Big + 1!Jeremae wrote:I am in big favor of PSC-IDPA's policy of Junior shooter shoots match FREE with their parents (I find it hard to afford paying for my and 17 year old son's match fees so unless he has money he only gets to shoot the PSC match for month).
Before my work schedule interfered, my son and I were shooting at least 4 matches per month, sometimes five. By the time you add up range and match fees, ammo, gas, etc. I was spending $50.00 - $60.00 per match for both of us to shoot. This does not take into account the costs for any additional practice and IDPA membership fees. I can't even imagine the costs if more than one child was involved.
Folks, for a family man, this is a very expensive sport.
My son started shooting IDPA matches with me when he was 14. Most matches he was the only young shooter there. The reasons stated above may be one major reason why there are so few young shooters.
Now I'm not picking on my local club by any means. It's a very well run and very popular club. The match directors and safety officers all have my respect for the hard work that they do to make these matches possible. Most indoor matches seem to average 20 -25 shooters, so there's not a lot of pressure to attract young shooters right now.
But... as someone said in a previous post, the young people are the future of the shooting sports. If we don't make an effort to attract and nurture the young shooters our sport faces a very bleak future.
One way to promote this agenda would be to minimize the financial burden involved. Allowing children to shoot free or at least at a reduced rate is something the local clubs can do that would be a big help.
IDPA bears a lot of blame also. As near as I can tell, there is no effort on the part of the national organization to attract young shooters. Junior shooters also pay full membership fees. USPSA had a reduced rate for additional family members the last time I looked. They also seem to work harder to attract young shooters at the national level. True, you don't get an extra copy of the magazine with the reduced rate, but how many does one household need?
Maybe IDPA needs to wake up and smell the roses.
If your club has declining attendance try promoting your club as an affordable family sport. Get the youngsters involved now and it will pay dividends later.