Smash, slap and run. Hoogeveen participates in the Open Sports Club Day. An event where many sports associations open their doors to the public. Especially to recruit new members, because the numbers have decreased at many clubs since corona.
They also notice that at Smash badminton club. The club consists of about 140 active members, but has lost about 15. A bloodletting, according to trainer coordinator Pim Nijmeijer. “We’re not very big, so that’s a really big number for us. Most of the members who left have moved on to another sport. They have discovered running or are going to the gym more.”
Nijmeijer thinks it mainly has to do with a form of freedom. At a gym you can choose at what time you want to exercise. “We have fixed training times and days. Unfortunately, we can’t be very flexible about that.”
A little further on at handball club Kwiek they also notice a decrease. “Fifteen players have left,” says Lotte ten Berge, coach at the club. “We are a small association with 80 to 100 members. The fact that people are leaving has a lot of impact on us. Several teams have now merged. That is of course very unfortunate.”
But that’s not the only problem. Fewer members also means less membership. “And it’s getting harder and harder to find volunteers,” she continues. “Think, for example, of referees who can whistle a game. There are fewer and fewer of them.”
The Open Sports Club Day in pictures (text continues below the video):