2024 membership subs now due

Membership fees for 2024 are now due - these have been frozen at the same rate as last year. To see fees and renew online please click here. 

In 2021 we took the decision to delay the payment of club subs from our normal payment date in January to April of that year due to the lack and training and competition opportunities resulting from Covid. We also discounted that year’s subs to reflect this. Since then, we have continued to run the subs year from April to April.
However, it has become increasingly difficult to operate along these lines for several reasons, but primarily because of the payment of England Athletics registrations.
The EA competition year also runs from April to April, with clubs given a period of grace between April and June to pay relevant registrations. But with our subs year beginning in April, it has not always been possible for the club to register members to meet the June deadline where club subs have not been paid before this point. (Over the last few years, of course, it has been club policy that EA registration will only be made where subs have been paid.)
With race organisers cracking down over the last few years on those athletes without EA registrations, this has increasingly resulted in the club being contacted by race organisers and athletes at the eleventh hour desperately needing to be registered so they can compete or enter a race, sometimes at as little as 24 hour notice. Clearly this places onerous demands on club administration, with those at the sharp end having to respond very quickly, often at great inconvenience.
Furthermore, this situation is likely to be compounded next year by the new Roster Athletics entry system which many race organisers are moving to. The Roster system does not always recognize the grace period between April and June, frequently identifying athletes as unregistered from April 1 when the new competition year begins.
Largely as a result of this, the committee have decided to return our subscription year to the traditional January to December from the beginning of 2024. This will make it less problematic to manage EA registrations. It will also help our Treasurer, Mark Hudspith, to manage year end accounts more easily and mean that new members joining in November or December can pay the following year’s subs without having to pay a half yearly fee.
Club subscriptions will continue to remain at the current rate for 2024, with the change in the subs year in effect in lieu of a rise in fees which we would otherwise have had to consider.
It should be noted that the club is facing significantly higher operating costs as a result of a number of factors:

• spiralling race entry costs for team events
• increasing EA registration fees for athletes and increasing affiliation fees with both EA and Northern Athletics
• greater travel subsidies for competitions outside the region
• track maintenance costs, which are only likely to rise in the foreseeable future
• running of the clubhouse: increased building insurance and energy bills, in addition to the necessary decoration that is tied in with the lease renewal. We hope that all members, parents and supporters will understand the rationale behind our decision and come on board with it.
  
  

Membership fees for 2024 are now due. We encourage all members to pay in January if possible, although payment will be accepted until the end of March.