[AcecePesFeacy]

University Club--attraction, retention, turnover. The attraction part is usally straightforward, but the retention is a common problem (50..25..15..7). You have to reach people with both interest, finance, and endurance to stick with it. The semester club introduction events are a great time to do demos, along with whatever else you can dream up.

Retention is hard. You need a core group with on-campus interaction. People that see other people. As a commuter, it can almost makes you an outsider depending on the campus community. You'll need to rely on other club members to tout the club and interest people. Most clubs grow by being a source of interaction and community. Most clubs die because they don't bring in new members and train them in how to manage the school associations to keep the club alive.

Turnover is a fact of life for a university club. Students may be gone before reaching bogu. Leadership turnover is also a fact of life. Find and train other students to maintain the club's organization. I've seen several really great groups die off (no facilities access) because the do-it-all club prez didn't plan a successful hand off before graduation. Groom replacements early. Somebody has to do the painful parts--ease them into it.

Bringing in some non-students if you can like staff, alumni or sponsors from the nearby community. (This has negatives and positives.) They can help give a sense of balance with people who there year after year. It also helps increase the attendance. It's easier to be uncomfortable/shy and participate in a big group than in a small group. Be extra inviting and nice to new people, expecially before and after practice when you can step outside of the keiko mindset. Part of growing is building a club, not just doing kendo. A successful club is helping to meet that internal need for peer-esteem and building friendships--which also helps encourage people to stick with it.