Køge Herreklubber has grown from one men’s club in Ejby to seven clubs with around 200 members, and is now preparing a manual to spread the model to other Danish municipalities.
The clubs run quizzes, beer brewing, choral singing and cooking, with the stated aim of preventing loneliness among men. DR reports that founder and chairman Karsten Kjær started the first club in the small town of Ejby after the COVID-19 pandemic. He felt isolated himself and saw that others also needed a new community.
According to Kjær, something particular happens when men meet on male terms. He told DR that participants can open up and show vulnerability, with less competition and performance pressure present.
The single club in Ejby has since grown into seven clubs across the municipality of Køge, with about 200 members in total. Kjær says the time the men now spend together has become so extensive that their wives have started to complain.
NB-Kommune adds that the clubs began with walking-and-talking activities. Several members later became interested in cycling, table tennis and floorball, and the program has developed from the members’ own interests.
Danmarks Dagblad reports that 70 people are on a waiting list in Ejby. The outlet describes the clubs as a supplement to Denmark’s established association life rather than a replacement for it.
Municipal support
The clubs are supported by Køge Municipality. Mayor Ken Kristensen of Venstre told DR that the clubs reach a target group the municipality otherwise struggles to reach.
Kristensen noted that the municipality already has many communities in sports associations. He said the men’s clubs reach people who are not drawn to sport or culture, but who still want to be social.
Expansion plans
Work is now underway to extend the concept to other municipalities, first on Zealand and later across the rest of Denmark. The first step is a manual setting out how the clubs are organized and run.
Per DR, Kjær is to prepare that manual together with Køge Municipality, Steno Diabetes Center Zealand and the Centre for Clinical Research and Prevention. The two research institutions are also involved in the wider effort to document the concept.
As reported by NB-Kommune, the activities have in some cases led participants toward exercise after they joined for social reasons. The clubs’ original walking format remains part of the offering alongside the newer activities.
