A new Recruitment Strategy

In 2004 the EFA instigated a thorough review of the game. In the analysis of Club Fives, while many positive aspects were noted, there were also clear signs of a worrying trend: some clubs were shrinking. There were more old players retiring than young players coming into the game. For many years this decline had barely been noticed, simply because there were enough players to provide strong competition and enjoyable Fives. Recently, however, support for many competitions has been seen to be dwindling and, if this trend continues, the critical mass of players required for healthy inter-club competition will be in danger. This would lead to the inevitable demise of a game that has thrived for almost 200 years. We need to take action.
One of the key goals of this website is to give Club Secretaries and the EFA a clearer picture of who, across clubs and age groups, is playing Fives year on year. Through this site each club can see at a glance who their members are and who is actually playing.


Bridging the gap between School and Club Fives:
Creating an annual recruitment structure

Each year dozens of keen Fives players leave schools up and down the country and then VANISH. In the last 20 years or so, only a tiny percentage of these school leavers have gone on to play adult Fives. Many maybe never even knew they could play Fives after their schooldays. Those that have joined the game have often been family or friends of established players.

This web-facility and the new ladder competition are in place to give structure to a more effective annual recruitment strategy. The site itself provides a system for logging and tracking school leavers. School leavers have their own specific registration page including information on their chosen university and their parents contact details. The ladder competition provides a means by which new recruits can play regular Fives without requiring constant nannying from an established player.
The two principal aims are...

1. To ensure we keep track of future school leavers – of whatever standard - more effectively.

2. To track down 'lost' players (who have left in the past twenty years or so!) and re-introduce them to the adult game.

 

How Masters in charge of Fives at schools can help

Recording school leavers Until now, we've lacked a means of keeping in touch with Fives players once they leave school.
The new online player directory has been devised specifically to solve this. Not only will it include all current Club Players, it will also provide the opportunity to register Fives playing school leavers. Of course, to create this list we have to get them to register before they leave school and this is where we really need your help.
Ideally the Master in charge will call a meeting of his leaving Fives players towards the end of the Spring Term, brief them about the opportunities for adult Fives, direct them to this website and encourage them to register (ideally there and then under his supervision!). All final-year players who might be interested in playing in future (regardless of their ability) should be included. The Rising Stars introduction from the ‘start page’ links to a special School Leaver Registration page for this very purpose. (take a look - you'll need the normal registration password to access the form - contact a member of the EFA board if you don't know it already) The information that the leavers provide will help us (and you) to keep in touch with them after school.

 

How Club Secretaries can help

Recruiting School Players.In years to come, this website should provide a complete record of each year's school leavers from every Fives playing school. It will also provide a measure of the current strength of Fives at each school. This information gives Club Secretaries an essential starting point when targeting new recruits at the start of each season.

Recruiting Lost Players. The more challenging immediate task is to track down "lost" players: those who have left school in the last twenty years but know nothing about Club Fives...

The Experience of the Salopian Club...

“We attempted this just prior to the 2004 season with some success. Here's how we went about it and what we learnt...

“We started at the school, contacting the Old Boys Club and Master in Charge and were able to gather records of past school teams and (sometimes sketchy) contact details for those players which we recorded in Excel by year group.
“At our AGM (prior to the season) we broke this list of names into manageable chunks and gave ten names each to various club members of appropriate age. Importantly we had a one week deadline to report back to the Club Secretary with our results.
“Often we contacted people through first speaking to obliging parents, but when we did finally track them down (even if they were now living in Australia) we were knocked out by how fondly they remembered the game and how delighted they were to be contacted. Obviously some players were living abroad or too far from a court; others we simply couldn't get hold of. But we did contact a number who had lived in London all this time and knew nothing about club Fives. Many of these expressed an interest in joining in and have spread the word to their peers. Through just an hour or so on the telephone we almost doubled our list of available players. Often one good contact led to a number of others, bringing a group of friends back to the game all at once.”

 

The Rehabilitation of ‘lost’ players

The first step is to get them on the new system. We must badger them to visit this site and register. They are then in the communication loop and we have all their up-to-date contact details.
The next step is to get them on court. The new Ladder Competition was specifically created to make it easy for new players to get started and enjoy the game from the word go. It is open to everyone and runs in conjunction with this website and e-mail, so Club secretaries/match managers do not carry such a huge burden - they will get their own invitations from the system (though personal encouragement is obviously desirable initially). The Ladder is not only designed to provide great Fives for established players, it is a also a nursery to introduce the new into a buzzing and sociable environment where they can quickly find their form, make friends and enjoy a pint or two afterwards. From here they can get involved in other competitions and tournaments if they wish.
The success of this strategy is entirely dependent on fulfilling the elements of the recruitment process at the right times of year. This site is a dumb tool and can only be of use if we successfully manage to fill it with players, tag youngsters as they leave school and carry out appropriate club housekeeping at the start of each season. We now have all the facilities in place to make it easy. If Club Secretaries and Masters I/C can work together to fulfil this recruitment strategy, a healthy future for Eton Fives is a certainty.

Ed Taylor on behalf of the EFA.