Fencing.Net Discussion - Club Corner http://www.fencing.net/forums This forum is for club owners or managers to share helpful tips and ideas about all aspects of running a fencing club. (Building out proper flooring, membership, marketing, etc.) en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:37:51 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.fencing.net/forums/images/fencing_net/misc/rss.jpg Fencing.Net Discussion - Club Corner http://www.fencing.net/forums Club Innovations http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46911.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:41:22 GMT Things in the Club forum have gotten a little stale. I would love to hear from clubs that are innovating how they achieve their mission. Please take a moment to add any relevant ideas or changes you are implementing and how they are being received.

I'll start.

Baltimore Fencing Center has moved to Clubexpress for website management. This integrates forums, a storefront, and other useful features for a reasonable price. We have only taken baby steps so far, and are having a little trouble getting members to use the new site, but it holds promise for improving club communications and marketing.

We have also been updating our facilities from a technical perspective. In our Columbia facility we have added home-built LED extension lights for our SG-11 fencing boxes. These now allow spectators and coaches to follow the action on all strips from a central location. No more blind spots where boxes face a wall. I will make a posting in the Armory section in a couple of days outlining the parts list, pricing, and photos of these lights.

We are also permanently mounting our video replay system in the ceiling, which allows for a larger image on the wall and removes the current mount from sight-lines. Now used for both classes and open bouting, we will also add video recording, Youtube fencing video broadcasts for tactical classes, and even movie nights with fencing-based themes. The students like the system, but we hope with the additional changes it will become even more useful.

I look forward to hearing from other clubs on their innovations. Let's build on each others successes.

Dave G. ]]> Club Corner griffindm http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46911.html Bout Committee Pay? http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46879.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:54:37 GMT When my son was in HS, I learned to run fencing tournaments on 3X5 cards and then the computer. A)-it helped the club and B)-it kept me from bothering the kid. So now kiddo is in college and I'm still running the computer for local tournaments. Some are small, some are large. I volunteer my time for one veterans tournament, but for the most part, I get paid.

This year my USFA membership is UNAT, so I'm not really representing any one club when I do the computer for the BC.

I'd like to come up with a fee schedule, so that everyone knows that I don't charge Club A more than Club B. I've been paid any where from $50 per day to $125 per day. Prior to tournament day I spend anywhere from 3-5 hours prepping (downloading, checking membership status, etc.). After the tournament I hand all documents and records to the club owner and upload to FRED.

Do other clubs pay their BC? Hourly? By the event size?

Input, please.

Thanks!!! ]]> Club Corner Phincer http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46879.html school club help? http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46726.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:40:16 GMT Well i love fencing, and fence outstide of school too. My club at shcool is currently extremly unorganized. Any tips on how to get the high school kids more serious about it? Well i love fencing, and fence outstide of school too. My club at shcool is currently extremly unorganized. Any tips on how to get the high school kids more serious about it? ]]> Club Corner sabrefencer93 http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46726.html Martial Arts Professional http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46617.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:12:59 GMT We're expanding, now's the time to do it what with building prices the lowest they've been in years. And we're taking over part of the space previously occupied by a kick box studio which has moved on to a bigger and better space. In the process I was throwing out some kick boxing magazines and looked through them. What was interesting was the emphasis on financial advancement even more so than advancement in the various arts represented. The advertisements in particular told the story of (probably the magazine's management's) a focus on managing clubs/studios/dojo's financially. Seemed every other page was an ad for some sort of billing software or for NAPMA (National Association of Professional Martial Arts??). I'm not at all sure that I am sympathetic to their view. But given the financial straits I've seen within fencing I read it for content. Yes there were a number of ads on how to register for professional advancement courses given on line that would allow you to charge more for private lessons and a number of ads for "Big Ass Fans" (actually we could use one or two of those). But in between the get rich schemes were bits on "Mulitiply your Print Advertising Results without spending Another Dime!", "Harvest a Bumper Crop of New Students this Fall", "Take Advantage of Free Resources and Member-School-Growth Programs". Took those titles from just a couple of pages.

I thought it all quite an intriguing spiel given the lack of anything approaching that level of organizational push in the fencing community. The stridency of it was a bit disconcerting. But the mags did make for some thought provoking reading. The martial arts as they were regarding them are the eastern variety of judo, karate, taekwondo, hapkido, etc. and perhaps boxing or at least kick boxing. Fencing and boxing are of course the western martial arts or at least descended from. But the marketing ideas and concepts seemed to me to be cross sport. They've got an online segment that you might care to check out:

http://www.martialartsprofessional.com/

Not my "thing" mind but a bit intriguing nonetheless.
Best regards ]]> Club Corner jjefferies http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46617.html Neat Club Promotion http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46552.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:32:17 GMT I just came across this ad while looking through some fencing images on the Web and thought it would be a good idea for a club promotion. I just came across this ad while looking through some fencing images on the Web and thought it would be a good idea for a club promotion.
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]]> Club Corner Schultz http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46552.html Moodle http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46280.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:50:43 GMT Hi, I have been using Moodle (moodle.org) for quite some time now in teaching environments. It works quite well for designing courses and administer groups. I just thought that it could be a good platform to base a fencing club on. Anybody doing that at the moment? Hi,

I have been using Moodle (moodle.org) for quite some time now in teaching environments. It works quite well for designing courses and administer groups. I just thought that it could be a good platform to base a fencing club on. Anybody doing that at the moment? ]]> Club Corner Bazul http://www.fencing.net/forums/thread46280.html