Since the requirement in 2011 that all matches in the Open Competitions must have an electronic scorecard submitted, it has been possible to analyse the figures to provide information, inter alia, on participation and dropout rates.
The overall total of registered players who have taken part in an official fixture under the LCU Open Competitions over the past two seasons is 2764. The number participating in 2011 was 1987 [16 players played for two clubs, one of which was usually either Dublin University or the Irish Womens] and in 2012 was 2128 [10 played for two clubs]. There were also a small number of unregistered players, some of whom may have been subsequently registered.
While the net increase between the two years was 141, which would be expected given that extra teams were entered in competitions in 2012, the figures hide a much greater flow of players in and out of the sport. Perhaps of greatest interest to clubs is the figure of over 600 players who competed in 2011 but not in 2012, a 30% drop out rate. Of course on the positive side this means that there were 750 newly registered players in 2012. The figures are also marginally better when one takes into account that 24 players who competed for the Irish Womens team in 2011 did not take part in the Open Competitions matches in 2012 but of course most continued to play matches under the aegis of the Womens Section.
The breakdown of the figures in 2012 for the number of matches played by individuals is also interesting. It shows that nearly 900 players competed in five or less matches [42%]. The percentage of those playing 6-10 matches was 24%, for 11-15 was just under 21%, for 15 to 20 nearly 10% and for those over 20 matches, was 4.6%.
Further analysis of the figures will take place over the winter looking at mobility between clubs, around 70 persons in total transferred clubs between 2011 and 2012, the number of players used by each team in the season and the operation of the starring system. Details at club level can be made available to clubs on request.