by Rhys Evans, Treasurer, MTAA
Merthyr in the fifties and sixties was served by two local angling clubs. Merthyr and District and St Tydfil’s Angling.
When both applied separately to fish the local councils fishing rights it left the council in a difficult position as it felt both had equal merit. Then in their wisdom the council suggested we joined together. This was not a prospect that the older more entrenched committee man in those days, thought was a very palatable project.
However, some of the younger committee saw merit in doing this. It should be said that one of the clubs was a Game fishing club and the other was formed to improve the coarse fishing. In those days Game and Coarse were shall I say poles apart. They still are today but they are now better able to accept each other’s points of view under the general banner of Fishing which should be the goals of all angling clubs. The areas of England and Wales due to geography very often dictates the quality and quantity of the availability of each of the branches of the sport. Some areas are blessed with lots of river and game fishing including reservoirs and other more natural or artificial lakes that are better for coarse fishing?? I should clarify some reservoirs due mainly to the cost of restocking these days have been turned into coarse fisheries.
However back to my original point of view. After some heated discussions it was agreed that the two clubs AMALGAMATE. This led to those older members walking away. With a few exceptions.
The set up was simple we all became members of the Merthyr Tydfil Angling Association. Our constitution was very simple but in those days before the advent of corporate advance things were simpler. ‘’ to rent any fishing that we could and to convert where possible rentals into leases with the final provisor that where possible we would purchase. A very considerable goal as at that time funds were not plentiful. The slogan of united we stand divided we fall comes to mind. In the case of our two clubs UNITED has proved very fruitful.
In the autumn of 1967, we came together. I took over as treasurer of the club in the AGM of 1970. Previous to this I had been the PRESS REPRESENTAIVE, media today. One of the problems was that everyone was looking to pay the least membership fees with no thought of the future, I argued that for the club to progress it needed to be more businesslike i.e. a small surplus (I felt this was a better explanation than profit. Profit indicated in those days that someone other than members were receiving a benefit) to take into the following year. With the aim at some point to be able to have a surplus of at least one year’s trading. Running a fishing club can be very disconcerting as you never know from one year to the next if your membership will remain the same, go down or in some cases go up.
Gradually the trials of the amalgamation faded and harmony ensued. The early years showed a steady increase in membership but nothing dramatic even when our purchase of a salmon fishing beat in 1979 was completed. This however twelve years after our amalgamation began to show that our efforts to be more business like was showing results. Then in 1987 we purchased another salmon beat that saw our membership go for the first time above one thousand. This has varied between that figure and down to a figure seven hundred until 2020. All this was taking a lot of time and effort in bookkeeping, ETC. I know as I still have the books.
Recapping. All the years before much of the work was done by hand with a computer programme helping to track membership. However, we went from a time when we had several people selling permits all who needed contacting regularly, to postal applications. All this fell on the shoulders of one man the treasurer. However just to emphasise the responsibility of the funds still entailed much bookwork and many many hours of work. A word of advice in the year 2000 we became a company LTD by Guarantee. This was in response to a liability claim that could have left the Trustees out of pocket. I would recommend all Associations look at this route. Another salutary warning make sure you keep your signatories up to date. I have seen several clubs in trouble when suddenly older signatories pass away and are not replaced. The banks are not very kind when you are not able to comply with your current mandate to make a change.
Again, no matter how we changed our mode of working the responsibility of banking book keeping was forever present. We spoke many times of trying to set up online but with the treasures age advancing it was one of those ‘’is this a step to far decision’’. Partly because his wife a very important cog was only a pen and paper girl as she used to say.
As treasurer I decided that although active it was not in the best interest of the association should something untoward happen, for me to stay in post. We were very lucky to have one of our younger members as secretary and he stepped up to the treasurer’s post.
A few years ago, when Merthyr Tydfil Angling Alliance was looking for a way to sell permits online, Clubmate was recommended to us. At the time, we approached the idea with some apprehension. As a traditionally “old school” club, and mindful that many organisations have come and gone over the years, the committee carefully considered whether such a move was right for us. With no requirement for long-term commitment, we agreed there was enough merit in what was being offered to at least request a demonstration.
That demonstration was delivered by Owen Chapman and it quickly reassured us. Clubmate offered exactly what we were looking for: a ready-built digital membership and booking management system designed to reduce administration, manage payments efficiently, and help attract new members. Crucially, there was no complicated setup required. Both our Treasurer and Secretary immediately saw the benefits and fully embraced the platform.
It soon became clear just how much work Clubmate was saving our officers. While we initially retained some of our traditional processes, such as accepting cash for permits and day tickets, we were able to phase these out gradually. This steady transition proved to be the right approach. Year on year, as online systems have become more widely accepted, our members have increasingly preferred applying and booking online. Our newer officers, making full use of Clubmate’s expanding range of tools, have also benefited from the company’s continual development and forward-looking approach.
The results have been outstanding. From 2020 onwards, our membership began to grow, and this trend has continued. In 2025, our membership reached 1417, the highest level the Association has ever recorded, almost double what it was in 2020.
The benefits we have gained include:
- Almost all administration now handled online, with minimal banking required
- Our website built by Clubmate
- Club maps produced by Clubmate
- No need to print competition sheets or membership application forms
- Significant savings on postage costs
- Online booking for waters that require advance reservations, removing the need to take telephone messages
- Newsletters, updates, and publications sent directly to members with a single click
- Membership details readily available to authorised bailiffs when required
Clubmate’s continual development and innovative approach have made running our Association far easier and far more efficient than ever before.
Do we recommend Clubmate?
Absolutely – yes.