[conrad]

Just wandering if attendance is down everywhere. At my club our s is down 33%, If my math is correct. Last year I would guess the average number of shooters per match was around 45 and this year its about 35. I think the cost of lead, copper, brass, gas, primers, ect.... is the reason why. We do get a couple of new shooters each month though. How is the attendance at your club?

[shooterready]

Seeing the same thing up here in mid MI. Our state has really grown over the past couple years with new clubs. But, now with the added cost of everything, numbers are down from last year. The northern clubs are hurting the worst.

[lynn jones]

interesting..our club has seen an increase.

maybe the fuel situation.

lynn

[SLM]

My local club had a six stage all classifier match Sunday and we had 12 shooters. Matches are usually in the 20 to 25 shooter range.

Another club about two hours up the road that I shoot at runs in the 50 to 60 shooter range.

Go figure.

[Front Man]

Our monthly club match was up big time yesterday.
I can only imagine what attendance would have been if the cost of components and gasoline were in line.
FM

[kframe_mike]

I'd say our numbers are down too.Some of what hurt us was weather I think.The first 3 matches this year where tough.High fuel and ammo prices aren't helping either.-Mike

[shooterbenedetto]

Ours is still same. From 65 to 85. Last week we had 83.

[oddjob]

We're down from about 60 to 45 or so.

[mlmiller1]

Our little club is brand new this year but last month we had our second biggest attendance(27) since our first match in February(28) when gas, etc was at it's highest point ever. Doesn't sound like a lot to some of you big club guys but I was in awe that so many folks showed up. We are way out in the sticks & the guys have started carpooling out so that helps some. They are just great guys & devoted shooters. What can I say?
MLM
www.wtps.us

[BSeevers]

I attend less than half of the club matches I used to because of cost issues

[mscott]

I have to admit that the closer range wins for me. When ther is an hour difference in drive time it really adds up. The multi-gun match on Sunday had a pretty good attendance increase from the last match. That is certainly encouraging to see some new faces.

[hammerspring]

mscott, on Sep 10 2008, 03:54 AM, said:

I have to admit that the closer range wins for me. When ther is an hour difference in drive time it really adds up. The multi-gun match on Sunday had a pretty good attendance increase from the last match. That is certainly encouraging to see some new faces.

Thats great to hear. How did you do?

[mscott]

[/quote]
Thats great to hear. How did you do?
[/quote]

I think I shot O.K., but got in a hurry in a couple of spots and took a couple of mikes. I'm sure the results should be out soon. The best part was that all 3 guns ran good for the whole match. I brought one brand new multigunner and I'm sure he'll be back for the next one (he just ordered a new rifle for it).

I hope the whole dwindling match attendance thing turns around. Lets face it, everything has risen in cost pretty quickly compared to the last 10 years. It may take a little while to settle down. This is not an inexpensive sport, but nothing really is if you want to do it right.

[sargenv]

Our club attendence is actually up. We have 24 matches per year and every match seems to attract between 55 and 65 shooters. When I started shooting at this club, we'd struggle to get 50, now if everyone I knew were to show up, we'd likely top 90 shooters. We shoot 5 courses of fire, 4 field courses and one classifier is typical. Anywhere from 115 to 140 rounds for a match.

Members $20, Non-members $25. Choice of perpetual plaque or primer payout to the top 3 ina division based on the 3-5-7 method.

[joseywales]

similar topic Attendance thread

[VegasOPM]

We have been averaging between 30 and 35 shooters for USPSA for the last 7 years. No real change here in Sin City.

[chuckbradley]

If your attendance is down then maybe its time to step and look at what you are offering and competing against. The biggest factor I beleive is the experience at your club. How many stages, how many rounds, ARE THEY FUN(or are they designed to FWY), is administration freindly. Second to that is price. Then location.
There are a couple matches available and the one that advertises a 50.00 entry fee has more shooters than the ones with a 100+ entry fee. This shows some sensitivity to the price. Location is usually overcome by shooters who think the other 2 factors are worth the trip.

All match administrations need to realize that their match needs to run like a business. The shooter is the consumer. If they dont like the product they wont buy it.

[conrad]

chuckbradley, on Sep 21 2008, 10:19 AM, said:

If your attendance is down then maybe its time to step and look at what you are offering and competing against. The biggest factor I beleive is the experience at your club. How many stages, how many rounds, ARE THEY FUN(or are they designed to FWY), is administration freindly. Second to that is price. Then location.
There are a couple matches available and the one that advertises a 50.00 entry fee has more shooters than the ones with a 100+ entry fee. This shows some sensitivity to the price. Location is usually overcome by shooters who think the other 2 factors are worth the trip.

All match administrations need to realize that their match needs to run like a business. The shooter is the consumer. If they dont like the product they wont buy it.

I offer 5 stages. 4 field courses and 1 classifier. Matches are between 130 and 155 for the round count. I try to challenge the shooter but still keep it fun. I come up with new props each month. My last prop is what most people are calling a "CFL"( Conrad fault line ) it's an ellavated fault line that you run at knee height above the fault line and scored just like the cooper tunnel. We are about an hour south of Columbus and with the price of gas and ammo both going up is what I see the main problem is. Even though the match only costs $15. We also normally have a master or two and a GM that shoots every month. Thanks for the imput and if your not busy Oct 4th come check us out

[boz1911]

chuckbradley, on Sep 21 2008, 10:19 AM, said:

If your attendance is down then maybe its time to step and look at what you are offering and competing against. The biggest factor I beleive is the experience at your club. How many stages, how many rounds, ARE THEY FUN(or are they designed to FWY), is administration freindly. Second to that is price. Then location.
There are a couple matches available and the one that advertises a 50.00 entry fee has more shooters than the ones with a 100+ entry fee. This shows some sensitivity to the price. Location is usually overcome by shooters who think the other 2 factors are worth the trip.

All match administrations need to realize that their match needs to run like a business. The shooter is the consumer. If they dont like the product they wont buy it.

So very true Chuck, matches around this area that are known for excellent stages are well attended. Matches with low round count and uncreative stages are on the decline. Entry fees are similar for all our local matches.

[grandbagger]

not at the club that i usually go, we have from 60 to 70 shooters every week. set up for 6 stages and round count to approximately 150 rounds or so with a qualifier every other week.

[Franklin D Wolverton]

We normally set up 5 stages (4 + classifier) with an average round count of 100-125. We charge $10.

Our average turn out this year has been between 50-60 (just about the same as always, or maybe slightly up).

We do one match a year where we set up 10 stages (200+ RC) and charge between 30-40 bucks. Average turnout for that is about 100 over 2 days.

We are in the process of expanding our program. Next year my plan is to do our normal 5 stage pistol shoot every month, and on top of that alternate a steel challenge match and 3-gun (probably 2 stages each, with the ability to only shoot pistol on the rifle stages for those that don't want to do 3-gun) on a second weekend every month during the "warm" months. (i.e March... pistol match one weekend, 3-gun another. April... pistol match one weekend, steel challenge another, ect.) Hopefully that may draw out some more people, or at least give our regulars another chance to shoot locally every month.

On top of all that, I plan on scheduling a practice session once or twice a month Saturday mornings.

Obviously, the second match per month is up to the club BOD, as Milan does a lot more than just USPSA, but I don't see a big objection to it, since between us and the cowboys, we bring in 90+ percent of the competitive shooters (and the club gets a set amount per shooter from the registration fees).

All this with the intent to both provide an excellent shooting experience to our normal shooters, and draw some new shooters.

Frank