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Perth Triathlon Club – Are Beginners the Key to Club Growth?

Perth Triathlon Club – Are Beginners the Key to Club Growth?

Date: 30 Sep 2020
Posted: 3 years ago

Every year, triathletes retire, move on or leave their club for a variety of reasons. This is an unfortunate fact of life for all sports and clubs, and while there are things we can do to work on retaining these people in a club or extending the length of time for which they are actively involved, the reality is every participant will eventually and inevitably leave (whether by choice, or not). For this reason, building a steady flow of newcomers is vital to a club’s sustainability and longevity. 
Beginner triathletes, or novices as some clubs call them, are new to the triathlon scene. These members can sometimes take a little more work to bring them up to speed and educate them about the sport and the club. They also may not be physically as fit or ready to train with the whole club as prospective members who have been participating and training already, so might need specific training sessions or mentors within the club. However, the potential for growth with this type of prospective member often outweighs those difficulties. 
Perth Triathlon Club have reaped such benefits this season. Prior to the premature end to the 2019/20 season, PTC held a beginners course from which a number of very enthusiastic new members blossomed. These members remained actively engaged through winter and the training restrictions, because their newfound passion for the sport was so strong. This was beneficial for the whole club’s engagement and morale throughout the difficult circumstances and was reflected in membership this season. PTC is one of only four clubs in WA to have exceeded the total number of members from the 2019/20 season in the first quarter of this season, and prior to the majority of the racing calendar. It has also translated into a retention rate of almost 10% higher than the state average for this season. Their first beginners course in season 2020/21 attracted more than 38 enquiries and over 20 participants. 
What initiatives is your club exploring to harness the passion of beginners entering the sport? If your club has some great ideas but isn’t sure where to start to bring them to life, or if you know you want to work on building your base of beginners but are not sure how, give us a call at Triathlon WA. We have a number of initiatives which could help get you started, or could aid in the rolling out of your great ideas. 
Some great first steps you can take to make your club a little more “beginner-friendly” include:

  •  Appointing new member liaisons. We recommend having more than one to appeal to different personalities coming in, or even consider one male and one female liaison. These are representatives that new members or prospective members can be directed to who will be able to welcome them and answer any of their questions.
  •  Run beginners courses or sessions which cater specifically to those just starting out. These might run at the same time as other club sessions, but should be kept separate to help keep participants from feeling overwhelmed by jumping straight in with the “big guns”.
  •  Run or attend Triathlon WA beginners information sessions. These sessions are generally well-attended and having your club represented at ones local to you will help you introduce yourself to prospective members, as well as give them someone to look for when they attend their first training.

We love hearing about and helping with initiatives our clubs have implemented that have helped them improve the culture, operations or general club life. Does your club have a great initiative worth sharing? We’d love to hear about it and share how it could help other clubs in WA, so let us know!