Mel Jones Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I am the membership secretary for a small club in Solihull, we have 37 club members, the clubs facilities are modest being a mown area in the centre of a field we rent from the farmer. The club gets positive comments on the friendly atmosphere from visitors. So I ask why is it that the attendance on the club meeting days is so poor with only 5 or 6 members turning up to fly? Do other clubs have a similar experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Our membership is about the same as yours. We've got three or four regulars who turn up whenever weather permits, and on a good day we probably get about ten flyers. In summer it's sometimes worse because of holidays and, as many of us get older, we often don't fly in weather that wouldn't have troubled us 10 or 20 years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Its been the same every single year these last 20 years Mel My club has run about 20% of club total all this time We have 6 out of 30 on a good day, but usually 4 flyers. If you discover the secret ingredient that is missing, then please tell me Like you, we have a great mown strip in an isolated, non noise sensitive area, with a huge sky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I have been a member of three clubs, all similar size.... same experience! GG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bisset Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I'd agree with the others posting - this seems normal. Not just in model flying; in both my nearby gliding clubs it is much the same, with a few keen folk almost always there and the rest being occasional 'visitors'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Out of around 60 members, we have perhaps 10 members who can be relied on to be at the field a couple of times a week, work and other commitments permitting, another 15 - 20 who turn up on a fairly regular basis and the rest are seen a few times during the year...or not even at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Much the same in France, except our age profile is a bit more all ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Mel, if you are talking about actual meetings then over in Coleshill I think it's a similar situation. I don't know for sure because I don't attend club meetings as a rule, but then I have a sicknote from my mum. Unless your meeting room has the space for indoor flying, swap meets, visiting speakers and the like then I suspect you are only likely to get commitee members and those living close to the meeting site. We've gone down from weekly club nights to once a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Laughton Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Yep that was the case with our club and now there are no club meetings save for the occasional special one and the AGM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin b Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Now you know why model shops are closing and manufacturers are going bust ! It is the same with our (very) small club. Although many people have more leisure time these days there seems to be more to fill it. Particularly with interests that require less brain input and dexterity than ours. Creativity seems to have been replaced with instant gratification. I also think that the changing weather patterns over the last few years are not helping. People try to plan their activities well in advance these days and we just cannot do that, having to make the best of any opportunities as they present themselves. There is no answer. Just enjoy your hobby as much as possible and encourage anyone else who shows an interest in joining you. That is what I am doing. The good side is that our hobby has never been so inexpensive and I for one am making the best of it while it lasts ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Posted by Mel Jones on 01/07/2019 09:28:47: I am the membership secretary for a small club in Solihull, we have 37 club members, the clubs facilities are modest being a mown area in the centre of a field we rent from the farmer. The club gets positive comments on the friendly atmosphere from visitors. So I ask why is it that the attendance on the club meeting days is so poor with only 5 or 6 members turning up to fly? Do other clubs have a similar experience? Don’t get too despondent. Our club is exactly the same. In my view, a club’s main aim is to get on well with its neighbors and have a good working relationship with all nearby clubs. That way the club can stay open due to no noise issues and interact with other local fliers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lee Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I am a Member of a small Club which this year started a 'WhatsApp' Group for Members which enables very quick & easy passing of the 'Who's going flying' type of messages, which have been successful in increasing flying field attendance. Out of a Membership of 24, sixteen have joined the WhatsApp Group & we typically see a third to half the Membership on our 2 main flying days a week. There has also been a noticeable increase in attendance on other days when if someone posts, eg, 'Lovely day I'm going down the strip at 2pm' invariably they will have company. On the back of this a local Slope Soaring Club, which I am also a Member of, have also started a WhatsApp Group which has also proved popular. In each case WhatsApp is a supplement, and not a substitute, for other Club communications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Pretty much the same as Martin's club here. I am one of the fairly regular ones because of the distance. I also fly hand launch types at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Try Teamup, it’s a free on line calendar/ events system that can be linked to your own calendars. You put up a day / time when you plan to go flying then all members get notified about the event and also when others add their names as attendees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowerman Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I am a member of a kit car club with a couple of hundred registered members but only abouit 20 turn up for AGMs, camping weekends, Christmas d'dos, and shows ( even when the bbq is free) It is not just model clubs that suffer from poor attendance and apathy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reno Racer Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I am one of those nasty non attenders. I used to fly regularly at my club and very regularly when living in the US, but now I struggle to find time. It doesn’t mean the desire and commitment has gone, quite the contrary. I haven’t flown at the club site since Aug last year, although I have flown a few models at work before we open; I’m an airport manager so have plenty of space and my own authority to fly in the FRZ. I have also built a 1/4 scale Nieuport 17, a Wingbat 48e and assembled lost of ARFs and am a committed builder. My problem is, that between running an airport, being a full size pilot and normal family commitments (9 yr old), I don’t seem to get time and when I do,the weather is bad, so I potter off and build some more planes or tinker. I'm hoping this week to get to the field..... i sense, I’m not alone here and not have the luxury (I look forward to)of having more time retired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Yes, we have 14 members but the usual turnout if 5 or 6 and 9 or very rare occasions. And out of those three do all the mowing of our two acre field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucksboy Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 We've got one hundred members and struggle to get people to the field. Not that I can talk, I work abroad so I'm one of the 85 who rarely attend. We've got a camera that can be accessed via the club website. The idea being that you can see the pits area and car park so you can see who else is there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tee Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 We are a medium + club with a cap of 100 members and a waiting list. Sunday, the traditonal flying day can be quite quiet, but with the boom in electric flying and the availablity of the field 7 days a week for electric and gliders ( power Wed.s pm , Saturday all day and Sunday am) many members fly any day so we don't get a large turn out except on special events. We are required by the club to sign in anyone on the field flying or not so we see a good spread of members over the week when we check the logbook. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Small club here, 45 ish members. Probably 10 real regular flyers in there, another 10 regular(ish) flyers, and the rest are occasionals. Wed evening / weekend slots tend to be well attended if the weather is good. Monthly evening club meetings, I can rarely make them (young family, etc) - same for weekend flying. I usually get to the patch in a "stretched" work lunchtime, which is one of the quietest times at the patch, or for the Wednesday evening slot. To the rest of the club I don't look that regular! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel Jones Posted July 1, 2019 Author Share Posted July 1, 2019 Well it seems that our club is not alone when it comes to poor turnout, I am not sure whether to be happy about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Hammond Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Then they moan in the winter when flying is impossible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 My club has a cap on membership at 160 members at the request of the Farmer who owns the land.It is always full with people on a waiting list to join. I Have been a member since 2009. In all that time I doubt if I have met more than 50 members! Its always the same 20 or 30 that seem to be the ones who might be there on any given day. Much the same crowd on cleanup days. We have had discussions about stopping people being members if they never attend, so as to let some in off the waiting list, but its a difficult one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I used to be a member of a 100 member club. With a waiting list. The bloke who serviced my car was a flyer, and he was teaching his son to fly. He moaned that he passed the gates to the club, locked, no one flying, far more often than not. I raised the issue, suggesting we increase the membership numbers. Shot down in flames, by a comment of a long term member. "I like it as it is, and what happens if they all turn up" And I could not decide if I wished to strangle him, or buy him a pint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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