Speed Dating

This "mating sport" also will appeal to those who have become frustrated with the anonymity and long-distance aspects of online dating. Unlike online dating, what you see at a Speed Dating event is what you are going to get. There is no false advertising such as lying about one's age or weight allowed.

The problem with blind dates and personals is that they do not satisfy a very crucial requirement needed in order for two people to hit it off and see each other again: physical attraction and chemistry. Speed dating allows you to meet in person and see if the two of you actually click. You are not required to waste the time that you would meeting someone on a blind date. On a blind date, many squander hours of time being courteous to an individual they would rather just get away from.

The rules of the game are quite simple. The event is usually advertised and singles that want to participate gather at a café or bar. Each "player" is given a nametag and a scorecard.

A timer that allows you to spend seven minutes with each companion rules the game. When your seven minutes is over, a bell is rung, signifying that all players should shift to the next seat to meet the next person.

Usually you are allowed to discuss anything with the potential partner except your name, your job and where you work.

Following each introduction, participants mark on their scorecard whether or not they would be interested in having a real date with the other person. How the game ends varies according to the event. Usually, at the end of the game, the organizers check the scorecards and match up which partners have mutual interest in each other. In some versions of speed dating only the women are given the phone number and in others, both the woman and the man are given the number to follow up on for a date.

Speed dating is the brainchild of Rabbi Yaacov Deyo, who in 1999, wanted to invent a way of allowing single Jewish men and women to meet in a safe, chaperoned environment. Since then the idea has caught on commercially and many online dating sites also feature speed-dating events as part of their activities.

For many singles, who are tried of the bar scene and weary of blind dates, speed dating offers a fun and safe alternative to going online or placing personal ads. Speed dating has proven to be a fairly successful way of meeting a new partner and its proponents claim that more than half of the players in a game usually walk away with the phone number of a potential love match.