Ready, Set, Speed Dating!

Is it Right for You?

I used to remember a time when the process of meeting and dating took time. Nowadays, for the busy single person, there is a popular way of meeting potential mates without all the traditional time and hassle. Ready, Set, Speed Dating! What is Speed Dating? The rules vary, but it's a super-fast way for single men and women to meet a number of other singles in just an hour or less.

Speed Dating is said to have been invented in 1999 by Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah. It's taken from a Jewish tradition where single members meet at supervised gatherings. (To help them find other Jewish singles, and not date outside of their faith.) Since that time, Speed Dating has become popular across the world outside of Jewish communities.

A session of Speed Dating starts out with an even number group of eligible men and women. A Speed Date that's organized by a business charges each person a fee to participate and sign-up. The business then designates a common area for a specific group of men and women to meet at.

Each person has a name tag, or an identifying number, on their chest and a pen and a scorecard in their hands. Everyone starts out being paired up with a date. A timer is set, and each couple begins their swift date. (The amount of time they are allowed to get to know each other varies. It may be one minute to seven minutes.) They can converse about any subject they choose, except their occupation and where they reside.

Once the minutes are up, the current dates are over. Now, it's time for each participant to mark their scorecards about the man or woman they just met. The choices are simple: do I want to see him or her again? Or, am I not interested in them?

After a minute to allow the participants to mark their cards, the men in the group move onto the next woman for their next date. As I said, the rules vary, so sometimes, if there is interest shown between a couple, they are allowed to exchange phone numbers after their date. However, if the Speed Dating session was organized by a business, contact information is usually obtained from the organizers.

The timed Speed Dating intervals keep going on until every man has met every woman.