What "groups" are tramping clubs inteded for?

"Just in Wellington, the TTC, the HVTC, the WTMC and the VUWTC all have their own cultures and ways of doing things. They attract quite different types of people. " Very well put Mike. Mirrors my experience exactly. And while I've written quite a bit about the joys of solo tramping, I got my start in Scouting/Venturers and then AUTC. I look back on that introduction with great fondness. And I especially acknowledge those older and more capable trampers/climbers who cheerfully gave of their time and energy to help me as a novice. Oh and some threads are a lot like tramps, it's not the destination that counts so much.

My highly generalised thoughts on the subject are that 3 types of people join tramping clubs 1 People new to tramping that need guidance. 2 People that have tramped in school or other groups ie Scouts and want to continue tramping but not within the previous organisation. 3 Older people that have either tramped in there younger days and want to return to tramping or people that have tramped with friends who no longer want to tramp The first two groups are highly important despite the fact that 80% are not there for the long term. These people build skills and go xclub or leave to have families. Nurture them right though and they will become group 3 members eventually although not necessarily with the same club. Too many clubs look at this group and think why bother but really it is the pool you need to look at for the long term survival of the club. Group 3 are people that if you have somewhere for they will come. They become your long term members and your teachers. They want to put something back and generally become the backbone of the club. They will join your club because it matches what they want in a club. They have made a discission to join then looked at the options. You need them but you cant look for them

Interesting thought on trip leaders. This happens not just in tramping. When you start leading you generally start with the easier trips but the harder trips can be much easier on the leader. The easy trips are where you have the learners and unknown participants The harder trips tend to have every member as a potential leader so most of the "leadership" problems disappear. A solution would be make new leaders take hard trips but I can see that ending badly

women are more likely to join for social and safety reasons, generally they are more likely to want people to talk to and generally like tramping alone less because they are more likely to prefer having other people around for safety reasons.

@geeves, at least where the WTMC is concerned in my own experience, I'd add a 4th group. Over the past decade or so it's picked up lots of relatively young (20+yo) professionals who've shifted to New Zealand from overseas for the medium or long term. For that demographic it's not unusual to be lacking transport (which is not always a priority and sometimes a hindrance in an urban setting), and to also want to meet and socialise with other people in a context of getting away to see the outdoors frequently. They'll often bring friends and get involved in committees and trip organisation, too.

Kiel youve missed the point. Your mentality is why tramping clubs are all but dead. A club is a club. Clubs of all types the country over are struggling because these days people outside of that community are very apprehensive of joining because of perceived cliques and arrogance towards novices. Could be squash, rugby, or tramping.

The tramping club I belong to has a diverse membership base... on one such Med+ trip I made a list of the participant's country of origin: 10 New Zealand 2 England 1 Australia 1 China 1 Botswana 1 Kazakstan 1 Lebanon 1 France 1 Germany 1 Netherlands Some members were only in NZ for a year on study or work permit. It was good to see them being so enthusiastic about our wonderful backcountry and embrace the NZ tramping culture so willingly.

"a tramping club is not a football club" That's a relief!

"at least where the WTMC is concerned in my own experience, I'd add a 4th group. Over the past decade or so it's picked up lots of relatively young (20+yo) professionals who've shifted to New Zealand from overseas for the medium or long term. For that demographic it's not unusual to be lacking transport (which is not always a priority and sometimes a hindrance in an urban setting), and to also want to meet and socialise with other people in a context of getting away to see the outdoors frequently. They'll often bring friends and get involved in committees and trip organisation, too." I would consider these as part of my second group although they may also fit in the first. They will be highly active for a while but work and family commitments will take there toll. 50% wont be living in Wellington in 5 years. Still its the group you need to encourage. Even if they leave a large portin come back in 20 to 30 years

Club culture isnt for everyone all of the time. As long as they are out there doing it with appropriate gear and knowledge why should we complain?