As far as volunteering ...
Our club averages approximately 55 members (plus or minus).

For the 4-day Boat Show, we broke it down into 2-4-hour shifts per day, for a total of 8 shifts.
We had a target of 5 members staffing the booth per shift.
We had 13 members sign up, many for more than one shift.
We easily handled all the shifts, and at times had more than the 5 we targeted.
I thought that was a pretty decent turnout.

As far as dues, we charge $45/year for a "Family" membership.
Admittedly, we are pretty frugal, but that fee covers insurance, a year-end "Dry Dock" meal, the tugs, a tent for outdoor displays, the portable pond, etc.

Dave B

Dw brinkman
Congratulations for all your efforts.
We try to do the same.We have taken the decision to built 4 models radio controlled. 2 are ready and the 2 others will be ready for the start of the season. Parents are amased and speachless when they see their son
or daughter calm for an hour not playing with their phone and being on tik- tok. We think we have achieved the lowest point and from this point onwards the melberships from youngsters will increase

I will throw my input out here.
Two years ago, our club acquired and built two "Vac-U-Tug" boats (similar to the ones you might find at amusement parks). We built two control consoles with ship's wheels and a boat-like forward/reverse lever.
The intention was to generate interest in model boating among youth.
The tugs have turned out to be a huge success. Not only youth, but adults as well are drawn to the tugs whenever we have them out.
This past weekend, our club was invited to display at the local Boat Show. We built a (semi) portable boating pond, and had the tugs available for the 4 days of the boat show. It is our experience that they have generated a lot of interest and boosted our membership numbers. We also participate in 4 Classic Boat shows around Minnesota each summer, which has also generated interest and gained members.
I am attaching some pictures from this past weekend's show. The young man in the pink hoodie running a tug boat NOT from a console is my grandson. I'm quite sure I have made a convert out of him ... he hasn't stopped talking about running the boat since he got home Sunday. You have to get them in the hands of youth if we want the hobby to continue.
Just my thoughts,
Dave B

Yes and a lot cheaper to get advice, but are kids really interested almost everyone who knows my hobbies always laugh at the fact "i play with boats" thats the term i get a lot
Philuk👍

Chum444 that is similar plan with the Springer tugs. I think because it gets people really engaged in their model and against the clock.

Yes i've seen parents acting awkward at various clubs pulling children out of the way when they try to come closer to show interest. With social media sharing so many strange stories these days it's spread like wildfire that kids can't talk to anyone and even with parents. It's sad as how are the youth of today meant to join any club out there if they can't interact with anyone.

I'd say theres more risks online than in reality as they could be chatting to literally anyone online.

I'll always say "Youll arrive at our club a stranger and leave as a friend"

That would be beneficial with Umi Ryuzuki's online address. Always good to find out better ways of doing things from other's who have already done so.

Very interesting take on childrens’ lack of participation; had never thought about that. In today’s world you do have to be careful approaching any stranger lest your intentions be misread.
Your initiatives to attract younger folks sound good. There was a club, probably gone by now, that staged water soccer events using springer tugs. You might contact Umi Ryuzuki in RC Groups here in the States. If you need an
on-line address let me know.

This is a problem at our club given that i am the youngest at 38. I feel that parent's are overly protective these days so happier for their kids to be glued to screens at home where they can see them rather than allow them to sail with strangers etc. The world is certainly changing and 15 years ago i'd try interact with a child who walks past and shows interest whereas now i'm more weary as i don't wont to be labelled for trying to engage productively with a youngster.

It's sad as when i was around 4 and walking past a sailing pond it was members who made a big deal over me and let me have an assisted sail of some boats and from that ripe age i was hooked.

Along with all the building skills, physics and electrical knowledge i gained i went on to become a marine engineer for some time working in Greece and Gibraltar before changing to working for BAE Systems so it taught me a world of good.

What good is staring at Tiktok or any of these other social media platforms going to do for any youth of today except guide them in the wrong direction 9 times out of 10.

This year as our newly appointed club secretary i plan on sprucing our clubs image up a little and start some racing leagues along with tug of war and water football in hope i can attract the younger crowd.

The hobby certainly needs an extra push now to continue to be sustainable in the future. Model aircraft and cars are very popular with all the ready to run/fly side of things and the reason that works so well is they are all affordable. For under £100 you can get a proper rc plane,helicopter and car that can go fast and looks cool. For the same money you're options are very limited with boats as the options available are mostly toy grade, slow and break after the first run so people tend to walk away and find something else.

There will be a way through this. I'm relying on the one youngster who asked for my help last year to repair a toy grade boat. I took it away and converted it to hobby grade free of charge and he's picked up the boat bug now.

Once they say that its more appealing and parents get past the over protective side of things then it'll recover.

As hermank said we are at the bottom of the curve and it's time to rise back up.

Damn i feel like i'm writing a book or a drama 😂. Apologies for that though it is something i think often about as member numbers slowly dwindle away.

Regards to all,

Scott, HH

Lew i think that that is part if the problem. Too much offered to the youngsters. I started in the early sixties no mobile phones, most people didn’t even have a television, no internet, no asocial media. I m a (strong) believer that we have hit the bottom of the curve and that i will go up again. I spoke to parents at the pond on sunday and one of the questions was “ can we come back with the kids” because they have never been so laid back with the sailing. Times will change in the other direction( one day 😂)

Getting back to the original question. Why is it people want to join a club (the few that very few) and not participate in helping out?

I understand that the kids getting hammered on all sides by various activities. Back in the 1950s we did not have electronics like we do today.

Lew

Hi Lew,
same everywhere, I think. Some of it is because of pressures at home, looking after kids with all the after school activities and sports these days kids demand. We used to amuse ourselves as kids, and didn't need to have our parents cart us everywhere, maybe bike for miles to watch model planes etc. The way work is these days with staggered hours, working weekends etc, cuts peoples time down, whereas in the 60s and 70s it was 9 to5 or 8 to 5, everybody had holidays at the same time,- hardly anyone worked on weekends- one late night a week, now it's all over the place.

Don't know about the US, but here in NZ, parents may not be able to have holidays together due to different work schedules, may have to arrange holidays a month or 2 ahead. Now there are virtually no model club or car club activities advertised in papers etc, all on facebook now, and if you don't use facebook, you miss out. Seems to be the way things are going now, organisers just send out a post to members on where and when.

I found a massive Jap car get together at our local bus station park and ride by sheer luck,- looked everywhere, not a mention, seemed to be a random get together by phone. many 'clubs' don't even have a website these days, but have hundreds of 'members' floating around.

JB