A lot of clubs start as six or eight people who already play, plus a group chat that slowly becomes the admin job. That's fine for a month. Then the same three questions start, and one person is answering them every week.
What you actually need
- A venue you can book, even one court.
- A regular slot, even if it's only fortnightly at first.
- A hard capacity, so "is there space" has an answer.
- A way to pay that isn't "send me a fiver sometime".
- One link people can join with, instead of you adding them by hand.
That's a club. It doesn't have to look like a league.
The first month
Week one
Post one session. Cap it at the courts you have (four players a court, plus a couple sitting out if you want a rotation). Set a booking deadline the night before, so you know your numbers before you leave the house.
Tell the regulars first
Message the five to ten people who play every week, directly, with the link. A link dropped into a busy group chat gets buried. A short note to the regulars gets you a club that exists.
Run the night, take one photo
Put the photo where the club lives, not where it scrolls away. A club with a record of itself is easier to invite people into.
Week four
Look at who came three times. Those are your members. Ask them which night suits, and make that the fixture.
The first night is the whole pitch.
Do this in ClubPad
Create the club in the app. It's free. Pick a name, add the venue, set how you get paid, then share the invite link. Friends join for free. If you already play with another club, the two sit side by side on the same home screen.
Once five people have joined, the club gets its own public page at clubpad.app/clubs/your-name: sessions, venue, what to expect. Publish it in a tap when you want to be found on Google, or leave it off while it's just friends. Bringing someone in is still your invite link: the page tells them what the club is, the link gets them through the door.
Club Plus is there later if you want your own colour, unlimited mixer nights or the Mini-tournament format. You do not need it to start. Post the first session before you announce anything in the chat. Then send the link.
- A venue, a regular slot, a hard cap, a way to pay, one join link.
- Week one: one session, one photo, the regulars told directly.
- Week four: whoever came three times is the club. Fix the night around them.
- Create the club free; the public page comes once five have joined.
