Promote stoolball and find new players

If your team needs new players, or your league needs new teams, there are lots of ways you can get the message out. Here are some suggestions and ways that Stoolball England can help, but if you have other ways to find new players that have worked for you, please contact us.

Make sure your page is up-to-date

Check your team's page on this website. Do we have contact details for your team? Do we have the address of your ground? Do we know when you play? If not, add your team to this website. We'll put it all on your page, so that players can find you and get in touch.

If you're particularly in need of new players, tell us and we'll add an appeal on your team's page and our news section.

Put posters everywhere you can

Create a poster to promote your league, club or tournament. Put it up in your front window, at work, in leisure centres, libraries, village halls and at clubs for winter sports like hockey and rugby.

Walk around your town or village, and others nearby if they don't have their own team, and ask any shops with posters up already if you can add yours. Ask companies to display a poster on staff noticeboards. This worked in Lewes, where two new teams joined the local league in response to the posters.

It's useful to prepare a letter explaining why you're promoting your team, in case you need to leave a poster with a receptionist.

Use social media and sports websites

Create a Facebook page and Instagram and Twitter accounts, advertise them everywhere you can and keep them updated. On Twitter use the search tool to find prominent local accounts, and tweet directly to them. They can help you spread your message more widely.

We automatically post your information on onlysport.org, but there are lots of other sports and local listings websites where you can add your team and your matches.

Advertise in local media

Place an advert in your local paper or free-sheet. There may be a small cost or, if you offer to write an article about your club, you can often get featured free of charge. This was a success for Horley Stoolball Club in Surrey where eight new players responded to their advert.

Advertising or making an appeal for your club on local radio can help too, whether it's community radio for your town or larger stations such as Heart Radio or BBC Sussex.

Get schools and your local council to help

Ask local schools if they will put a poster up, and talk to their PE teachers and School Games Officers about playing stoolball either in class, as an after-school club or as a taster session which your club could help to organise. Tell them about our section on school stoolball.

Your local council may be able to help, particularly at town, parish or district level. They are usually keen to promote new sports, and can include you on local websites, help you to organise your publicity, apply for grant funding and run taster sessions. Cowfold Stoolball Club got started thanks to their local council. Try neighbouring councils too, though only if they don't already have a stoolball team of their own!