How do you get people to join clubs?

RayCun

Following on from the Irish Runner thread.

Massive, ongoing recreational running boom. Most of those runners aren't in clubs. How do you get them in?

What's worked for your club?
What do you think would work, but hasn't been tried?
What has persuaded people you know to go from running on their own, or in informal groups, to join a club?

gerard65

Would'nt want to be in any club who'd have someone like me as a member:pac:
Whats the benefit of joining a club?

RayCun

Short answer - training in a group is better (more fun, more challenging), you're more motivated in races, and you get to race in things that are only for club runners.

But we've had the why join a club? threads before. I don't know if we've had threads about what has worked for getting people to join.

gerard65

I can do all that not been in a club. You'll have to sell it better than that. Maybe thats whats wrong - nobody sells it.

robinph

Woddle having crazy ideas is what worked on me. That eased me into the concept and now I'm in another club and winning medals.

Really not sure what would have enticed me into a club othwise, but BoardsAC was the right thing at the right time. It is tricky to convince people of the benefits until they join a club though.

shels4ever

You will get more people to join clubs by having more events. Not just the usually road races etc. If each club house had a full bar you would prob see membership go up also - lots of people coming in on sunday to watch to footy, just like the GAA clubs .

robinph

Chat to people after races. Tell them that they are plenty good enough and clubs cater for all abilities.

Most people won't believe you though.

Make sure that as many of the clubs members are taking part in races and that it's not just the fastest that get looked after. People will tell their friends and they will then join.

sideswipe

robinph wrote: »

Chat to people after races. Tell them that they are plenty good enough and clubs cater for all abilities.

Most people won't believe you though.

Make sure that as many of the clubs members are taking part in races and that it's not just the fastest that get looked after. People will tell their friends and they will then join.

This^^

Plenty trying to sell races...none trying to sell clubs.

johnners2981

I'm in the opposite boat, I love running and would love to join a club.

Not sure how to go about it though or even if there are any in my area.

I've never ran a timed 100m/200m/400m and it's a hope of mine to run some competitive sprints, mainly due to reading some of the training logs here on boards. But I'd say I'd be more competitive in 1k-8k races though.

Plus it'd also be nice to be doing some proper race training and not just doing my own stuff

ThisRegard

I'd like to join a club but it's the commitment to scheduled sessions that's the problem I have.

One of the great things about running is being able to go out to suit yourself, be it around family commitments or getting caught up with work. I'm still contemplating joining up but I'd probably only ever make one session a week.

RacoonQueen

johnners2981 wrote: »

I'm in the opposite boat, I love running and would love to join a club.

Not sure how to go about it though or even if there are any in my area.

Where are you based?

rom

For me I don't want someone giving me non constructive criticism even if I am doing a lot wrong. Now I must say I am not in a club but am going to join one for the long weekend runs but I am not much interested in the track sessions. If its coached like everything else in Ireland then there might be one good coach for every 3 that negative. Also I think that the reason is that why people go mad that Jedward ran the LA marathon in a time that they would a lot better than if they actually trained. There is a lot of people who don't want to be great or the best they can be at running but there probably is little place for them in a club setup. For example tag rugby has a huge take up, why cause its advertised as fun and a social thing. Its a setup where people are not too worried about ability as its not taken as the end all and be all. If there was more places to cycle and cycle lanes then more people would be on bikes. Its a way to keep fit for for most people. I think once people get to stage where they want to run more than do any other sport then thats when they join a club.

Woddle

Selling it to family and friends is a start, maybe stress the family part. I was the first in my family to join tallaght, I then got my daughter involved as well as a kid my parents look after. Then I invited two of Emily's friends up, I then followed that up with my uncle and three cousins and as of last week my uncle has sold the club to his friend and his wife. That's 11 people and I think what's sold them all was a super track, friendly (no pressure) atmosphere and information. My uncle and his three daughters had no idea that 150 people are running on a Tuesday and Thursday evening on a hidden track and park at the back of a gym. Get the kids in and make it fun and more will follow.

RayCun

ThisRegard wrote: »

I'm still contemplating joining up but I'd probably only ever make one session a week.

That's pretty common. I was talking to Chinguetti today about clubs, and one problem he raised was that he didn't want to let people down by not showing up for a session.
But that's more of a problem for small, informal running groups - where it's just you and a couple of mates saying "meet here for intervals". In a club where there's 50 people who could be there at any given session, it doesn't matter if some have to bail at the last minute.

rom wrote: »

Now I must say I am not in a club but am going to join one for the long weekend runs but I am not much interested in the track sessions...There is a lot of people who don't want to be great or the best they can be at running but there probably is little place for them in a club setup... Its a setup where people are not too worried about ability as its not taken as the end all and be all.

It's really about picking the right club for you. Go along to one or two sessions, see what the standard is like, see what kind of training they do, see what the atmosphere is like.

menoscemo

RayCun wrote: »

That's pretty common. I was talking to Chinguetti today about clubs, and one problem he raised was that he didn't want to let people down by not showing up for a session.
But that's more of a problem for small, informal running groups - where it's just you and a couple of mates saying "meet here for intervals". In a club where there's 50 people who could be there at any given session, it doesn't matter if some have to bail at the last minute.

+1 on that. I am in Tallaght and I only turn up once every fortnight for sessions (if that) as they often don't suit my schedule. Still feel more than welcome when I do turn up as most of the lads are the same; they don't turn up for every session.

robinph

There are two "official" club training sessions each week, I mostly only turn up to one of them lately and it makes no difference if you turn up or not you do what you want to do.
There are then several other more informal sessions through the week for different things and different people turn up to the one that is relevant to them, or fits around what they want to do. Some people go along for track stuff with our partner club, some people go for a long run every Saturday and then stop for coffee and several cakes at a cafe afterwards...etc
Then there are people that I only see at races because for whatever reason they can't or don't want to turn up for the training sessions.

There is never any pressure on people to turn up, only that if you put your name down for a team race you turn up or that you help out in some way at the club races if you can.

"I'm not good enough" is not a reason to not join a club, they are probably just not promoting their ... erm... more normal runners as much as they should be.
"I don't want the pressure" is not a reason as the clubs will never be putting you under more pressure to do anything than you want, although if you turn out to be the next superstar in some event they may.

johnners2981

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Where are you based?

Muineachan

the_syco

How about print off a few t-shirts that say

Bobs Running Club
Dublin

search for "bobs running club" on facebook

And then go running in two groups; one at a fast paced jog and another bunch going at a more casual jog along somewhere that others may be running, with the people at the back having some leaflets that they could hand out?

Two groups, so you'd get those who want to run fast, and those who run slow now, but want to join a running club.

MrCreosote

Get rid of the club running vest as the preferred attire. Ok maybe to have it on during a race but it should be covered before and immediately after with something more suitable. They send out the wrong message.

robinph

MrCreosote wrote: »

Get rid of the club running vest as the preferred attire. Ok maybe to have it on during a race but it should be covered before and immediately after with something more suitable. They send out the wrong message.

We have a long and short sleeve tshirt that people can get as well. You only have to wear the vest if competing in some race at the sharp end. A lot of people just use the tshirt as training tops so you get people dressed in identifiable club gear at most sessions.

I don't think bothering people actually on their own runs is a good idea, but having people out there running in club gear, not looking as if they are on a starvation diet and running at a pace which doesn't need a high speed camera to be able to spot them, and looking as if you are having fun. People see you out there enough and they will eventually think you are a fun bunch of people who they would like to join.

gnu

I'd love to join a club. None of my friends run and it would be lovely to have some running company sometimes or even just know some people who get how fantastic it feels to run And since I finished my 5k plan I've been a bit lost and never sure if I'm doing too much or too little so would love guidance on strength and cross training. I up my mileage then cut back if something hurts, very frustrating.

I saw that DSDAC has a Meet and Train group for the Women's Mini Marathon and thought it would be perfect until I saw their slow group was faster than my pace (unless I'm really really pushing it). Everything I've read seems to agree that newbies like me shouldn't push too hard I'll get a proper injury if I try to keep up, I already have niggly knee and foot pains that come and go and don't want anything to set in. So what would encourage me to join a club is simply having a slower "slow lane" for people like me. Once I am faster (if it ever happens!), I do plan to join a club though.

RacoonQueen

johnners2981 wrote: »

Muineachan

Monaghan Phoenix AC? I think Domer who posts on here is involved with them.

Donelson

An open day! and some ricecrispy buns.,

Seriously, all of us here have a good idea what goes on in a club, but if your new to running or sport in general, I can only guess what goes threw your head.

Second, no one likes being the newbie, and definitely not the only newbie, so if there was an open day then hopefully you could get a few newbie's to sign up together.

jb-ski

But do club's want new members??

What do you do with new members?
Who coaches them, mentors them, babysits them?

I would definitely encourage ALL runners to get involved in a club, but remember that it is a CLUB typically run by volunteers so be prepared to give something back.
Ask if you can help out with something.

Otherwise go to Bootcamp or Running camp, pay your 6/9 euro per session, have some fun and everyone is happy.

I'm sure the top clubs would love a few more 'elite standard athletes', I'm really talking about the average fun :eek: runner who wants to improve their race times etc & join a network of other runners.

RayCun

jb-ski wrote: »

But do club's want new members??

What do you do with new members?
Who coaches them, mentors them, babysits them?

I would definitely encourage ALL runners to get involved in a club, but remember that it is a CLUB typically run by volunteers so be prepared to give something back.
Ask if you can help out with something.
Otherwise go to Bootcamp or Running camp, pay your 6/9 euro per session, have some fun and everyone is happy.

Some of the more established members can take the opportunity to give something back, by coaching, mentoring, and babysitting them? Sending people to Bootcamp instead of trying to integrate them into the club structure looks like short-termist thinking. How can we complain about the money going to commercial races and out of the sport, if we send people to commercial trainers, and out of the sport?

gymfreak

Donelson wrote: »

An open day! and some ricecrispy buns.,

Seriously, all of us here have a good idea what goes on in a club, but if your new to running or sport in general, I can only guess what goes threw your head.

Second, no one likes being the newbie, and definitely not the only newbie, so if there was an open day then hopefully you could get a few newbie's to sign up together.

I think that's pretty much it in a nutshell!! Open days are definitely a great way of getting new members. I know I've tried out a few different sports/gyms because I went to an open day and met friendly people that encouraged me to join.

With regards to running clubs, I was doing a good bit of running a year ago and emailed a running club about beginner sessions/to just give them the heads up that I'd be heading down..received no email in response so just assumed that they werent interested in beginners so left it at that!

I still think Open Days are a great way for beginners to get their foot in the door:)

BeepBeep67

To be honest 90% of club members join from word of mouth and the other 10% are probably runners relocating and looking for a club. I'm not sure what gains can be made from actively recruiting (effort vs reward).
Have a strong club ethos, focus on offering your existing members a great experience and they will spread the word for you.

jb-ski

RayCun wrote: »

Some of the more established members can take the opportunity to give something back, by coaching, mentoring, and babysitting them?

Of course 'they' can!

Ideal world vs Real world:).

I'm just not convinced that all clubs want/need/can deal with large amounts of new members, so they don't recruit aggressively for that reason.

The 'send them to Bootcamp' was aimed the 'here's a few bob, i'm not interested in getting involved with a club' cohort, and that's perfectly legitimate & they may decide to move into the club scene later.

I haven't read the Irish Runner thread so didn't realise this thread was also about money going to commercial races and out of the sport, don't get me started on that one:mad::).

(i'll answer your original question later re what we've done in our club,however in the meantime i'm interested in seeing what the response is like here. J )

MrCreosote

jb-ski wrote: »

I'm just not convinced that all clubs want/need/can deal with large amounts of new members, so they don't recruit aggressively for that reason.

I haven't read the Irish Runner thread so didn't realise this thread was also about money going to commercial races and out of the sport, don't get me started on that one:mad::).

You don't think the two things are linked- clubs not bothered with new members and commercial races taking over?

pconn062

MrCreosote wrote: »

Get rid of the club running vest as the preferred attire. Ok maybe to have it on during a race but it should be covered before and immediately after with something more suitable. They send out the wrong message.

I'm a bit confused about this, what do you mean they send out the wrong message?

jb-ski

MrCreosote wrote: »

and commercial races taking over?

not sure where i said anything about 'commercial races taking over'


Anyway back on topic, I have now read the very interesting Irish Runner article, & understand RayCun's original question.

Get 2/3 enthusiastic motivated people who are allowed work independently of the 'committay'.
1 social media guy, 1 designer/printer type, 1 'zealot'.
Decide on most likely local audience i.e. young single folk, young/not so young couples/parents.
Put up posters locally e.g. Fit4Life group training time, link to Club website & Facebook page.
Put up more posters locally.
Be visible on local runs as group.
Get club T-shirts, Jacket (need not be expensive)
Run a Couch-2-5k programme.
Have plenty of social evenings; presentation on nutrition, from Physio, top athlete etc etc.
And most importantly 'meet & run', 'meet & run', 'meet & run', take pictures of group at every opportunity and post to FB.
Have fun on training nights, vary training sessions.
And much more.....

Challenges to overcome;
How much for membership??
Getting 'coaches', mentors, leaders.
Retaining a club 'vibe', (not a 'so what do I get for my money' issue).
Be prepared for resistance from die-hard 'Athletics Club' folk who may be uncomfortable with all these 'fun-runner' folks who haven't spent 40 years standing around mucky fields & are now 'taking over' (using computers, doing things differently & all that modern stuff!)


I still would like to see EVIDENCE that clubs & the AAI are really interested in increasing adult 'fun-runner' membership.