Athletics Ireland release club stats for April 2017

Athletics Ireland recently released the membership stats for all the athletic clubs in Ireland as of the end of April 2017.

For the first few months of the year, the membership stats don't have much value as they can often can just show how good clubs are at getting renewals in rather than their actual size. By the end of April, the true size of the respective clubs can be seen .

These are the athletic clubs in Cork with more than 50 adult members...

Club (Seniors & Masters) (End of April 2017)   
Leevale AC    193
Ballymore Cobh AC    181
Mallow AC    169
Eagle AC        166
Midleton AC    158
Youghal AC    147
Ballintotis Fit4Life    136
Bandon AC    132
St.Finbarrs AC    129
Togher AC    125
Watergrasshill AC    106
Dromahane Road Runners    102
St.Nicholas AC    100
Aghada Running Club    94
Grange Fermoy AC    84
Tracton AC    68
North Cork AC    68
Bweeng Trailblazers    62
St.Catherines AC    60
Carrigtwohill AC    59
Clonakilty Runners AC    54
Bantry AC    51


In 2015, there were 18 clubs with 50 or more adult members. In 2016, it was 21. This year, it's 22.

The number of adults in athletic clubs in Cork has grown by 10% in the last 12 months. 97% of that 10% growth was due to an increase in members in the 'masters' category, i.e. aged 35 and above.

In comparison to 12 months ago, there are a number of changes in those clubs with 50 or more adult members. These are the main movers...

Increases...
1) Leevale AC...up 44.
2) Bandon AC...up 44.
3) St.Nicholas AC...up 41.
4) Aghada Running Club...up 32.
5) Carrigtwohill AC...up 30.
6) Carrigaline Road Runners...up 26.
7) Mallow AC...plus 24.

Decreases...
1) Rosscarbery Steam Runners AC...down 38.
2) Clonakilty Runners AC...down 20.
3) Skibbereen AC...down 11.

It's interesting to note that the 3 clubs showing the biggest losses are all in West Cork.




Here are some of the changes in graphical format...

a) Leevale AC has seen a big jump in numbers since April 2016. It's very likely that the opening of their high performance centre had something to do with this.

b) Mallow AC have retained a lot of their members from the end of 2016 and it's very likely that if they hold another successful Couch to 5k programme again, they will end the year as the largest club.

c) After a big drop in 2016, Bandon AC have recovered a lot of lost ground and have attracted more members.

d) St.Nicholas AC who are based in Castlelyons continue to attract new members.

e) The chart above shows where a lot of the growth in athletic club membership is coming from small regional clubs.

Some points...
1) Clubs with Fit4Life beginner programmes tend to have a large membership. There are plenty of smaller clubs that are more focused on other areas like track and field and the faster end of road running.

2) Adult membership tends to reflect the clubs active in road races. There are plenty of clubs with lots of juvenile members but the number of adults coaching them would be relatively small.

3) These stats are for clubs registered with Athletics Ireland. There are a growing number of small running clubs who are doing their own thing.

You can find the stats for April 2017 up on the Athletics Ireland website.