Membership

Our aim is to promote healthy participation in road and trail running, fitness training sessions and other such related activities. The Club respects the rights, dignity and worth of every person and shall treat everyone equally within the context of their sport, regardless of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, race (including ethnicity and nationality), religious belief, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity or social/economic status.

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Membership of the Club is open to all without discrimination and may only be refused where admission to membership would be contrary to the best interests of sport or the good conduct and interests of the Club. 

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For the safety and continued enjoyment of all, there is an expectation that all members will agree and abide by our Club Rules, Constitution and all rules laid down by the sports’ governing body, England Athletics (EA).  Encourage and be supportive of fellow members. Uphold the Clubs’ good name and reputation, both inside and outside of Club activities, and conduct themselves in an appropriate manner.

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All members must register with our membership secretary and complete the necessary documents. 

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People wishing to join the club may attend for three trial runs on any of our training days. After this period they will be expected to register as either a Full or Junior Family Member.

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We have two types of membership:

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Full members:  Members have access to the club private Facebook group, Team Up app and will be added to any other form of whole club communication network.

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Junior family:  16-18 year old children who have at least one parent who is a current full member of the club may join if the following criteria is followed.  The parent must always accompany their child at training runs and any events open to our junior family members.  Club disclaimer documents must be completed alongside the regular membership documents with our Membership Secretary. 

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Club Affiliation / Insurance

The Club is affiliated to England Athletics and as such is insured to organise training runs and social events for its members.

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Subscription

Our club season runs from 1st April until 31st March.

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Full Membership and Junior Family Membership are £60 per year in total.  This can be paid in full by bank transfer or cash directly to the treasurer by 7th April or by monthly standing order @ £5.00 per month.  Members joining part way through our season are expected to pay pro-rata.

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Any member who pays by standing order / bank transfer having arrears of one months payment of subscriptions shall not be eligible to take part in any competition promoted by the club, nor shall he/she be allowed to participate in the affairs of the Club, including voting in any general meeting.  The member will be removed from our social media pages.  Fourteen days later if there has been no contact, we will then also unregister the member from England Athletics.

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The Club may as a condition of membership require annual or other periodic contributions or subscriptions to be paid by Members of the Club should the club need financial support.

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Membership is not transferable to anyone else.

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Subscriptions are non-refundable.

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Affiliation to England Athletics

A one off payment of £20 should be made to the Treasurer at time of joining and our Membership Secretary will complete the necessary registration with England Athletics on your behalf.

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Cessation of Membership

A Member may resign from membership at any time by notice to that effect given to the Membership Secretary. A Member shall remain liable to pay any arrears of contributions or subscriptions owed by him/her at the time of resignation but without being entitled to any refund of contributions or subscriptions in respect of the remaining period.

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Failure to pay within one calendar month of the due date will result in automatic cessation of membership.   Any person shall, upon ceasing to be a Member of the Club, forfeit all rights to and claims upon the Club and its property and funds. 

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Welfare / Handling Disputes

**see separate Disciplinary Procedure document.

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Clubhouse

All members are expected to respect and maintain the facilities of Mossley AFC Football Club. Not to cause any damage and to keep clean and tidy all areas and equipment used for the purposes of the Running Club.  Adhere to any rules of any facility.

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Key holders will have to provide name, address and contact details to the Groundsman for emergency use and be responsible for following instructions set by Mossley AFC with regard to lighting, heating, use of equipment and alarm system.

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Running

• Members should ensure good time management, so as not to delay the start times of sessions they attend.

• Members running must sign in and out of clubhouse on club run / training sessions.

• Members must have the Clubhouse Contact number in their personal mobile phone and carry their phone with them on all runs.

• Always wear appropriate clothing including high visibility clothing and lights when necessary.

• No headphones of any variety to be worn during club runs.

• All routes planned by run leaders / coaches and risk assessed at time of plotting. ** note; the route may not have been checked pre-run so members run at their own risk taking responsibility for route being affected by weather conditions, road works, issues to surfaces etc. **

• Members responsible for their own personal health – do not run if injured / feeling unwell / undergoing medical treatment.

• We welcome all abilities although runners are expected to be able to complete a 5k run.

• Only train within their abilities and levels of fitness, taking care to warm-up adequately prior to participation and cool-down when finished.

• Designated run leaders / experience runner will oversee and advise on route, conduct a warm-up and ensure first aid procedures and safeguarding guidelines are followed.

• Run leaders may from time to time ask any member to assist whilst out on a run.

• Members to run in a ‘buddy system’ (within speaking distance of each other) so no runner is ever isolated from the group.

• Please show respect for fellow footpath/bridleway users by moving into single file to allow passing. If it becomes necessary to step onto the road then the person running into the traffic should do this.  Always show courtesy to road traffic using appropriate crossings etc.

• When taking part in race events you are representing your club and should always follow the organisers procedures and race rules.
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Members [and guests] acknowledge and accept that playing or participating in sport of any kind can be dangerous and may result in injury and damage to property.  Members and guests shall take personal responsibility for their own actions and participate in the Club’s sporting activities at their own risk.

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London Marathon club place

Members who have entered through the normal procedure must produce their rejection notice in order to take part in the Club ballot. 

 

First consideration will be given to First Claim members who have never previously run the London Marathon.  Second consideration will be given to other First Claim members.

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Furthermore, in order to qualify under the above rules, an applicant must have served twelve months full membership with the Club by 31st March in the calendar year prior to the London Marathon. 

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If all the above criteria are met and there are more entries than places, the Club Place will be randomly selected in a draw at the Clubhouse with members present.

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Social Events

All members are welcome to attend club socials; these will be advertised via social media and at the clubhouse.  These may incur a charge which must be paid in advance.  Members are expected to behave appropriately at all functions.  Junior Family Members will only be invited to events deemed age appropriate by the Committee.

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Social Media

We have various social media channels and a website where our members can have a great time sharing club related posts. However, when posting or commenting, please be aware of the sensitivity of others. We will not tolerate any of the following: Trolls, Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Disability Discrimination etc.

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We allow as much freedom as possible to have relevant debate on social medias. However, we are also responsible for making sure these discussions stay polite, safe and relevant and do not violate any laws. Moderation is necessary so all users can participate without fear of intimidation by other users or being subjected to offensive content. Also, people may intentionally or unintentionally post unlawful content, putting themselves and the Club at risk of legal action.

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We will correspond the member who has posted, providing an explanation via email for all moderation decisions so that we can make the process as transparent and as fair as possible. In some cases, the reasons for removal may not be apparent to other members, but the Club will email the person who posted it explaining why and when the decision is made to remove it. The Club will not be in a position to give detailed individual explanations to other members about why a comment or post was removed. 

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Code of Conduct

For the safety and continued enjoyment of all, there is an expectation that all members will adhere to this Club Code of Conduct.

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All members shall:

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• Agree and abide by the Club Rules, Constitution, the Code of Conduct and all rules laid down by the sports’ governing body, England Athletics (EA).

• Encourage and be supportive of fellow members.

• Report any incidents relating to derogatory or discriminatory language being used and bullying or intimidating type behaviour.

• Uphold the Clubs’ good name and reputation, both inside and outside of Club activities, and conduct themselves in an appropriate manner.

• Only train within their abilities and levels of fitness, taking care to warm-up adequately prior to participation and cool-down when finished.

• Ensure good time management, so as not to delay the start times of sessions they attend.

• Report any medical conditions, injuries or incidents whether at training or during events to the session leader.

• Not cause any damage and to keep clean and tidy all facilities used for the purposes of the club.

• Adhere to any rules of any facility used for the purposes of the Club.

• Use club social media platforms in a respectful way and in line with the Social Media House Rules document.
   

Declaration

The Club duly adopted this Rules of Membership document on 16th November 2022.

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Signed   LB

Chair: Louis Brierley

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Signed   LZ

Secretary: Linda Zrada