AMANDA Kow is 19, and likes to party.

Every Friday, the Temasek Polytechnic student and her buddies hang out at nightspots like Home Club at The Riverwalk near Boat Quay, Phuture at Zouk or the Ministry of Sound.

These are some of the clubs which have laid out the welcome mat for young clubbers, those under the age of 25, including students.

Most bars and clubs prefer to have their patrons a little older, with a stronger spending power.

Amanda and her friends enjoy going to the three-year-old Home Club after school on Fridays. That is where they meet up with their coursemates to chill out over vodka and Red Bull.

Said Amanda: 'It's a safe place for us to hang out and our parents know exactly where we are.'

Her friend Dhini Dev, 19, added: 'It's a lot more comfortable than being in a club where some older guys can be quite sleazy.'

That was exactly the reason why the place was created, said Mr Kelvin Tan, 33, one of the four partners of Home Club.

'When we were younger, we only had community centres to hang out at,' he said.

'We want to provide young people with a hip, modern place to hang out. We play music that is not seen as commercially viable to most local clubs - we promote local bands, drum-and-base, as well as techno.'

Across the river at Clarke Quay, the Ministry of Sound (MoS) is also embracing the young clubbers with open arms.

Assistant vice-president of marketing Calvin Sio of Lifebrandz, who runs MoS and other outlets in The Cannery Group, told The New Paper that clubbers between the ages of 18 and 25 make up 60 per cent of its weekend crowd, which can be more than 5,000.

FUN, SAFE & AFFORDABLE

He said: 'We are running a promotion targeting students in that age group and every Friday and Saturday, they can enter MoS for free before 11pm but with no re-entry.'

Tapping into this youth market are independent event organizers like Freemansland and Lifestylebash.

They are run by students, who put together club parties for teenagers and tertiary students.

Tung Kai Sheng, 19, a Singapore Polytechnic engineering student, organises club parties and local band showcases for students aged 16 and 17, only at Home Club.

'Young clubbers want a safe and comfortable place for them to party and the parties give them that opportunity to do that,' he said.

Only soft drinks are served, and no cigarettes are sold at his 16-and-above parties, he added.

The checks on identity cards are also stepped up at the door.

Mr Tan of Home Club said: 'Our licensing allows anyone from 16 and above to enter the club. However, only those 18 and above are allowed to consume alcohol.

'We only allow those below 18 to enter from 2pm to 11pm to support the local bands, or if there are ongoing gigs, after all, some of them might be friends and family. They are denied entry after 11pm.'

He added that if the underage patrons are caught drinking alcohol, their names and IC numbers will be recorded by the staff and they will be asked to leave.

Zach Wen of Lifestylebash caters more for 18-and-above crowds - which means he has less hassle with underage drinkers.

The 24-year-old Singapore Institute of Management student organises most of his parties at The Arena in Clarke Quay, where he books a portion of the club space for his student revellers.

'The youth market wants to party where the adults are partying. While they don't have the same spending power as working adults, these parties give them a chance to have fun in an affordable way,' he said.

Both he and Kai Sheng admit there is a downside to catering for the young clubbers.

'Some of them have a bad attitude and they try to create trouble when they can't handle their drinks,' said Kai Sheng.

Which is why clubs such as Thumper and Butter Factory prefer to cater to a more mature crowd.

Butter Factory's marketing manager, Ms Celeste Chong, said that while they do have student-patrons at the club, they don't actively seek out the youth market.

'Generally, the younger crowd don't spend as much as the older one and they tend to be a bit more rowdy,' she said.

Thumper's general manager, Mr Che Pereira, agreed.

It doesn't cater to the young crowd as it has a certain image to uphold, being a hotel club. Thumper's minimum age limit is 24.

'Kids can be a bit troublesome and rowdy when they have a bit too much to drink, and it might turn off our hotel guests who have a certain expectation of us as a club in a five-star hotel,' he said.

Most of the young clubbers The New Paper spoke to said their parents had no problems with them clubbing or going for club parties.

Student Darryl Twang said his mother knows exactly where he clubs.

'As long as I don't come home drunk, she is okay with it,' he said.

'I even tell her where she can go with her friends.'

Louis Han, 18, a regular partygoer, agreed that fights do happen among the young clubbers, but felt that the onus was on the party organisers to manage their patrons.

'I believe that unnecessary trouble can be avoided if the organising committee puts in some effort to sell tickets to the right people.

'After all, the ultimate aim is to come out and have a good time.'

Additional reporting by Teo Sze Lin

This article was first published in The New Paper on Apr 13, 2008.