Sports clubs turn away members as demand outpaces facilities

Sports clubs in Aalborg and other large Danish cities are struggling to accommodate a growing number of people who want to join, DR reports.

At Aalborg HK, demand for handball is so high that the club cannot find court time for all its teams, even though it is currently borrowing space at three neighbouring sports halls.

The club has had to reject new players in some age groups, according to chairman Nicki Larsen.

“It is unsatisfactory, because we want more young people to join organised sport. It is not much fun to say no because of a lack of space,” he said.

The problem is not limited to indoor sports. Vestbyens Rideklub, a riding club in Aalborg, says it has 85 people on its waiting list and has stopped accepting more applications.

“We do not want to disappoint more people or give them false hope,” chairwoman Anne Wegener said. “But it is not pleasant to receive emails from disappointed people several times a week.”

The latest membership figures from Sifa, the association of sports clubs in Aalborg, show that membership has increased by almost 20 per cent in the past decade. More than 140,000 people belonged to sports clubs in the Aalborg area last year, including more than 2,000 who took part in riding, according to Statistics Denmark.

Nationwide, more Danes are members of sports clubs than ever before.

Lasse Lyck, a development consultant at the Danish Sports Confederation, said the shortage of facilities is a general problem in large cities, where population growth is increasing pressure on local services.

“Municipalities have to build schools and childcare facilities, and also sports facilities. It is a major dilemma,” he said.

The confederation is working with municipalities to improve the use of existing facilities. One option is to make greater use of schools for organised sports after classes end, Lyck said.

Aalborg Municipality is completing a new sports hall, while three more halls are being discussed in upcoming budget negotiations.

Jan Nymark Rose Thaysen, Aalborg’s councillor for climate, culture and health, said the municipality was already under pressure from its construction budget. Requests for more nursery and childcare places are often prioritised over leisure facilities, he said.

He could not guarantee when there would be enough space for everyone who wants to take part in sport. More funding would be needed, he said, adding that investment in facilities would support quality of life, health and community.