Single club
Single clubs are communities of people without permanent partner relationships who seek contact with their own kind. The transitions to leisure clubs are fluid.
The names of the clubs
The groups that meet the description of the single clubs given here can have very different names. The name single club is by no means common. The name single club does not provide any information about the prevailing motivation.
The members and their expectations
Singles are people who do not have a steady partner relationship. It can be: single, divorced, widowed and also married people who live separately. People who live with their children can also be singles. The decisive factor is not living alone, but the lack of a stable partnership. Compare with the single person article . Especially people who have lost their partners and people who have moved to the area are looking for contact with single clubs. The age structure of the members can be very different. Often the age range from the youngest to the oldest active members is as little as 20 years. Some members hope to find a life partner among like-minded people. The chances of this are relatively good. Some other members prefer to be alone and only spend part of their free time with other singles.
The Activities
In most single clubs, the members have weekly get-togethers, which are called round tables or otherwise. They serve, on the one hand, to enable newcomers to get to know the group, and, on the other hand, to enable the participants to meet two or more people. Various leisure activities are offered depending on the size of the single club and the willingness of the members.
The member recruitment
In contrast to circles of friends, most single clubs are always open to new members. Some clubs regularly post classified ads in regional newspapers, while some primarily advertise themselves on the Internet.
The legal form and the membership fees
No legal form is required for a single club. It can, but does not have to be, a legal person , as a registered association or as a GmbH . Some single clubs only charge small contributions from their members to cover their own costs. On the other hand, there are single clubs that are organized as business operations. Some commercial club leaders make more promises than those clubs can deliver.
Umbrella organizations
Some single clubs, but only a minority, have come together to form umbrella organizations. In the Ruhr area this is the “Ruhr Area Action Group”. For a while there was also a federal German umbrella organization initiated by the Ruhr Area Action Group, the “Federal Association of Non-Commercial Single and Leisure Groups” which, however, disbanded a few years after its foundation due to quarrels. There are also lists of single clubs that are published on the Internet, e.g. B. freizeittreffen.de
About history
The first registered Single Club eV in Germany was founded in Hamburg in 1974 by Joe Schütt (See media reports: Topic of the day Bild Hamburg, Hamburger Abendblatt, various magazines, NDR Monika Jetter, ZDF Die Drehscheibe, ...) This Single Club eV exists today yet.