Starting a Fencing Club

[Jimmysfoil]

Me and some of my fellow fencers are considering breaking away from our college club. We live in an area with many small towns and believe that there would be interest in the community. Also, we have been finding the college too restricting, not letting us purchase new equipment or allowing people not affiliated with the college practice with us. Is there anything that we should know or things that anyone would suggest about different approaches to starting up a new club?

[Bryn Ralph]

I recommend that you contact your local chamber of commerce and indicate your desire to form a club. Also, contact the local high schools to determine their interest in such a venue. Then, contact your local newspaper media -- especially the sports editor. And then attempt a PSA either on television or in your local journals.

Best of good fortune,

Bryn Ralph, USFA/USFCA
scots2@sbcglobal.net

[DesertFencer]

Ditto to what Byrn said. We did everything he mentioned and it was successful. In addition to that, we offered our beginner's class through a community college continuing education class. It's been great free advertising.

Also, we have the use of a gym twice a week at fifty cents per person per day courtesy of a city-owned community center. They also advertise for us. If you're in a relatively uneventful city like ours, it's a great way to go.

We've recruited new fencers, visitors from other clubs and born-again fencers who haven't crossed blades since college.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by Jimmysfoil

Is there anything that we should know or things that anyone would suggest about different approaches to starting up a new club?

Don't underprice yourself. (This is the #1 problem I see with fencing clubs.)
Target children for maximum growth and revenue.

Ask youself what you want - do you want to start a club to grow a business or to be able to have a couple of your friends that are not in college come and kick around with you?

Craig

[Deathoutlaw1152]

Originally Posted by Jimmysfoil

Me and some of my fellow fencers are considering breaking away from our college club. We live in an area with many small towns and believe that there would be interest in the community. Also, we have been finding the college too restricting, not letting us purchase new equipment or allowing people not affiliated with the college practice with us. Is there anything that we should know or things that anyone would suggest about different approaches to starting up a new club?

You must first ask your self, how far you are willing to go, how many people are willing to go with you. But most of all, why would you want to leave in the first place, if you try to start another college club, it may not be possible since most colleges don’t let two clubs exist for the same purpose.

If there’s one thing id ask my self is what is wrong with your current club and how you can change it, most likely they don’t let others in because of insurance which your college may not cover, in which case you can fix’s that by getting a supplemental insurance plan. I am not sure how your college runs things, I my self run a new college club. UAlbany has seen bad luck when it has come to fencing clubs in the past. As for the equipment? well why don’t they let you buy your own, or are they not letting you have a say in the equipment they buy, i will say one thing If you don’t like what your officers are doing dig deep to find a way to impeach them, trust me there has to be some way.

GOOD LUCK

[ChamorroZorro]

We started our fencing club as a last resort, as the problems that were in the club we left were unresolvable. Here's some things to consider if you are going to start your own club:

1) do you or will you have enough to make the 10 fencers minimum that the USFA requires to register a club?

2) do you have enough in the bank or can you raise enough amongst the 10 founding fencers for insurance? I'd say the majority of places that we've inquired about space required at least $1 Million insurance. The USFA insurance is really inexpensive for the cost, and you should look into it on the Club Membership Application. Better to be safe than sorry.

3) will you raise enough in your club to pay rent for a space? I saw a posting in this thread earlier that stated that you shouldn't underprice the dues. That person is absolutely right! What you should do financially is base your dues on the minimum 10 people based on your projected expenses (rent, utilities, USFA club registration, business license) that it would take to break even. That way, when you hit 11 people your club is already in the black financially and not just "getting by". We based our initial dues on what the 10 people minimum would take to break-even, and by adding a few members, we aren't exactly doing badly. It also didn't hurt that we decided to go non-profit. That opens more doors to more places at more favorable rates.

Hope that Helps!
Kittrick

[Allen Evans]

"If you have half a mind to start a fencing club, that's enough"

A fencing club isn't just something that you do in your back yard when you have a free weekend, and the usual group of ultimate frisbee friends aren't around to kill time with.

1. Make a business plan -- it doesn't have to be anything more than a spreadsheet with what you think your expenses are going to be, and what your income is going to come from. Be brutally honest with yourselves. Are you going to have to buy machines for the club? Equipment for classes (for a small class of 10, you're going to need 15-20 sets of gear to fit all the sizes)? Pay rent? Are YOU and your friends going to get paid? These things need to be figured out up front before you agree to rent a space and hold classes and then...realize you can't afford to run the club.

2. Decided how decisions are made at the club. Is there a Board of Directors? A coaching staff? Just one person who runs the club and decides? Even if you are just showing up at a place twice a week for low rent, and not holding classes, there are still decisions to be made for a casual club. Misunderstandings can ruin friendships and sink the club.

3. If you are all in college now, what happens when people graduate and leave?

Running a club can be very rewarding...especially when you are providing a club to an area that has never had one before. But after the glow of the grand opening is over, and you've seen the first fencers wearing your patch do well at a local or national tournament, someone still has to go back to club and pay the bills and clean the toilets. That's the part no one ever thinks about.

AE

[Craig]

Originally Posted by Allen Evans

1. Make a business plan -- it doesn't have to be anything more than a spreadsheet with what you think your expenses are going to be, and what your income is going to come from.

When filling out this part of the business plan, do a first pass and then double the expenses and cut the revenues in half for at least the first year of operations. Start up expenses are usually more than expected and revenues never come in as quickly as projected.

Craig

[ChamorroZorro]

Originally Posted by Craig

When filling out this part of the business plan, do a first pass and then double the expenses and cut the revenues in half for at least the first year of operations. Start up expenses are usually more than expected and revenues never come in as quickly as projected.

Craig

this is a great topic thread!

On top of what has already been said is that a lot of expenses will be unplanned and it is better if you have something in your budget accounting for it. Better to be safe than sorry!

I read somewhere, or it was in a class I took, that most businesses fail in the first two years and usually it was due to bad or no planning. Allen and Craig's posts are right on the mark.

In your business plan, it might also be a good idea to state what you hope to accomplish, how you plan to accomplish, and a time frame to accomplish those things.

[veeco]

Originally Posted by ChamorroZorro

We started our fencing club as a last resort, as the problems that were in the club we left were unresolvable. Here's some things to consider if you are going to start your own club:

1) do you or will you have enough to make the 10 fencers minimum that the USFA requires to register a club?

Where in the USFA bylaws or operations manuals does this state this? I've been looking around today, and couldn't find anything about this requirement. I probably am mistaken, since I was just doing a cursory glance, but I'd like to find out more about this.

[riceboy]

Originally Posted by veeco

Where in the USFA bylaws or operations manuals does this state this? I've been looking around today, and couldn't find anything about this requirement. I probably am mistaken, since I was just doing a cursory glance, but I'd like to find out more about this.

In the 2006 Operations Manual section 2-2 it reads:

B) Club Membership: Open to any organization which (i) actively promotes or offers instruction in or provides facilities for engaging in the sport of fencing, (ii) has met its obligation with respect to the payment of dues for the membership year as specified.
To be eligible for Club membership in the USFA, a club must meet the following criteria:
1) The owners and/or principal officers of the club or fencing Division of such club must be members of the USFA.
2) All members of the coaching staff, be they paid, volunteer or other similar status, must be members of the USFA.
3) Each Member Club must have a minimum of ten members of the USFA, at the time of the submission of the application, who have declared that club as their club. [BOD September, 1999]
4) The name of the club must be distinctive from that of all then existing club members, as determined by the Executive Director. Motion: that all member clubs have a unique name that has at least one distinctive word different from another club. Motion approved. [EC meeting, July 2006]

An organization whose application for club membership is accepted has the option to request liability insurance coverage available through the USFA for an additional fee.
Refer to the USFA club membership application for current insurance rates.

[ChamorroZorro]

Thanks for posting that RiceBoy, I hadn't had the chance yet. I got the "10 member minimum" from the USFA club registration application where it states that.

[The Rose Knight]

Some of my coworkers and I have talked about starting a company fencing club. I can't contribute to this thread, but the info is very helpful!! Great thread!!