Always a Wasp
General Category => Wasps Rugby Discussion => Topic started by: Vespula Vulgaris on February 24, 2020, 03:00:25 PM
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I read a very interesting statistic that surprised me. That globally the average age of a Rugby fan is 36.
I find it hard to believe that that number is the same in the UK, so I was wondering how old the members here are.
Hence the poll.
Thanks!
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I am thinking much older. The UK fan base core is of folks who played when young, or their partners and offspring. As so few schools now play rugby, and this has been so since the 1990's, I would expect the average age of 'fans' in the UK to be in the high 50's.
It is why Wasps moved the qualifying age for the Senior tickets up by 5 years, because otherwise I would bet over half the ST holders would qualify.
I expect this to get 'worse' year by year.
If grass roots rugby cannot attract youngsters in sufficient numbers to offset the loss from schools, the game will die.
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I agree older than 36, but I'm gonna undercut NWW by guessing early 50's/late 40's
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Under the average (by less than a month).
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With apologies - I have a thing about apostrophe's.
Numbers in the 70s or any other numbers don't require one.
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With apologies - I have a thing about apostrophe's.
Numbers in the 70s or any other numbers don't require one.
I do most humbly apologise. Or is that apologize, as my phone and computer insist?
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With apologies - I have a thing about apostrophe's.
Numbers in the 70s or any other numbers don't require one.
Surely "apostrophe's" doesn't either??
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Well, this IS susrprising! Did you not spot the Error in the thread title?
... not even funny :(
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Well, this IS susprising! Did you not spot the Error in the thread title?
... not even funny :(
Well done to "sus" it out.
I'll get my coat......
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Well, this IS susrprising! Did you not spot the Error in the thread title?
... not even funny :(
I don't know what you mean... ::)
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With apologies - I have a thing about apostrophe's.
Numbers in the 70s or any other numbers don't require one.
I do most humbly apologise. Or is that apologize, as my phone and computer insist?
Both are considered correct, "ise" tends to be the version most people consider to be "English", but the OED states "ize" is the older and more correct version.
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I read a very interesting statistic that surprised me. That globally the average age of a Rugby fan is 36.
I find it hard to believe that that number is the same in the UK, so I was wondering how old the members here are.
Hence the poll.
Thanks!
Thank you for starting this poll this week, my last week as a 35 year old!
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I'm the only person in the "Average" bracket (36-40) so far!
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Matelot: that’s what is called a deliberate apostrophe error. Well s’potted :o
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With apologies - I have a thing about apostrophe's.
Numbers in the 70s or any other numbers don't require one.
I too have a thing about apostrophes.
And plurals don’t have one!!
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Matelot: that’s what is called a deliberate apostrophe error. Well s’potted :o
I think the blame for people putting them after decades (60's, 70's etc) lies squarely with Top of the Pops and those compilation albums they used to make years ago, or so I'm told........The covers had large 60's writing on them, kind of reinforcing the usage of the apostrophe. :D
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What's an apostofee
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What's an apostofee
It's when someone renounces belief in a religion.
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What's an apostofee
It's when someone renounces belief in a religion.
😀
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With apologies - I have a thing about apostrophe's.
Numbers in the 70s or any other numbers don't require one.
I too have a thing about apostrophes.
And plurals don’t have one!!
I may get shot down in flames here but if its a possessive plural then doesn't the apostrophe come after the s but there's no further additional "s".. countries' rather than countries's.
Anyway.. back to the poll. Its interesting to see where the median (or is it modal/average) is. Is that just a reflection of who is likely to sign up to a rugby forum or is there genuinely less interest in rugby in the 16 - 25 bracket
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I may get shot own in flames here but if its a possessive plural then doesn't the apostrophe come after the s but there's no further additional "s".. countries' rather than countries's.
That's how I see it.
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As I understand it there is always a tendency towards younger demograhics when conducting online polls. So this could be even more weighted towards the older end of the spectrum.
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I may get shot own in flames here but if its a possessive plural then doesn't the apostrophe come after the s but there's no further additional "s".. countries' rather than countries's.
Correct. Not forgetting of course that an apostrophe should also denote a missing letter as in it is becoming it's! ;)
We should do another poll to determine the average age of people who give a shit about apostrophes!
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+1
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Grammar. It's the difference between knowing your shit, and knowing you're shit.
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Grammar. It's the difference between knowing your shit, and knowing you're shit.
Brilliant
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Not forgetting of course that an apostrophe should also denote a missing letter as in it is becoming it's! ;)
Like "would have" becomes "would've".
Because of the prevalent colloquial usage of the shortened form I have noticed an increasing tendency for people to spell it as it sounds. So it becomes "would of".
Quite a few instances not only on this board, but everywhere.
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BG: Top of the class.
VV: I thought an apostofee was someone who remained a Saracens STP because they still believed.
PS: Is there a correlation between the age’s of people who have taken part in this survey & their views of the proper use of apostrophe’s?
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At least I know why I like this forum so much.
It's one of the few places that makes me feel young
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I'm 36!
Sent from my TA-1012 using Tapatalk
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What am I missing here? How is 36 the average age of that poll?
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It's not, but apparently that is the average age of a rugby supporter. I think this poll was to see how we compared on this board. Clearly we are a load of codgers.
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What am I missing here? How is 36 the average age of that poll?
Vesp said that a worldwide poll revealed the age of a rugby supporter was 36 and wanted to see what the average would be for posters on this forum.. which appears to be mid to late 40's.. whether that is representative of England/UK or just people on this site is unknown. I suspect (from seeing crowds at the Ricoh and a few other grounds) that the average here probably reflects across the country.
Is that because non fee schools have predominatly abandoned rugby as a school sport? When I was 18, lads being awarded national honours were normally associated with which school they went to, but now it appears, their quoted allegiance seems to be tied to which club academy they are at.
For most parents who don't have a background in rugby I suspect most view rugby as a dangerous sport for their teenage children to participate in.
Is this where the RFU are failing in one of their core raison d'etre.. to develop the game on a broader base at grass roots level. Are they more interested in stocking their wine/gin cellars and packing out Twickers?
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Thanks to everyone who has taken part, I think the numbers seem to show UK rugby is a lot older than world rugby...
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I suspect another factor in this being that older people tend to have greater amounts of disposable income and are therefore more likely to spend on hobbies, supporting UK rugby is probably more expensive than many other areas in the world.
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Is this where the RFU are failing in one of their core raison d'etre.. to develop the game on a broader base at grass roots level. Are they more interested in stocking their wine/gin cellars and packing out Twickers?
Yet again on this board I find myself in the uncomfortable position of defending the RFU.
They are a non profit making organisation so the money they get from packing out Twickers gets spent on rugby & nothing else. For years they have pumped money into grass roots clubs, I know its been interrupted a bit at the moment but given the numbers of people that shell out upwards of £90 for a ticket to England games & part with £70 for a shirt, they will be back in profit again soon.
As a former club secretary for a small struggling amateur club, I can confirm that the RFU give away a LOT of money to help with things like flood lights, building improvements, flooded pitch damage (we had a visit from the Twickenham, head groundsman, he almost had a heart attack when he saw our pitch!) etc. All they require is a reasoned business case & degree of accountability from the receiving clubs.
Do they get it right all the time? No of course not, like any governing body in any sport anywhere in the world they make mistakes, sadly they get slagged off as incompetent, out of touch, only in it for their own gain etc etc, like every other governing body!
The sporting landscape has changed & so has the social one. There is plenty of young players coming through & contrary to popular opinion they don't only play for posh fee paying schools, plenty of state schools play rugby in Kent & South London for example.
However once lads get to 17 or 18 & have to work, sometimes at weekends & have other sporting & social options, they tend to drift away a bit. Clubs that once put out 4 or 5 squads on a Saturday, now get out 2 or 3 & that can be a struggle. However the Ladies & Girls game is growing at a huge rate and it had a very much younger demographic so the death of rugby is not imminent (all IMO of course)
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Reasoned post BP101. I do wonder if Rugby clubs have fully embraced the changing nature of British youth too. We read that the young drink a lot less than they used to and fitting in to the "rugby club fraternity" may not be in keeping with modern lifestyle choices.
I stopped playing when I went to Uni. I took one look at the b-ends cavorting round the Union and decided they weren't for me. And if you didn't play with them you didn't play for them. Wasps run in with the decency police on that end of season boat trip suggests things haven't really changed.
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LWasp, I've seen quite a few lads shy away from Uni teams due to the initiation ceremonies etc ( not all the stories are factual but they do still happen). I Don't think that necessarily translates into the club game, at a lower level I see some players going straight home after a game, some having a few sensible beers and some fully tieing one on & ending up in a gutter at 1 am!! It is usually the older lads, and especially those who no longer play for the 1st team, or at all!
I have heard the "boat trip" mentioned before but don't know what is supposed to, or actually did, happen, but I suspect you are correct in that some players don't always know where to draw the line. However I would say that happens in all walks of life. How many office parties end up with things happening that the company wouldn't like advertised :)