Love on the fly - speed dating in Sydney

Fast Impressions

The single lady: Lisa Omagari

Ordinarily, the thought of being stuck in a room full of men on the prowl would make me cringe, but when Time Out pitched this speed dating feature my interest was definitely piqued. I thought my recent dating history (or lack thereof) and knack for eyeing off spoken-for men could well be reason to enlist a little help.

And so it was that I agreed to be taken on 12 eight-minute dates with an assortment of prospective suitors at Surry Hills bookshop and wine bar Ampersand – all the while convincing myself it was for the good of the story.

Paula, our Fast Impressions host, did an impressive job of making the group feel at ease as she poured bubbly, gave us nametags and introduced us to one another. Unfortunately, unlike my undercover accomplice Sam, I didn’t have the advantage of a fancy Hawaiian shirt to win the crowd over and get the chit-chat rolling. This was my chance to swoop in and snag some one-on-one time with the male singles before the games began, but Instead I spent the next 15 minutes getting to know the two ladies next to me. Fail.

Once the dating had begun, it quickly became clear that a lot of the men had pre-planned their questions. Four dates in and my attention span was beginning to wane. Six in and I was sizing up how many more rehearsed opening lines I could take. The majority of my 12 dates worked in finance, were dressed alike and asked similar questions. This made it pretty hard, no thanks to the free-flowing champagne, to remember each at the end of the event. But despite this, the next day, I received a whopping eight matches. Win.

Truth be told, there wasn’t anyone I was particularly interested in hearing from, but special mention must be made to a certain date whose follow up email really, really cut to the chase – winking emoticon included.

The verdict? Speed dating is definitely a good way to meet singles outside your usual circles, but the format doesn’t exactly leave much room for romance. Full marks to Paula’s best efforts to counteract this – she really was the perfect host. 

The single man: Sam Egan

“Hawaiian shirts”, I explained to a slightly distant date, “have become almost meaningless today. Some people think you shouldn’t wear a Ramones T-shirt if you’re not a fan; I think you shouldn’t wear a Hawaiian shirt if you haven’t been to Hawaii. I think it’s got a lot to do with Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo and Juliet.”

“So you’ve been to Hawaii?”

“No.”

Truth be told, other than some poorly received sarcasm, I enjoyed my speed dating debut. And my follow-up figures suggested that 44 per cent of the time, I was enjoyed in turn.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t quite the verbal questionnaire tennis I’d anticipated. I did my best to inspire my first date to resume piano lessons, and she reminded me that Dr Dre’s The Chronic is a killer record. The public servant saw my piercings and a mutual ‘nah’ was established. My fifth date and I concluded that we liked the ‘idea’ of lobster more than the taste. The French girl had never heard of Phoenix, but thoroughly recommended her compatriots Bob Sinclair and David Guetta, and the Kiwi apologised for her nation’s mistreatment of the Wallabies at the past Rugby World Cup.

Overall, I found speed dating a curious yet draining activity. Although there's less Lynx cologne in the air, it is essentially the same kind of affair as a year eight dance – a tacky and nervy environment to try to pick up in.

I certainly didn’t have a bad time and I would recommend it to anyone seeking a bit of a leg-up into the dating world, or just some harmless fun. As for the chances of finding a new soul mate, I must confess I won’t be contacting any of my matches. But there's always next time.

Our writers attended the Fast Impressions Speed Dating With Style 25–37 event. Fast Impressions also run wine tasting evenings, singles cooking classes and various other speed dating events for singles aged 21–65. Visit the Fast Impressions website for upcoming events.

Other Sydney speed dating events:

Dear Pluto's Hipster Speed Dating
Male? Single? Like wearing boat shoes and Flock of Seagulls hair? We've got a hot ticket for you... 

Sci-Fi Speed Dating
A lightsabre love-in for the LGBT community

Singles Cooking Classes
Get your love life off the back burner

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