Introduction to the National Membership System
What is left out of this Guide?
The most obvious omission from this guide is any mention of club membership fees! The reason for this is simply that each club is free to set whatever fees they consider to be appropriate and the county, regional and national governing bodies have no involvement in setting or collecting the fees.
The cost to a club of renting a venue depends on locality, the facilities provided, local subsidies and many other factors that are very variable; The cost of their equipment is also very variable - target bosses, for example, vary hugely in price depending on the type used. Some clubs run tournaments at a profit to cover part of the club's running costs, some do not. Thus the fees that clubs need to charge their members is extremely variable.
Confusingly some clubs quote a membership fee that includes the club, county, regional and national membership fees, while others detail each of membership fee separately.
So any member or prospective member should bear in mind that if they intend to shoot (as opposed to social membership, or similar) they will normally have to pay the club, county, regional and national membership fees; check whether the amount you have been told by your club is all-inclusive or not.
Some non-shooting members might not have to pay the county, regional and national membership fees - Judges and Coaches of all grades must be members of ArcheryGB to hold their license (whether or not they themselves shoot), but club secretaries should familiarise themselves with the current insurance cover provided by ArcheryGB for other volunteers. Please note that it is not possible to give advice here about the insurance, as the cover provided does change from time to time - if a club secretary is doubt, they should contact the county Treasurer in the first instance (the county Treasurer is the officer responsible for most matters pertaining to membership).
What is this Guide for?
Whoever deals with membership and affiliations at any club will eventually acquire a great deal of knowledge and experience, but as soon as this person leaves that post there is a real risk that some of the knowledge will be lost. If the previous incumbent is still available they can give advice, but if that is not the case, it can be difficult to decide what needs to be done, especially if problems arise.
This guide is intended to provide that advice. Although it cannot realistically cover every eventuality, it can at least explain how the overall process works and deal with the common questions and problems.
All clubs that wish to affiliate to ArcheryGB are normally required to affiliate to the county and regional associations in which they are situated. Exceptionally a club can affiliate direct to ArcheryGB, but in doing so, the club will not be entitled to support from the county and region and its members will not be able to compete for county or regional records or championship titles, nor be selected for county teams.
This guide therefore only relates to clubs that are affiliated to the Kent Archery Association (KAA) and the Southern Counties Archery Society (SCAS) - other counties and regions may operate differently.
Who is Responsible at a Club?
Club membership and national, regional and county membership fees are likely to be dealt with by your Club Secretary or Treasurer, but this can and does vary from club to club. So, for the sake of clarity and simplicity, we will refer to the person who actually does this job as the "Club Membership Secretary".
Please note that all correspondence from ArcheryGB, SCAS and KAA will be addressed to your Club Secretary, as that is the official point of contact, even if someone else deals with membership matters.
The remainder of this guide will provide information about:
