For Singles Only

By By

Thursday, December 31, 1998 3:00 AM CST

BY ELIZABETH BLAUSTEIN

Journal Times

photos by Ron Kuenstler for the Journal Times

An evening of rock climbing would have made an odd first date to begin with. So it didn't bother the 12 single men at Adventure Rock Dec. 15 that there were no women at their singles club outing. They harnessed up anyway, scaling 40-foot ``mountains" for three hours.

The men belong to Mile High Adventures, a group for singles based in Milwaukee. It's not a dating club. There are no pictures stapled to cutesy biographies or videos of people listing likes and dislikes.

Instead, groups of single people between the ages of 21 and 70 get together for all kinds of endeavors. They learn rock climbing, fencing and pottery. They play roller hockey or go sky diving. They see movies, try out new restaurants and go dancing.

``It's just like when you were in college and high school," says owner and president Jerry Spredemann. ``You didn't go to dating services. Just a group of people hung out and went bowling or ice skating or whatever."

Mile High Adventures is one of several area singles clubs offering an alternative meeting ground to bars and other common ``pick-up" scenes. Many are based in Milwaukee, such as Catholic Singles or Singles Exclusive. But there are also clubs in Racine.

Racine Area Singles started offering activities in April. Now it has approximately 80 members who get together for dances, Packer games, trolley rides and karaoke.

Racine Interfaith Singles was founded more than 20 years ago. A club mostly for older people, it sponsors dances every Sunday.

For many of these clubs, dancing is the main activity. Mile High Adventures is a little different. It sponsors more than 45 events each month; dating is secondary to new experiences and fun.

``We do not go out and set people up. It's to meet people with the same interests you have," said Mile High event coordinator John Klein.

``Two people who are attracted to each other might start going out together," Spredemann says. ``But there's no pressure of a video or photographs. It's just people getting together and having fun."

The club opened in Milwaukee three years ago and already boasts a membership of 526 men and 567 women. Most live in Milwaukee, but Spredemann says members come from all over southeastern Wisconsin and even northern Illinois. Most of them are new to the area, recent college graduates, or recently divorced.

``It's really taken off," Spredemann says. ``It seems that there's a real need out there for something like this. A lot of the gals and even some of the guys say they're afraid of who they're going to meet in the bars. When you get to be 25, 26, you get tired of the bar scene. You're looking for something better and you're looking for something safer."

Jon Barsanti, 33, of Milwaukee, joined Mile High almost two years ago for the club's activities.

``I hate the bar scene with a passion," Barsanti says. ``I hate the smoke. Everybody kind of knows why you're at a bar."

A Realtor, Barsanti meets people all the time, ``but they're either married, getting married, divorced or getting divorced."

The club helps him meet people with similar interests. Since joining almost two years ago, he has gone rock climbing, seen shows and traveled. He's taking a club-sponsored trip to the Bahamas in February.

``This isn't really a singles club. It's an adventure club," says member Rick Morehouse, a 35-year-old in advertising. ``I've seen the dating clubs where you have a pay a huge fee for them to get you some date. Here, you do something you want to do. It's putting you in contact with people who like the same things you do."

At the same time, you get company on a whole slew of new adventures.

``You do things that you might not do on your own," Barsanti says.

New member Joe Trussoni, 21, agrees: ``I really enjoy it. I do a lot of things I wouldn't normally do if I wasn't a member. It's not a pick-up scene at all. You meet people and make friends."

With the hopes that true love will follow? Sometimes, members say.

``It is part of the reason why you join," Barsanti admits. ``It's nicer to meet someone this way."

``Without the hassles or the dating pressures," adds Moreuse. ``On dates, there's all this pressure to do everything right, to look your greatest. Here, you don't have to worry about it. You just have fun."

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