Any Youngsters In Your Club?

[MattyB]

On 02/08/2023 at 10:10, Brian Cooper said:

Yes, we have three active youngsters, but fewer juniors are committing to join the hobby. 

Nowadays they refer instant gratification (video games) rather than having to put in the hours required to master a real-life skill. 

However, we still have some who are bright enough to keep their noses away from staring at a mobile phone for hour after hour. 

 

Counter argument - the skills they develop playing and using games and social media can support young people in developing in very effective careers.

 

I am a parent of a 9 and a 14 year old, and sure, keeping their noses out of screens can be hard, but that's not to say the skills they learn when using them are entirely invalid in the world of employment. Case in point - my neighbours son is a game designer and tester, and seems to be doing very well career wise despite a youth you may consider "wasted". It may be easy to simplify things to "old things good, new stuff bad", but it doesn't necessarily play out that way later on.

[aidan mcatamney]

4 minutes ago, MattyB said:

 

I'm not sure I understand your point tbh... You seem to be saying that if no-one in any age-group takes up the hobby, then a club will struggle. I think we can all agree on that!

 

@Ron Gray's and @extra slim's point (which I agree with) is that far more beginners are in the 35+ range than <25, and those people tend to stick around longer too. Given that, if you are trying to encourage newcomers then focussing your efforts on that demographic is likely to be more successful in keeping your club vibrant. TBH I think this has always been the case - even when I was growing up in the 80s there were very few junior members of the clubs I frequented, but plenty in the 40-65 demographic whose time and resources were more plentiful. Those people also tend to be more useful to the club in terms of doing maintenance and filling committee positions (not many teenagers want or could be trusted to man the ride on mower...!). 

My point is very easy to understand.   I'm just referring solely to my club in Ireland and I will put you in the picture. We have a very small membership and 99 percent of our members are over the age of 70 and 80 years of age.  We have had no new members join our club for donkeys years and those men now in their 70s and 80s have been flying since the 1960s and they are slowly dying off one by one.  So you see the problem, with nobody joining there will will be no one left in the club to keep it going and it will eventually cease to exist.  I'm not speaking for clubs in England,  Scotland or Wales.  I'm speaking for my own area and sadly these are the facts for what is happening here.  Good luck to everyone else though,  I wish you well.