The Decline of Badminton Club Alert: Seeking New Members and Youth Engagement

The fun is no less, but the golden times are over. In the past, badminton club Alert had between 200 and 250 people. “No, that’s not the case anymore. We now have just over forty members. This means we have experienced slight growth again,” says chairman Roy Zitter.

Treasurer Paul de Ram and general board member Paula Hoekstra, the jack of all trades within the club, nod in agreement. “We are looking for a new board and would like some more members.” In the streets of the seventies and eighties you often saw people hitting a shuttle. A lot of badminton was also played at the campsite. Nowadays you rarely see that. “That also has to do with the fact that the force of the wind has increased over the years,” Paula notes. The current board members have been in their positions for ten years or more. “High time for a breath of fresh air. And then it’s not that we don’t feel like it anymore, but it’s time to pass on the baton. We have placed a call for new people on our website and also made it known by talking to our members. As far as we are concerned, new directors can also come from outside the association.” There was a first interview with a candidate, Albert Biemolt, on Monday evening. He is a member of the club. “Yes, I would possibly like to be on the board. What could I do then? We will continue to discuss that.”

‘No more youth’

In the 1970s, Badminton was under the umbrella of Sports Association Steenwijk, and later continued independently as Alert. Badminton has been played as a club for more than half a century. “And we certainly see a future. There are plenty of people who really like this.” Alert has stopped with the youth department. “At one point we had about four youth members. You cannot appoint a paid trainer there.” The experiences with youth are also not very positive. “They don’t like it and were on their mobile phones more than showing interest. What we had to say did not get across. We also had a sports class from the RSG here, but that didn’t amount to anything.”

Roy Zitter tells a nice anecdote from the time when the club still played on the sports floor of De Meenthe. “There were young people looking at us, like, oh, old men. We challenged them to a game, and they said yes. We deliberately let them make a few points, and you could see that they thought we’d take them. Then I said to my buddy: accelerate now. We knocked them completely off the floor. One of those boys asked how old my size was. When I said over eighty I noticed that they didn’t really like that. We do.”

In any case, Alert is aging. “The average age of our members is over fifty years.” More members are important to be able to do more. “The contribution now goes entirely to the hall rental. We are in a beautiful location here. There is no money to organize something, such as a New Year’s drink. Via Henny Biemans we received a visit from about ten people in the context of ‘exercise for the elderly’. One of them has become a member. Well, that’s better than no one.” Previous membership recruitment campaigns were unsuccessful. “Recruitment campaigns with a stall full of brochures on the Market, becoming a member with the prospect of a nice free racket from the club, everything has been tried. But it doesn’t catch on. It was cold weather for us, with no prospect of success,” Zitter said.

‘Monday and Thursday’

You can play at the club on Mondays from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM and on Thursdays from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM in the De Waterwijck sports hall. “On Monday things are a bit more fanatical. Only seniors play badminton here on Thursdays.” Matches are played among themselves. “Competition gave too much pressure from work and private life. There are still members who participate in tournaments here and there in the Steenwijk region. There are a few, not many more. If people are interested, they are welcome to drop by on Monday or Thursday. The atmosphere is fantastic. We play sports and have a lot of fun together.”

2024-03-22 08:39:18
#Badminton #club #Alert #board #members #members #desirable