I run the Reneaissance Academy up North in Bradford England, Average age is one of the motivations behind setting up an access point so league clubs can request players when they are short. This year alone we have set up 3 teams for 3 different clubs (filled with juniors and their parents) and already started to get older juniors to play for other teams around the district. The average age of Bradford and District Chess Ass went up 12 months every year, it just dropped when we set up the Academy. How do you recruit new players?
Renegade (Charles)
The increase in the average age is not confined to chess clubs. Young people tend to make less formal groupings unless they've been club-trained in school. My own family's experience - ski club, chess clubs, amateur radio club, golf club, PC user club, woodworking club - shows average age +40 except for the ski club, which has no trouble adding the children of existing members to its list. But new members still keep appearing, they just start after age 40 mostly.
Ealing Chess Club now has it's highest ever membership (around 50) and that's saying something as the club began in 1885 so is one of the oldest in the country. A number of the new intake got into chess via the internet and fancy playing OTB...so in a round about way internet chess is helping the club grow. But at 45 I'm still one of the youngsters although the demographic is changing as more young(er) players come in. Sadly there isn't a junior section at the moment.
Originally posted by MahoutBradford Chess Club started in 1853 and has a similar problem to this day, there ar some very good ways of getting new players, but do you want to know how?
Ealing Chess Club now has it's highest ever membership (around 50) and that's saying something as the club began in 1885 so is one of the oldest in the country. A number of the new intake got into chess via the internet and fancy playing OTB...so in a round about way internet chess is helping the club grow. But at 45 I'm still one of the youngsters although ...[text shortened]... hanging as more young(er) players come in. Sadly there isn't a junior section at the moment.
Universities are where it's at. My club has
Age : Quantity
10-19 : 2 people who show only during the summer. All others seem to come once, lose lots of games and not return. We need to work on teaching and having fun and less of our usually shenanigans.
20-29 : Two of us and two more guys who occasionally make the trip from the University of Iowa (35 minutes away). One school teacher who shows up about 5x a year.
30-39 : 3 regulars and 5 guys who come once in awhile.
40 - 49 : 1 regular and 4 guys who show up rarely.
50 : 1 regular and two guys who come when their not in Florida.