Recruitment or Random Occurrence?

[LawlessMan]

It sure seems to me that recruiting new members is important, but altogether a very hard thing to do There must be some methods that work, but our club seems not to have many. Buddies-bringing-buddies seems to be about the best we've found, but we're mostly over the age of 30 (some more over than others, including myself). So what brings in the younger ones? When our club was using a public pond, we had people coming in to watch and occasionally someone became a new member, but now our pond is on private land in the middle of pretty much nowhere, so we don't even get the lookey-loos any more. So, I ask:

How does your club attract new prospective members?

Do you do any organized recruitment? (E-mail campaigns, advertisements, flyers, booth at the county fair, Facebook)

Do you wait for prospects to wander into races and ask how to join?

How do you turn prospects into members?

What have you done that actually produced results?

What did you try that crashed miserably?

Fred Howe\

 

[Patrick Mulvany]

Fred,

I can't tell you the answer to that?? I have donated RTR boats to a charity organization, given boats and engines to several individuals hoping they would come back with questions of how to do something and always seems to fall short?? As for recruitment well a smile and gentle encouragement when the new comers incur the expenses is quite consoling especially if the person gets to finish with a good position!! Not everybody is a winner from the get-go I always say if you survive your first race you are ahead of the game!!!

Later!!

Pat

 

[sbowden21]

If you have a local Hobby Shop put a flyer in there / also if the local hobby shop is willing to let you display some boats there on a Saturday or Sunday and club members could enlighten the customers about boats and your pond! ( I use to work at a hobby shop in the St LOUIS area and would put a boat on display almost every weekend always got tons of questions but we don't have a local pond so never seen any of them again) Also if there are any rc car tracks or rc air fields in the area put a flyer up there! The main problem is lack of water and the younger generation like myself don't have the mechanical aptitude like young people did in the 60s 70s 80s, they want to buy an electric car or drone, charge battery play for an hour and put away till next time no maintenance involved all at a low cost. Then if they get hooked to an rc they go electric car racing where club races are bigger than most big boat races and they have open practice 2-3 days a week... The local indoor offroad track in St Louis is flooded with young adults and kids (20-40 people) 3-4 times a week.

Always good to hear some ideas on how to get new and young people involved!

 

[Joe Petro]

This is something very important to me.

Getting and keeping boaters is a major priority.

I helped create the IMPBA Guest Pass for this reason.

It allows anyone to experience the feeling of driving an RC boat with full IMPBA insurance for a day.

It costs a whole dollar. There must be an IMPBA member present, and it cannot be used at a race.

If you let somebody actually drive a boat, 90% will be hooked...

I can't seem to post a link, but if you look on the IMPBA website, under IMPBA forms, it is called 2017 Guest- Fee Form.
This is a great way for any club to increase their membership...

 

[dave roach]

The Dayton,Oh boat club put flyers in three of the rc hobbies shop in the last three years and only had maybe three new member to join the club.So if the clubs don't get young members to join and when us old members are gone the clubs will fold up.

 

[ggeiselman]

This is something very important to me.

Getting and keeping boaters is a major priority.

I helped create the IMPBA Guest Pass for this reason.

It allows anyone to experience the feeling of driving an RC boat with full IMPBA insurance for a day.

It costs a whole dollar. There must be an IMPBA member present, and it cannot be used at a race.

If you let somebody actually drive a boat, 90% will be hooked...

I can't seem to post a link, but if you look on the IMPBA website, under IMPBA forms, it is called 2017 Guest- Fee Form.

This is a great way for any club to increase their membership...

Here is the link to the form.

https://nebula.wsimg.com/3a769b45762bbaa0221e81e55d8d9501?AccessKeyId=ACA7381D2BFC72351748&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

 

[JimZaremski]

...

 

[El Zorro]

Not an easy thing to get new people out to the lake to run a boat these days. Maybe if we attached a drone on top of the boat and tell people that's how we race them now? In response to Mr. Zaremski's post, when I started racing boats I had to race against John Finch, Steve Speas, John Bonano, Frank Blanchard and a few others who were as talented driving boats as the ones I just named. I learned more about racing by watching these guys race standing on the bank and what they did during a race. You learn how to get a good start; how to pass other boats and when to pass. I had boats that were just as fast if not faster than some of these guys, I just didn't have the driving skills ( it's called patience ) yet. If I was a beginner and someone with the talent and experience of , lets say Joe Wiebelhaus, told me to "drive better next time", he would be on the top of my list for me to kick his ass the next time I raced him. Kinda depends on how bad you want to learn to race boats. I have heard a few people say things that they should have kept to themselves that didn't sit well with me. Actions can speak louder than words.

Dick Tyndall

 

[julianconde]

Not an easy thing to get new people out to the lake to run a boat these days. Maybe if we attached a drone on top of the boat and told people that's how we race them now? In response to Mr. Zaremski's post, when I started racing boats I had to race against John Finch, Steve Speas, John Bonano, Frank Blanchard and a few others who were as talented driving boats as the ones I just named. I learned more about racing by watching these guys race standing on the bank and what they did during a race. You learn how to get a good start; how to pass other boats and when to pass. I had boats that were just as fast if not faster than some of these guys, I just didn't have the driving skills ( it's called patience ) yet. If I was a beginner and someone with the talent and experience of , lets say Joe Wiebelhaus, told me to "drive better next time", he would be on the top of my list for me to kick his ass the next time I raced him. Kinda depends on how bad you want to learn to race boats. I have heard a few people say things that they should have kept to themselves that didn't sit well with me. Actions can speak louder than words.

Dick Tyndall

God I miss John bonano I started racing boats around him at Chesapeake. Sorry for getting off topic

 

[JRXHydros]

St Louis was huge in RC boats back in the 70s,80s,90s, today RC nitro boats are gone. We have Mark Twain hobby,one of the biggest hobby shop in St Louis & now the hobby shop has no more nitro engines in the display case. Just some car engines,but all brushless motors/lipo batteries. Its easy to run a RC car & easy to fly a plane on brushless motors. Same for electric boats,it's easy no mess or noise. Times have changed here in St. Louis.

 

[nickhartdegen]

This is something very important to me.

Getting and keeping boaters is a major priority.

I helped create the IMPBA Guest Pass for this reason.

It allows anyone to experience the feeling of driving an RC boat with full IMPBA insurance for a day.

It costs a whole dollar. There must be an IMPBA member present, and it cannot be used at a race.

If you let somebody actually drive a boat, 90% will be hooked...

I can't seem to post a link, but if you look on the IMPBA website, under IMPBA forms, it is called 2017 Guest- Fee Form.

This is a great way for any club to increase their membership...

Joe, I couldn't agree more with the one dollar drive being of benafit. I've had several "spectators" show interest while out testing. I've handed my transmitter of my ole mono over to many, and that does it, boom hooked ! We've had no less than 5 enter our club and join Impba. Thanks for your effort.
Nick Hartdegen

Voodoo Model Boat Club President

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[Patrick Mulvany]

I just met a Father/Son team at my local big lake that is way to big if you lose radio with no retrieve boat?? But they had 3 mono and one Cat all electrics and 3 were twins.. Gluttens for punishment! I tried to turn them on to the Orlando Culvert Dodgers our local club and told them to contact Ross Medina?? I mention Jim's Boat Dock and International Waters as places to find information and contact information to the IMPBA and NAMBA.. Since they are just "Play Boating" at this point I mentioned that they should be wearing closed toed shoes but that was after the Father lost a shaft close to shore and found it by walking back and forth where it died?? He seemed offended when I said you are lucky you didn't find it by stepping on the prop?? They agreed to check out the on line sources and seemed relieved to be Newbies and not have to mention my name?? I ain't that bad am I????? Really???? They live close enough to the lake so if they here noise coming from the lake on Sunday morning around 9 AM I know the son will come check it out..

Later!!

Pat

 

[RonShaw]

Not an easy thing to get new people out to the lake to run a boat these days. Maybe if we attached a drone on top of the boat and tell people that's how we race them now? In response to Mr. Zaremski's post, when I started racing boats I had to race against John Finch, Steve Speas, John Bonano, Frank Blanchard and a few others who were as talented driving boats as the ones I just named. I learned more about racing by watching these guys race standing on the bank and what they did during a race. You learn how to get a good start; how to pass other boats and when to pass. I had boats that were just as fast if not faster than some of these guys, I just didn't have the driving skills ( it's called patience ) yet. If I was a beginner and someone with the talent and experience of , lets say Joe Wiebelhaus, told me to "drive better next time", he would be on the top of my list for me to kick his ass the next time I raced him. Kinda depends on how bad you want to learn to race boats. I have heard a few people say things that they should have kept to themselves that didn't sit well with me. Actions can speak louder than words.

Dick Tyndall

Those were great times Dick. Its unfortunate that the newbies will never get the chance to to race against the guys you just mentioned. Add in Jim and Larry Squires, Mike Saleeby, Chris Carver, Neil Sightler, Doug Floyd, Randy Dicks, Tommy Lee, Karl Sturm, Lee Garcia, wow names keep coming to me from all sides!!!!

 

[Kris Flynn]

Out from under my rock

Young people (in general) have no drive to do things better.

It then becomes an old mans hobby because older people run it.

Sorry but thats my opinion of the hobby in general.

I noticed that the average age of racers in boats in Aus (at bigger events) is well over 40, probably 50...

Average age of racers in model cars (nitro offroad 1/8) is like 20-25 MAX...

I would love to see it change, but i am probably the second or third youngest racer in Aus (excluding the last 12 months) (not including the father/son team) at bigger events and I am 33!

My rock was comfy, back i go...

 

[Kris Flynn]

Oh wait i am only 32 lol

 

[David Ashcroft]

You will be surprised there are alot more rc boaters out there than you think..The FE boating scene is the big attraction now so it seems.

As far as racing goes... well it comes down to time , expense, and politics.

Thats why theres no racing where i am..

 

[Mike Cathey]

Another club member and I went to a couple of car shows last summer and fall. The boats generated a lot of interest. We were literally on our feet all day long talking to people. Since it takes a little gearhead to do this we went to where a lot of them are. Printed up some info sheets with the clubs schedule and contact info.

It was funny when we fired up a boat from time to time. The hot rodders would come streaming over to the tables saying "I SMELL NITRO". A lot of people also said that it looked like an expensive hobby. I sort chucked and replied that a boat and the support equipment wouldn't add up to half of what a set of trick heads cost on most the hot rods that were there. What's a new HD now, 25 K? Relative you know.

I don't how much fruit it will bear but doing something beats the heck out of doing nothing even if just makes me feel better.

 

[El Zorro]

When I was with an airplane club years ago we would have a weekend show in one of the big malls here in the Richmond area. I would always take a boat with me. One of the questions that got asked was "where do you run these at?" Well, at the time, the closest place to run our boats at was 100 miles away. That pretty much shot that down. At the time there wasn't much of the electric boat stuff in the hobby shops. And none of them carried any of the competition boat kits, engines or hardware to build one. Now you can go online and find just about anything you need or want to build a boat. Like someone said in a previous post, the kids aren't interested, and the only ones who do show any interest are the over 40 group who have grown tired of the motorcycles and cars and are looking for something less expensive and smaller ( and easier, HAH! ) to play with. When us old guys are gone, who's left?

Dick Tyndall

 

[Carl Van Houten]

We used to do all our testing in a pond that was out of site of passing cars on the highway and the fact that nobody hardly ever came by the pond was good in some ways because we could concentrate on what we were doing but as you have stated we really were not promoting or growing or sport in our area.

We have recently gotten a new pond that is located next to a very busy highway and we have already had a few people stop by to watch and had a few cars run off the road trying to watch without stopping. We have talked about this a few times and we have decided to ask our land owner (THANK GOD FOR PEOPLE LIKE HIM) if we can put a sign on the road while we are running. We are working on a sign that you can easily read while driving letting people know that they are welcome to stop by and watch. I think that more people would drive off the road and come watch if they thought is was okay. Also, if you do this, it is important to be prepared to keep them safe while they are there by having a small roped off area for people to safely watch from. We are not going to put the sign out every time we are there but thought that we would do it once a month and each time the sign is put on the road, someone in our club will be appointed to show them what we are doing and answer questions but more importantly keep a watch on them so that them or their wild children don't get hurt. It is risky having people too close to the pit area as we all well know and being prepared to handle spectators is important. You could very easily loose your run site if someone were to get hurt while on the property. We have thought about pulling an older model down from the loft and rigging it so that a young person that seems interested could actually drive one while he or she was there.

I feel like that is all clubs would do this once a month it would grow our sport. I am almost certain we will pull some young racers into our club soon.

-Carl

 

[Andy Brown]

It all starts with the local school board. No Shop class, no future gear heads!

South Asia/Indonesia is currently experiencing what the Western world had experienced in the 50's, 60's, 70's.

Lots of guys building, experimenting and racing with whatever IC engines they can get their hands on.

Pictured below is my dad in the late 50's. I was there, in diapers, watching, listening and learning.

My dad also taught me how to build and fly C/L planes.

Dad also gave me books like 'Gasoline Engine Book for Boys' printed in 1930.

Note that this book is intended for "Boys" but is fairly advanced.

Also note the variable sleeve valve timing.

Our world will benefit from IC engines for a long time to come.