[JasonB]

I can't speak for clubs, but my experience with my young nephews of various ages, is that whenever I've set up my track they are absolutely fascinated, and play for hours. Some enjoy the racing, some the crashing (grrrr), and others enjoy the scenery and the little people.

It seems to me that there is no problem in getting youngsters interested.

The problems come when they decide to buy a set for themselves, or ask their parents for one as a Christmas present. I've now inherited two or three sets from them, and I think the barrier to them getting started for themselves, is simply that they don't enjoy tinkering about with stuff. They have an expectation that things will just work, and there is no expectation that they might have to maintain or even fix things that don't work. So, as soon as the first thing goes wrong, it all gets packed away and put in the cupbaord, and two years later it get's passed onto me.

The things that have worked for me are, first of all a scenic track. Everybody seems to love a decent bit of modelling, and even people who have no interest in slot cars get into a nice scenic track with buildings, trees and figures. Secondly, everything has to work properly, and that can take quite an effort.

Having said all of that, competitive racing is not my main interest, so my experience might be quite a way from the mainstream. But hey, "vive la difference" and all that. One of the great things about this hobby is the diversity.