Following a query raised at the 2016/2017 AGM it became apparent there was a need to clarify what ‘social’ membership entails. Chris Hopkinson kindly undertook to verify what the club meant this to be and what is permitted under EA rules. Chris’s findings are HERE in a PDF document but I have taken the liberty of extracting the key bullet points.
There are two types of club membership:
- Social or non-competitive and unaffiliated
- Full or competitive and affiliated
FRA affiliation is not part of club membership but for many members it’s worth considering and they should organise this themselves.
As the name implies Social membership is not for those wanting to take part in the major club championships. So what can and cannot Social members do?
- They CANNOT accumulate points in either the Full Road Championship or the Headbanger Championship.
- They CAN compete and accumulate points in the Parkrun Championships
- They CAN participate in training and social runs
- When entering any UKA licensed event they MUST enter as non-affiliated and pay the full price. This is VERY important because it could jeopardise the clubs affiliation if unaffiliated members claim affiliation fraudulently.
- There are SOME events (e.g. the Hairy Helmet) where the insurance is not through the UKA and social members CAN run as Shelton Striders. It is up to social members to verify the status of each event before entering as a Shelton Strider.
- Other club events (e.g. the Dave Nunn 5/10/15/20k and the Hill Climb) are closed to club(s) and Social members CAN run.
- Social members with FRA affiliation CAN accumulate Headbanger points in FRA affiliated events.
- Social members can NOT enter into the ballot for places in the London Marathon.
Clearly social members doing UKA licensed events HAVE to run unaffiliated so I won’t get to see them in the results but your achievements should be shared with the other club members so PLEASE drop me an email asap after the event so I can include you early.