So out of the 10ish people who have voted, it is pretty much split down the line. So here is what I propose.
Got an email earlier this week about the next major version upgrade of the forum software. It is in beta testing right now and currently scheduled to be released late summer. One of their new features is a concept called Clubs. You can read about them here .
I honestly don't yet completely understand how they differ from the forum categories we have today. The goal is apparently to make the software more social and the concept has apparently been implemented in the vBulletin forum software (has anyone seen this type of thing anywhere else?).
When I first read it, I thought a good use would be for when we segregate off a forum for the people who join a football pool. But the fall time period might be a good time to try it with curling or NFL.
Not entirely sold on the concept yet, and I won't be participating in the beta to see how they work, so will have to reserve judgement until it is released or there is a public demo. And if it sucks, we can not use them and go back to a basic implementation.