Entry Fees for Non Members

[Sunlit Forres]

Non-member surcharges according to the BOF fixture list/club web sites for this weekend (for those clubs who have listed them). And don't you just love all those club abbreviations.

ESOC (£2 adults, 50p juniors)
SO (£1/£0)
CHIG (£2/£0)
GRAMP (£2/0)
No surcharges from TVOC, DVO, RR, EBOR, WIGHTO

And for 2 weeks' time:
QO (£3/£1)
HH (£2/£0)
HOC (£2/£0)
DVO (£2,£0)
BL (£2,£0)
MOR (£1/£1)
No surcharges from LVO, CLARO, PFO, SELOC, SOC

Should orienteering be cheaper for those who join a club? Why are clubs who offer junior members a discount in such a minority? Discuss.

[roadrunner]

If there wasn't a discount, I would expect club membership to drop, making it even harder to find enough volunteers to put the events on (juniors are a different matter). And isn't it really a discount for being a member of BOF now that club-only membership is effectively abolished?

[Glucosamine]

Generally expect to pay extra if not a club member when dabbling in other sports e.g. running and cycling. Seems reasonable to expect a modest contribution towards central costs such as insurance. And if running events can seem expensive compared to O then even low key cycling events can make the eyes water even before getting into the saddle.

[mrmoosehead]

Non-member surcharges according to the BOF fixture list/club web sites for this weekend (for those clubs who have listed them). And don't you just love all those club abbreviations.

ESOC (£2 adults, 50p juniors)
SO (£1/£0)
CHIG (£2/£0)
GRAMP (£2/0)
No surcharges from TVOC, DVO, RR, EBOR, WIGHTO

And for 2 weeks' time:
QO (£3/£1)
HH (£2/£0)
HOC (£2/£0)
DVO (£2,£0)
BL (£2,£0)
MOR (£1/£1)
No surcharges from LVO, CLARO, PFO, SELOC, SOC

Should orienteering be cheaper for those who join a club? Why are clubs who offer junior members a discount in such a minority? Discuss.

Yes.

It would be more telling if you listed the level of event as well.

[MIE]

Non-member surcharges according to the BOF fixture list/club web sites for this weekend (for those clubs who have listed them). And don't you just love all those club abbreviations.

SO (£1/£0)

The charge for SO juniors is £0 and for non-SO juniors £1.50 (whether BO or not) (less
than 1/2 the price of a senior BO member). Not a lot of leeway for offering a member
discount, but you need to read the event details to get all of that.

and it is a level D

[SeanC]

Saxons at Blean is £2 off for BOF members, £2 off for Saxons juniors.

In general I think these member discounts are a good thing. Some people need a reason to nudge them into joining a club.

One point though, probably better to refer to "club members" rather than BOF members on fliers as the non-members probably won't know what BOF is.

[Sunlit Forres]

It would be more telling if you listed the level of event as well.

I don't think the level of event matters, except if it's a CATI event. Then there's no need for a member price cos it's not aimed at members.

Giving junior members free entry is innovative. I've not come across that one before. I'm not sure that would be entirely fair to other club members in my club's case. We have a lot of new junior members who attend events but who don't have parents who participate (yet). I've never though through it like this before, but maybe there's mileage in giving free entry to a junior member who has a parent taking part too. Call it a "member family" entry fee if you will.

I agree with Sean about advertising discount for club members rather than BOF members. In our club our membership fee includes automatic BOF/regional membership (or at least that's the way we present it).

[NeilC]

Giving junior members free entry is innovative. I've not come across that one before. I'm not sure that would be entirely fair to other club members in my club's case. We have a lot of new junior members who attend events but who don't have parents who participate (yet).

Some figures:

Attendance at SO Sat am Level D events - typically 100-110
Non-paying SO Juniors - typically 25-30
Number of seniors complaining about subsidising juniors - exactly 0
Number of seniors commenting on how wonderful it is to see so many juniors running - lots

[Paul Frost]

I find it odd how some clubs (my own included) don't think charging non-members extra is a good idea. I've never understood the thinking behind it, especially when increasing membership is a key metric for receiving funding support (at least it is in Scotland).
Getting a discount on entry fees is probably the most attractive reason to join a club. It also incentivises them to make sure they go to enough events to recoup their membership fee.

I also really like the idea of offering juniors free entry, on the proviso that they are accompanied by a paying adult participant who is also a club member. This could also encourage parents to take part.

A club member discount should be just that, not a BOF member discount. So it would only apply to members of the organising club. You could word it as an extra charge for non-members, but that's likely to cause confusion with existing BOF members who will think it doesn't apply to them as they are members.

If people are worried that it might put off newcomers the they could be given a voucher (or have it downloadable from the club website) that entitled them to a discounted entry. Or offer to refund their first entry fee if they subsequently join the club.

It's also an idea to have a supply of membership forms on hand and collect payment there and then. Then send off the form and payment to BOF on their behalf to ensure it all happens. It's a bit of work for a club volunteer, but the reduced inertia required by the newcomer will yield results.
If you can get them to fill in a direct debit form at the same time all the better, you will almost guarantee that member will stay for years. The inertia required to cancel a DD is significant. Whilst having to respond to a renewal notice that will require payment of some form is likely to be put off until they have a bit more time, and then forgotten.
MAKE it EASY or MAKE it FREE!

[roadrunner]

A club member discount should be just that, not a BOF member discount. So it would only apply to members of the organising club. You could word it as an extra charge for non-members, but that's likely to cause confusion with existing BOF members who will think it doesn't apply to them as they are members.

I agree with the idea of describing a discount as applying to club rather than BOF members, but are you really suggesting it should only apply to members of the club organising the event? That would be a big departure from what happens now, and I can't see it as much of an incentive to join. For example, here the local club is BKO but many of the nearest events are put on by TVOC, SN, BADO etc, so getting a discount on just the BKO ones (or just the SN ones, etc) isn't much of a benefit. We want to encourage members of the organising club to help at events, and they often get a discount for that anyway.

As to how attractive such discounts are at attracting people to join a club, my running club has around 500 members, of whom no more than 1/3 turn up and train with us. So presumably the other 2/3 have joined purely to get the "affiliated runner" discount at races.

[Paul Frost]

The decision on who qualifies for the discount is up to the individual clubs. Here in Scotland the distances from other clubs make it less of an issue.

But my thinking is that you want to encourage local people to join your club, and go to your events. If you as a club don't put on many events then why should I join you, I'll join the club down the road that does.

Why should the club down the road offer lower fees to people from a competing club, who aren't contributing to the club in money or volunteer time?
You could use the extra charge to non-members to subsidise/enable low fees for club members in return for their support.

Think about this as a marketing tool, rather than fairness to all.

[Red Adder]

I would have thought offering the discount to all members of BOF affiliated clubs makes a big difference. If my club limited the discount to SuffOC members and all the surrounding clubs did the same the savings to be made being a club member at our CAT C events would roughly equate to our membership fee so there is no real incentive to join. However if you also get the discount at other local clubs the savings add up and being a member, which is what we want, becomes more worthwhile.

We do adjust our fees according to events - therefore no surcharge at CATIs or CAT Ds, discounts for all White / Yellow runners (again aimed at low cost entry for newcomers) and also discounts for club members who help at events.

[Paul Frost]

...the savings to be made being a club member at our CAT C events would roughly equate to our membership fee

That's OK, it still means there is no extra cost to joining, and if you can offer some other member benefits, like coaching, you have an attractive offer.

...and also discounts for club members who help at events.

That's another option that could work in some clubs, but it doesn't help with the general encouragement to be a member.

It also depends on how you price your events. If for smaller events you only aim to cover your costs (map printing and officials expenses etc.), without any surplus towards funding new maps, replacement timing kit etc. you can't afford to offer a discount. So by pricing higher and building in a surplus you can offer a discount. But you need some people to be paying the full amount if you are to generate cash for equipment maintenance and development. If you give the discount to all BOF members you won't get any surplus.

I appreciate that if your club doesn't actually provide many opportunities to orienteer then discount on entry fees isn't a reason to join. So perhaps you need to re-assess why people would join your orienteering club if it didn't provide many orienteering opportunities.

You could also offer coaching/training sessions at a very low (costs covered only) to members and charge extra to non-members.
It's all about making membership sound like you get something tangible extra.

I also think you need to make joining the club the thing of value, rather than selling the benefits of BOF or your regional association. It's the club that people feel attached to not BOF.

[mrmoosehead]

I do often wonder if the shorter courses of Orange, Yellow and White should be at a lower rate that the other colour coded ones, purely because they tend to be shorter in duration as well as time.

But then I (nearly) always go for the longest/hardest course, which I refer to as 'getting value for money'. Especially when it all goes pear shaped and I'm out for over 90 mins.

One thing we have to bear in mind is that entry to orienteering events is generally cheap compared to other events like triathlons / running races (parkruns excepted)

I think that the discount (let's not call it a surcharge) should be applied, but not to the local informal / level D type events that we run to a) provide more local events and b) entice new people in, especially in the form of families/children. These events are always run on a shoestring anyway, with very low entry fees.

Making joining a more club level thing is something that has been running through my mind recently. Membership is through joining BOF and declaring the club in that process. What else does joining the club give the member aside from the warm cuddly feeling of belonging and the opportunity to be a volunteer to help run club events? We're a volunteer run sport and resources are already stretched running events, so it seems there is little energy left for club nights or other activities like that.

Without the discount, we're not left with much to work with.

[Sunlit Forres]

Some figures:

Attendance at SO Sat am Level D events - typically 100-110
Non-paying SO Juniors - typically 25-30
Number of seniors complaining about subsidising juniors - exactly 0
Number of seniors commenting on how wonderful it is to see so many juniors running - lots

Impressive stats, and something which I'm pleased to say is being replicated here.

Average attendance at Moravian Level D Sat morning events in 2014 - 125
Average number of unattached competitors - 41
Average number of juniors - 75

That figure for unattached competitors is an average. The last event had 47 unattached - over a third of competitors. These people are obviously coming back time and again and aren't put of by paying an extra quid. Moravian's membership sec has made it his mission to convert some of these in to members. Even if he doesn't succeed the club's getting almost £50 extra income each event which adds up to quite a lot over 12 events. Which is why, if Level Ds are your club's bread and butter, I disagree when

I think that the discount (let's not call it a surcharge) should be applied, but not to the local informal / level D type events that we run to a) provide more local events and b) entice new people in

I agree with a lot of what Paul Frost says, but it's good to encourage newcomers to cross into neighbouring clubs' territories now and again. If they know they'll be getting discount at those events too, it's just one more membership benefit (in theory). I therefore think it best, on balance, to apply discount no matter which club people are a member of.

The most surprising thing to me about these well-attended Level D events is how few people from neighbouring clubs come to them. Just 14 non-local runs out of 375 competitors at the 3 events so far this year. Either the member discount is no incentive or there's something else putting people off.