Annual Membership Renewals

Changes have been made to the ArcheryGB membership renewal process for the start of the 2010-2011 membership year and club secretaries should have received information from ArcheryGB some time ago on how the new system will work for this year. If your club has not received their annual return yet, please contact the ArcheryGB Membership Officer at Lilleshall urgently - please see the latest edition of ArcheryUK for contact details.

It is apparent that there is some confusion about what clubs are required to do, so here are the main points that clubs need to be aware of:

• The ArcheryGB membership returns form and payment of the ArcheryGB fees should be sent direct to ArcheryGB; do not include KAA (county) or SCAS (region) fees.
• The ArcheryGB membership returns were due by 31 August 2010 - this was to give time to complete data entry and correction and allow membership cards to be sent out in time for the new membership year. Renewals received by them after this date will be dealt with in the order received and members might receive their membership card late (i.e. after the start of the new membership year on 01 October).
• Take care that you do not disadvantage members who have paid promptly, by delaying the return and payment - late payers cause additional work for everyone and should be discouraged, but if necessary they can be dealt with afterwards in the same way as new members, but be sure to quote their existing membership number on all forms. They will more than likely receive their membership card late.
• The KAA (county) and SCAS (region) fees should be sent to the county Treasurer with two copies of the completed ArcheryGB renewal form. The county and region fees can be combined in a single club cheque payable to "Kent Archery Association", or you can send separate club cheques for the two sets of fees - it does not matter which way you do it. The county Treasurer will then send the regional fees on to SCAS in the time-honoured way.

Tip: If your club has a large number of members and you find it difficult to use the unsorted list on this year's renewal form, it is possible to request an extract from the ArcheryGB Membership Officer at Lilleshall - we are aware that several clubs have done this and have found it quicker and easier to deal with their renewals.

Any club that is unsure about any aspect of processing new applications, transfers or renewals of membership should follow the instructions given by ArcheryGB; if you are still unsure about how to proceed, then please contact the county Treasurer for further advice.

It is important to understand that this year's renewal process includes the provision of a lot of new data, then keying it all into the new ArcheryGB membership database by the staff at Lilleshall - this is a one-off exercise and in future years the process is expected to be considerably simpler and quicker for everyone.

Clubs are reminded that KAA membership fees have increased since last year and the new fees are shown in the current edition of the KAA Membership policy.

The increase was effective as follows:

The KAA plans to issue a fully revised version of its "Club Guide - Affiliation and Membership Process" in time for next year's renewals; we hope that by then the new ArcheryGB membership system will have had any bugs ironed out and any lessons from this year will have been incorporated into it.