THE HISTORY OF SPEED DATING

The Guests Arrive

According to Canadian census statistics, the proportion of single person households in Canada rose to 41% in 2005, up from 27% in 1996. That's well over 13 million single people in Canada alone! What's more, since the early 1980s, the number of people working more than 45 hours per week has increased by 76% and only 7% of people still work 9 to 5. More single people are working longer hours, leaving less time for socialising.

Los Angeles Rabbi Yaacov Deyo invented speed dating in 1998 as a way for marriage focused young Jewish singles to meet. Speed Dating has since spread throughout the world as a revolutionary way for busy single people to meet each other without any of the stigma associated with traditional dating agencies. It is enormously popular in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US, all place where FastLife speed dating events now take place. With concerns about the falling fertlity rate in many advanced Asian countries, speed dating is gaining popularity in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong too.

The basic idea is that an equal number of men and women attend a venue; each person spends between 5 and 10 minutes chatting to each member of the opposite sex, and then decides which people they would like to see again. The organizers facilitate an exchange of details if there is a match.

The original format involved men sitting along one side of a long table with the women lined up along the other, every few minutes the men shifting along one space. Most speed dating services still operate according to this production line approach.

FastLife is a 'singles lifestyle service', designed to appeal to successful, single professionals. FastLife speed dating events are personal, private and stylish with 20 people meeting in private rooms at up-scale, lounge bars. Couples sit at separate tables and enjoy complimentary drinks and canapés.

No other speed dating service takes such care in the planning of each event. Age, age group preference and personality profile are considered by our proprietary technology. Our efforts have ensured that, to date, 90.1% of guests get at least one match. This is the highest match rate of any speed dating service anywhere.

FastLife :: Speed Dating with Style