Club membership and growth data
Maroc has always had a strong junior section driven by several key individuals over the years. Club membership had been declining for a couple of years around 2013/14, but a new active recruitment drive was initiated in Feb 2015 with the help of a part-time Club Development Officer role. Membership has now stabilised out at around 170 members, but this requires active recruitment every year; 58 of the 2015 club members are no longer in the club (33% turnover in 3 years). 22 2018 members have an SOA only membership.
|
2018 (to Aug 7th) |
2017 |
2016 |
2015 |
2014 |
Adults |
93 |
83 |
75 |
79 |
60 |
Juniors |
94 |
87 |
93 |
87 |
60 |
Total |
187 |
170 |
168 |
166 |
120 |
Family Units |
32 |
33 |
35 |
35 |
24 |
Family Members |
100 |
102 |
101 |
98 |
68 |
Activities targeted at juniors and families
The club runs a number of activities to attract and retain young people and families. For newcomers to the sport this includes:
For members that have reached technical levels equivalent to light green or TD4 standard, further training and participation opportunities are available:
The club aims to develop a strong social setting for junior members by coordinating group activities:
Challenges
A particular challenge for Maroc is that membership turnover is high due to the demographics of the area (juniors move away at 18 and we often lose parents from the club at that stage also). Hence maintaining a recruitment drive is essential and needs the same things doing again and again and again…
Bridging the gap between the after-school club and mainstream club sessions needs effort. We have recently had something like a 50% success rate with this, through working hard on communications with parents. We have also had a number of youngsters who have gained a massive amount from the after-school club without ever attending club sessions and we shouldn’t undervalue the importance of this.
Despite a lot of effort we still get occasional feedback that newcomers have found it hard to get integrated in the club and that the whole set-up of the sport is intimidating.
As everywhere else, our volunteer resources are limited and we do ask a lot of our members in terms of contributing to organising, planning and coaching. We believe that a strong coaching workforce is really beneficial for the club but there is a constant need to keep encouraging people to train as coaches, even many who are quite new to the sport themselves.
Lessons
Club training sessions are much more social than events, especially for newcomers, as everyone is there at the same time and in the same place. Our number one rule for Sunday training is “Don’t let parents of newcomers drop and run”. If parents can be encouraged to stay and help with shadowing, then there is an opportunity to socialise and (in due course) offer a chance to participate for themselves. Those that don’t want to participate can still be involved by helping out with signing in and out etc.
We don’t run after-school clubs for free (this is mandatory in some local authorities). Charging for after-school club sessions is likely to reduce numbers but should give a more focused and interested group that is easier to work with. An added bonus is that it can cover the costs for a paid coach.
Juniors are more likely to stay involved if they have a peer group to socialise with and opportunities should be encouraged for this to develop (den building and pine-cone warfare can both have their place at training sessions).
Older juniors (generally 16+) are a useful volunteer resource themselves and can gain much from the input that they give. This might include helping to plan and organise events or mentor and shadow younger athletes at some training sessions. This also helps foster role models and develop club spirit.