffle and a Lucky Door Prize and perhaps People could bring along Fish or any excess Equipment that they want to sell, maybe have an Auction of goods (talk to some of our sponsors about that - they might kindly donate things) to try and raise Funds to help the Discus Association, put some faces to names and generally have a good time.

Something like the gathering that was held at Ladyreds' late last year (which I unfortunately missed), but on a bigger scale. If it was well planned I am sure that most of us who could would be prepared to travel and make a good Day/Night of it.

I would be really interested. What does everyone else think?

Regards,

Marg.

[Merrilyn]

Sounds like a great idea. I'm in.

[Daetarek]

I think if its arranged properly in advance, say for some time oct to dec, everyone could find some time for a weekend and we could all get together, both socially and for the hobby .... it would be cool :) I wanna meet everyone and also you learn a lot more face to face.

Also if we wanted to create additional awareness of the ADA, we could get in touch with some of the hobby mags and see if they can do an article on it !!!

Just a couple of thoughts but whatever is decided i am in :)

ta
Rob

[Daetarek]

I have been thinking about this a bit more, and hope i am not overstepping my bounds but a few suggestions ....

1) We need to find a location suitable for everyone where there is adequate accomodation, i have a few friends in hotels on the north and south coast of NSW who may be able to give us a group discount, but there is also camping parks near by :) for those on a budget

2) We need somewhere where we can get a hall

3) BBQ facilities a must :)

4) an idea of numbers would be good

5) not too far for fishies to travel

6) some activities, like workshops on making beef heart mix for example

7) a sponsor or two would be good

8) a competition of some kind

9) some speakers on basic through advanced discus care

10) make sure its FUN :lol:

any other thoughts, should we make this a different thread, with a poll for an idea of numbers, maybe even a sticky so its up top for a while to give us more exposure

ta
Rob

[marg]

You have some good ideas Daetark.

Maybe some of our Sponsors would be interested in donating prizes for Raffles/Comps (after all, through this site we purchase products from them) - Maybe some of the sponsors would be interested in sending along a rep. (like Kevcoi - we could double up on him - he might give a talk of some sort seeing as he is so knowledgable on Discus) - if they were to send along a rep. I am sure it would be a profitable day and night for them : after listening to some of the speakers most of us would get new inspirations and stock up on items. They could possibly set up a smal;l stand each and stock it with commonly used items (fish foods, filters, heaters).

A Motel that was prepared to give a group discount would be a great idea - make it easier on those of us who are on limited budgets.

September/October would be a good time - nice springtime weather - everyone starting to come out of hibernation and full of energy and ideas!!

If it was held on a Saturday & Saturday Night, then on our way home all of us Interstate members could visit the Sponsors e.g. SLS, Extreme on our way home and stock up on goodies.

I think this idea has great potential. What does evereyone else think :) :) ?

Regards,

Marg.

[goldenpigeon]

awesome!!

[Daetarek]

Anyone had any further thoughts on this ?

Rob