Finding a replacement to take over our club

[Dan Hefta]

This may have been covered before but my search fu sucks. I have been club Pres and MD for a local club for three years now, I have not missed a match in almost five years, I am a family man and very busy so this was difficult. I tried getting a replacement last year and had no luck at all, the same is happening this year. This will be my final year no matter what happens, I just worked too darn hard to let the club die. We have a great bunch of people but nobody wants to step up! I want to start training my replacement now but not one shooter has shown even a glimmer of interest... what am I doing wrong?

[Sarge]

what am I doing wrong?

Probably nothing. People just want somebody else to do the hard work so they can reap the rewards. Human nature.

[Canuck223]

Make sure the keys are in plain sight next match, and make sure you are nowhere to be found.

[Dan Hefta]

Make sure the keys are in plain sight next match, and make sure you are nowhere to be found.

I wish I could do that, it's just not me.

[ChuckS]

If you are doing monthly matches, take a month off with short notice as a demonstration to the members as to what will be missing. If that doesn't work, just step aside. Sad to say, but if they think you will continue to do it, they have no motivation to take over. Missing a mid-summer match may be a good wake-up call. You have done very well, thank you! Now it is time to pass the baton...

[atbarr]

Make sure the keys are in plain sight next match, and make sure you are nowhere to be found.

I wish I could do that, it's just not me.

Yeah, the members know this. They are and have been taking advantage of you. Leave the keys, walk away, get a life.

Good Luck,

A.T.

[GrumpyOne]

Sometimes the subtle approach just doesn't work...Some people need to be hit a lot harder for them to be woke up...Just walk away for a month...

[Corey]

Went through something like this at my local club. A fwe of the people running it were getting burnt out and at a match at the end of the year last year, they announced they were don running the show and needed replacements. Things were slow to get around this year as a bunch said they wanted to help but bailed and we actually had to cancel April and May matches due to a lack of support. People started missing the matches and realized they needed to help. I stepped up to do the scoring and a few people have helped with stage setups.

You might just have a meeting before or after a match with the locals to the club and just say "This will be my last year running things. One of you needs to take the initiave and step up as a replacement or we wont have a match here next year"

[JimmyZip]

Wish I lived near your club. I can't believe that no one can see what an advantage to ones shooting this can be. I am surprised when I see people who set up a match that don't use that time to get in some practice. It doesn't take that much time at our club because people are always willing to put up a stage. You set up a stage, you shoot for free! I sometimes call up the MD a week before and ask if I can set one up. I feel lucky when he says yes. It takes about 20 minutes to set up a simple stage, and maybe an hour to set up a big field course. They let me know what I need to change to make it legal, and actually we usually help each other set the whole thing up. Tear down is the easy part! I'm usually out there at 7AM, and out of there by 12-1PM. Free shooting! After set-up if we set up the night before, which we do sometimes, I run drills on the plate rack, or the steel portions of a stage so I don't have to break out the tape.. I am just baffled that other can't see how much fun this can actually be. Maybe it's just that my spouse is happy when I'm at the range rather than other places. She gives me no grief, and will only let me take our more responsible oldest girl, the easiest to watch who likes to shoot and wants to compete, with me. She likes to help, and enjoys watching a match. Seems like an opportunity that quite a few are unaware of.

JZ

[joseywales]

...We have a great bunch of people but nobody wants to step up!

I agree with the prior posts - you just have to be a hard-a$$ sometimes. It's human nature to want / just let someone else do the work, and

there are those who do need to be figuratively "slapped up side the head" with the reality that matches don't happen by accident.

Designing stages takes time, building them takes time & elbow grease, administering the match takes both.

Our club has tried to build and foster an environment where no one is left out there alone - maybe some of the actions we've taken will be of help to your club.

We make a concerted effort at the beginning of the season to recruit VOLUNTEER match directors for each match over the entire year.

We tell the entire club that no MD VOLUNTEER = no match.

We tell the entire club that no VOLUNTEER setup help = very small match.

We tell the entire club that VOLUNTEERS will setup stages on match morning @ 8:00am and that whatever is built by 10:00am, we shoot.

We always design 6-7 stages - we ALWAYS have enough help to build EVERYTHING.

And the amazing thing...the stages are fresh with new ideas, and one or two people don't get burned out with MD load for the entire year.

Be honest with the club - you're stepping down, others need to pick it up - or there will be no shooting. End of story.

[whitedog]

Agree to all the posts. Same thing happened to me, only in reverse. I took the reins from the guy who left. He helped me a lot and I did ok. Lasted 2 years and gave it to someone else. People get burnt out.....I believe 2-3 years max is it.

[Graham Smith]

It is difficult for a new person to take on the whole thing cold turkey. I would suggest that you consider a team approach.

If you can, find a Registration and Stats (software scoring) person. That's a job all by itself and the only job requirements are to be well organized and somewhat computer capable.

There should already be a group of people who help with the setup so get them involved with the stage design.

Ideally, the MD's primary job is the Senior Wrangler - giving directions and checking on things.

Sounds easy - it's not. I'll send you a PM with some personal observations.

[Hi-Power Jack]

I've had three clubs stop IPSC matches in the past two years,

all for lack of people to replace the directors.

Two possibilities I can think of (not sure if they'll work)

are:

1. break the task down into smaller pieces and ask for volunteers

for each task, now - train them on each task separately

2. hire some young kids to do the heavy moving/set up and break

down to relieve some of the pressure

As you've probably discovered over the past four years, this is

not a task for one individual - you really need at least four

people to continuously run these matches on a monthly basis.

Good luck - hate to see IPSC matches disappear anywhere.

Jack

[Dan Hefta]

Someone will step up, this club has been around for 30 years and this happens every time we are changing the guard. I just want to start training my replacement sooner than later to make the change go smoothly. I put too much heart and soul into this club to just walk away. Thanks for all of the advise so far, I will start recruiting more aggressively starting now.

[2MoreChains]

Not sure if this will work for your situation, but at one of the clubs I shoot at we rotate the MD duties by quarter. For example, I usually take the 1st quarter (winter) because my job sometimes interferes with my availability in the late spring thru mid fall. Each quarter's MD organizes six matches in those three months. It helps to minimize burn out, and also inherently mixes things up because each of the MD's has a different styles of stages they like.

Scoring usually goes pretty smooth when the regular Stats guy shows up, but he too has a life/job, so a couple of us are his back-up when he can't make it.

Edited July 13, 2011 by 2MoreChains

[remoandiris]

At my club, I took over after being a club member for about 4 months. The guy doing it was DONE and no one else wanted it. At least I had 3 or 4 people to help with stage setup. I had it for about a year, then moved 1300 miles away. The guy who took it from me lasted about 5 months then quit. The guy who took it from him is still doing it. I moved back to the area and got handed a position on the range's executive board...because no one else wanted to do it.

If you have people set up stages and take care of scoring, the rest of the work isn't too bad. If you have to do the scoring, just let the shooters know it could be a few days before the scores are done. If they want to complain, let them know they just volunteered to help. If they don't like that, tell them good-bye and don't come back until they adjust their attitude. This is a volunteer sport. If people are part of the problem instead of part of the solution, I don't need them around.

[lugnut]

I hope everyone that shoots in a USPSA/IDPA, etc match reads this thread.

Here's what our club does- both for USPSA and IDPA matches.

Not just one person does everything- not even close. We have a couple IDPA chairs for the the club. For our IDPA matches this is what we have:

1 MD- they coordinate stages, resources, etc.

At least 6 people to design/set up stages (6 stage match) unless MD wants to do them.

1 dedicated score person

A bunch of others to help set up and tear down.

People that SO/Setup/Score shoot free- shooters are supposed to help tear down and sometimes we let the know that.

I love remoandiris's comment- if they complain tell them to step up... may be harsh but it's the way I see things. Clubs and staff don't make money, and we encourage people to step up and help all the time. Most people I know can make well more than the $20 match fee in a half day of their work- so letting them shoot for free isn't offering them much- they do it for the sport. I love our sport and the people we shoot with but I won't hesitate to let people know we need help.

Sometimes we have told shooters our practices won't happen unless people step up... it usually works... if not- it comes off the schedule.

[AlamoShooter]

next year will the start of year 20 for me. But a Dictatorship is much easyer than a presidency

[rhd2542]

The club I belong to has the same problem. We have 35 members but only 5 or 6 shoot matches. We do get 10-20 non members whobshoot. No one wants to be pres. but me. We have to cancel this weekends match because we can't get enough folks to help setup the match. Were dying quick.

[Joe4d]

Sometimes the match directors and organizatio can hurt more than help setup, how often have you seen people standing around early but with no direction, all of whom would probably help setup if they had some direction. So often I have seen cases of oneguyitis, where only one person knows what the stages are, only that person knows what props to use and only that person is walking around sweating while everyone else stands around.

I shot 2 clubs before that ran like this:

The Match director had stage WSB's with decent drawings and a list of supplies, posted at each stage by 8am ish, then he sits down and does sign up, setup starts about 830. and prop shack is unlocked, Evey match a different volunteer RM is appointed,(not the MD) any shooter with the slightest clue can walk to a stage, see 16 posts, 6 targets, 5 nails, 2 wall sections (etc) at bottom of page and go grab em, as shooters arrived they walked to stage that had the fewest people looked at drawing and helped setup, THe RM just walked from stage to stage and tweaked a few targets here and there, proofed for shoot through,etc.

range was usually shooting by 10 and tearing down about 230 for about 40 people and 5-6 stages.