To keep your club vibrant, it’s important to organize activities within your association. Members tend to stay longer if they participate in competitions.
Many clubs notice that some new members quit after two years. This usually happens when members are not actively involved and, for example, only attend training sessions. Organizing activities within your club helps retain the members you’ve recruited. An additional benefit is that it also attracts new members, as you offer a wide range of activities.
Make sure it’s appealing for club members
Make sure that signing up for activities is accessible and easy. It’s important, however, to keep a clear overview of who is participating. This way, you can see whether it’s new members, existing members, or a mix of both signing up for an activity. For example, if you notice that only existing members are attending the activities, you can organize something specifically for new members to lower the barrier even further—such as a newcomers’ tournament.
Costs
Especially for new members, it’s important to keep the cost of activities as low as possible. They’ve just joined and may already be paying membership fees and possibly training costs. Adding (high) costs for an activity can make it less appealing for them to participate. For existing members who have participated more often, this is usually less of an issue. They often understand that organizing an activity takes time and money.
Activities to Organize in Your Club
For convenience, we divide the activities into two main categories:
- Tournaments
- Competitions
Tournaments
Organizing a tournament is a great way for members to play matches. One of the main advantages is that it’s always completed within a set time frame. There’s also room for variation. For example
- A regular tournament – This typically runs for a week and features full matches.
- A weekend tournament – This is shorter and more manageable, taking place over a weekend, but still includes standard matches.
- A one-day tournament – Participants only need to commit one day, yet full matches are played. It’s very easy to oversee.
- A short-format tournament (a few hours) – Matches are played with a time limit (e.g., 30 minutes per match), and you can keep score based on the number of games won.
Each format has its own pros and cons. For any tournament you organize, you can also choose whether it will be an internal event (for members only) or open to external participants. The short-format tournament is especially suitable as an internal event.
Competitions
A competition often requires a greater time commitment from participants. There are also different formats to choose from:
- Official league competition
- Unofficial competition (which may also be open to non-members)
- Internal club competition
- Ladder competition
For some (new) members, an official competition can feel quite intimidating, and they may not be ready or confident enough to participate yet. In that case, an internal competition is much more accessible. An internal ladder competition is even more approachable, especially because matches can be scheduled more flexibly. If your playing level turns out to be inaccurate when you sign up, you’ll naturally end up at your correct level over time—by winning or losing matches.
Promote the Activities in Your Club
Organizing great activities is only part of the job—making sure your members know about them is just as important. Use multiple channels to promote upcoming events, such as email, your club’s website, social media, and posters in the clubhouse. Make the messaging enthusiastic and clear, and highlight why it’s worth joining in.
Especially for new members, a personal invitation—either via a welcome email or in person during training—can make a big difference. The more visible and inviting your activities are, the more likely members are to participate and stay engaged.
Support with Organizing Activities in Your Club
At Tennis & Padel, we’re here to help you organize activities for your club—easily and at low cost.
Feel free to browse our website for inspiration. Do you have an idea for an activity that we could offer to help your club grow and thrive? We’re always open to suggestions and new ideas.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re happy to help!