On a national level, the number of Seniors (adults aged 20-34) dropped 3%, a quarter of the level for the rate in Cork in 2019.
In terms of Masters membership (adults ages 35 and over), the national picture is much better with a rise of 4.4%. This again is in marked contrast to the situation in Cork where Masters membership has dropped 8.1% in 2019.
As for why? ...The numbers taking part in local races doesn't seem to be in decline. The 5k parkruns in Cork are doing well. There are local running groups which don't charge for membership and are not part of Athletics Ireland and they seem to be doing well. The Cork BHAA which is independent of Athletics Ireland saw the numbers in most of its races increase last year. It just seems to be the athletic clubs in Cork that are in decline.
Senior membership by club... In terms of senior membership of athletic clubs in Co.Cork, there are really only two clubs with any kind of numbers... Leevale AC and Togher AC.
The full stats for 2019 can be found on the Athletics Ireland website.
Someone asked me recently if I was a member of a running club and I mentioned that it was membership renewal time. They asked how much that cost and I told them 80 euro. Aghast they asked what did I get for that? Since I run mainly on my own I struggled to answer......you don't actually get anything. If you want to run in a singlet you pay.....if you want new running shoes you pay...if you get injured you pay. I can't say I'm surprised that numbers are dropping...I might even join those numbers.
ReplyDeleteGood God, I am not a member of a club but I genuinely would have thought membership cost around €8 not ten times that amount.
ReplyDeleteI am shocked with the price and shocked so many are willing to pay that.
Absolutely shocking statistics for Senior membership. That many large towns in Cork have less than 10 members between the ages of Male 22-40 or Female 22-35 is a terrible indictment of the relevancy of those clubs. What are they offering and why is there such a fall off from Juvenile membership.
ReplyDeleteIf it was any other sport such as GAA Soccer Rugby they would make a greater effort to hold those people they worked so hard to train since they were little.
We are far too focused on Category prizes for older athletes when the long term future of the sport is keeping the children / adults involved as they get older.
I left my running club recently as it has too many cliques - ended up training for the 2018 Dublin marathon on my own while seeing many club members training in separate groups and not informing the entire club via weekly email even tough I was advertising my weekly long runs with no one turning up. I encourage others to vote with their feet and stop paying money for nothing as many are in the same situation.
ReplyDeleteI'm a member of a running club, membership is 70 for the year and tbh I think it's incredible value - there's organised training on 3 times a week, you can go to as many sessions as you like, 2 of those sessions on a running track. Also includes membership of AAI and the insurance that goes with that. Also got a specific running plan for Dublin marathon last year and got a big improvement on my pb out of it. If I did any of the cross country, includes entry fees and transportation. Loads of great runners & coaches with years of experience to ask for advice. Plus a bit of craic with the club members of course!
ReplyDeleteThat's massive value for just over 5 euro a month!
Found since I joined and started wearing the colours I meet more people at races and get more support. Best investment I've made in my running!
Once the economy picks up, people start getting soft and making the easier choices... nothing has really changed about the sport so it's obviously people who don't want to contribute anything and expect to be given everything that are opting out. These things go in waves, ...the novelty of the initial surge has worn off for a few. The one's who realise that it takes work and compromise to create a positive productive club will stick with it because they know that clubs are important in today's modern society where it can be hard for individuals to find community. No club will be perfect or ideal for everyone but if everyone is willing to contribute something small and help out, then the sum will be greater than the parts... and so people will get more back than they put in. Togher and especially Leevale benefit from their urban location in the city where a lot of younger people are moving to but also because of strong leadership within the club's and a strong club ethic where everyone is expected to chip in through out the year. The most dangerous and destructive thing for a club is people who are selfish and want to contribute nothing. The same people with only a couple of years experience in the sport will undermine the volunteer coach within the club and try to create division out of self interest by creating their own training group. Eventually there's a handful of groups that fizzle out to nothing and nobody benefits and new members have no group to join in with. It will be interesting to see if the parkrun movement survive its initial surge in popularity and novelty. It's a simpler form of community and the roles are more obvious. Clubs are more complex and so more difficult to manage...especially when doing so as a volunteer. Ask not what your club can do for you, but rather what you can do for your club...
ReplyDeleteAthletics Ireland registration is €20 per adult and €15 per juvenile.
ReplyDeleteWe as a club only charge this
Kevin Hayes
One of the clubs charges €150. You get good group training, and there's always someone to train with in the harder sessions, but ridiculous membership fee.
ReplyDeleteOne of the comments above pretty much sums up what is wrong with athletic clubs.
ReplyDeletePeople join clubs because of what the club offers them. If what they're offering isn't worth the membership fee then don't join. Forget this 'what can you do for your club' nonsense. I don't join a gym because of what I can do for the gym.
And another thing, parkruns are here to stay. Run by runners for runners on a voluntary basis. All free. Get used to it.
Interesting that someone compares a gym to an athletics club when most gyms are places where there is no interaction and no sense of community or camaraderie...and they are run by professionals, whereas there is great camaraderie in most clubs which are much cheaper than gyms and often coached by people with more knowledge and experience than people working in gyms. Then he goes on to endorse parkrun which is funded by the government assuming it doesn't require any funding. I wasn't saying there was anything wrong with parkrun in my earlier comment - just pointing that it will possibly face the saame challenge once the novelty wears off for some people. The problem is that a lot of people don't get involved so make judgements like this out of ignorance or self-delusion. If people don't want to help out or contribute to their athletics clubs or parkruns and are too stingy or mean to contribute financially to a voluntary organisation run by volunteers, then don't join and don't cause trouble for those clubs and the volunteers that are trying to build something positive with other people from their community, that will serve their community in multiple ways beyond what any gym or parkrun can do. BTW Parkruns are fine if they compliment a clubs efforts to promote the sport, but they get a lot more funding from the government to do what a lot of clubs do anyway, than what clubs get.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could do a few stats and see how many Non Athletic Club runners win prizes you can be full sure the percentage is miniscule and that goes for category prizes too. When did anyone not in an Athletic Club win anything other than a slow Park Run. The stats will speak for themselves Athletic Club runners win.
ReplyDeleteCalm down people, either join a club or don't. e150 is pretty expensive, parkruns are getting stronger and are here to stay.Think the club which just charges athletics ireland reg is a sensible idea.
ReplyDeleteIn the UK when parkruns took off club membership dropped significantly. I think the growing popularity of these in Cork along with BHAA races has meant that its too easy not to join a club. If you compare the adult membership in Cork (biggest club has membersip of 80 -shocking considering population of Cork and the participation in Cork races) and Waterford where West Waterford AC has over 300 and Waterford AC over 150. Note there is no BHAA and only one parkrun in county Waterford.
ReplyDeleteMembership of Athletics Ireland is 20euro as a commentator mentioned above. I can only speak for my club Bweeng Trail Blazers but we do not add anything onto that as a membership fee. We train as a club two nights a week with organised high quality sessions on both night. The second night our session is done by Aoife Cooke and luckily we have a great community facility. The 20euro also covers your insurance at training for the year. Bit of a no brainer for me. Clubs charging slightly over that is fair enough but if you are talking of fees as high as 150 then you would want to be getting a lot back.
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