unwaged entry fees

[Guest]

Does anyone know what the policy is regarding fees for unwaged?
What do people think the policy should be?
I have had 3 different experiences..
one advertised a cheaper rate for unwaged.
the second allowed student rate entry after i enquired.
the third was exceptionally rude and declined to accept any reduction was appropriate or in line with Bof policy.
What do people think?
Juniors, and students get exceptionally cheap membership, and entry fees.
Even if most adults are relatively well-paid professional people, not all are.

[lincolnsteve]

I can see your point Guest and agree that for the unemployed & low waged erners it can be hard, especially if the whole family is keen on orienteering, however I can't see an easy way you could manage this, where do you draw the line, do you have lower prices just for unemployed? how about disabled runners? people on low wages? what do you define as low wage? pratically I dont know how this would work & it could even be open to abuse, do you ask people to bring their DSS letters as proof? Students are easy to deal with as they just show their NUS card.

Steve

[Guest]

Yes. It refers to 'unwaged' generally.
All unwaged have some sort of i.d. to show if necessary. Though I have found most orienteers to be honest so most members are trusting, as well as trusted, although certain people who think themselves so important would disagree.

[mharky]

my exceptionally cheap BOF student memberships is £32

[FatBoy]

What is "unwaged"? Is that a new PC term for unemployed? I don't have a wage per see does that make me "unwaged"??

[graeme]

We used to offer "unwaged" rates (don't know if we still do). It was used as a catch-all term covering schoolchildren, students, unemployed, incapacity beneficiaries, retired persons etc. Not a euphemism - quite a useful word actually.

I dont think it covered housewives/househusbands - they were I think deemed to be waged
by their spouse - or perhaps just unable to produce housewife id. Not that I ever saw anyone actually send id with their entries.

On the question asked: I don't think there's a policy (GRoss/godders put through
"students shall be charged junior rates" one AGM), its up to clubs to decide

http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/a ... Events.pdf

Personally, I dont think there should be a policy.

Graeme

[Zokko!]

I think it is possible that I may have been the event official who was described by guest as being rude, so I would like to repond. If guest is who I think he is, he had paid his full adult entry fee, then while walking away from registration asked if there a reduction to half price for unemployed. I said that I didn't think that it was club ploicy (didn't mention BOF), as I had never known us to offer such reductions. If indeed I refer to the same person, it is someone who chooses not to belong to BOF or any orienteering club, so you could say that he is already being subsidised by others who do pay their dues.

My opinion in general is that there is no reason why clubs which are run by volunteers in their own time should be expected to effectively meet some of the government's burden of supporting the unemployed. Our expenses are no less for such competitors. The event in question will probably just about break even by charging the full amount.

Guest presumably pays the full price for his vehicle expenses in travelling to events. What response would he expect if he went into a pub and asked for half price beer?

[Guest]

It is just the unequal nature in which different clubs apply the 'policy' at events. All 3 events i had attended were level 3 - regional events. Why do some clubs advertise a lower fee for unwaged? why are some clubs friendly enough to offer a lower rate if asked? and why are some downright snobs?

[Zokko!]

Thanks guest, now I see that it was not me who you thought to be rude, as the event I refer to was only a local one.

However I was put in a similar position to the other person who you spoke to, and it is a very awkward one. If no instructions have been given by the club committee regarding reduced entry fees for unwaged, then you are relying on the registration person (an untrained volunteer remember) to make an impossible value judgement. You would not be so unkind to a shop assistant, so what's the difference?

I would like to know what is the justification for a reduced fee in these circumstances. We are all of different means, some much wealthier than others. If all the possible categories of unwaged were to claim reductions, and of course the cost of running events would not be any less (not least the BOF levy element), in the end the normal entry fees would have to be increased to compensate. That would probably price me, the sole waged person in my fanily of five, out of the sport.

[awk]

My opinion in general is that there is no reason why clubs which are run by volunteers in their own time should be expected to effectively meet some of the government's burden of supporting the unemployed.

It's nothing to do with "meeting the government's burden". That is simply abrogating responsibility. The government is representative of society as a whole. It is society that supports the unwaged (who are not just the unemployed), on the basis that those who are unwaged now will in future contribute, or have in the past contributed to society in their own way. To my mind, the same should be of orienteering. Indeed, a high proportion of voluntary time in orienteering is currently dependent on the unwaged.

I am currently in full time employment, and cannot give of anything like the amount of time to the sport that I was able to do when recently not earning. Without the unwaged/student discounts that were available, I would not have been able to continue orienteering, and certainly wouldn't have given of the time I did.

Unwaged entry fees are simply one small way of ensuring that the sport responds to the needs of its participants/membership, and investing in the sport's future.

[Oldman]

Does "unwaged" include people on a pension, like me?

I don't think it's reasonable to impose a policy of reduced fees on clubs: if some wish to offer such a facility under whatever terms they wish, that's fine: it's their income and their assessment of the "market".

Please stop assuming the answer to all "problems" is standardisation and regulation.

[Guest]

Does "unwaged" include people on a pension, like me?

I don't think it's reasonable to impose a policy of reduced fees on clubs: if some wish to offer such a facility under whatever terms they wish, that's fine: it's their income and their assessment of the "market".

Please stop assuming the answer to all "problems" is standardisation and regulation.

unwaged = yes
unemployed = no.

If the age profile of orienteering follows similar trends to the present then a large proportion of people would be able to claim the 'unwaged' discount. Perhaps the answer is to allow cheaper rates for those that are unemployed? When I was a student it wasnt uncommon for me to be asked for my student card to get the discount. If I forgot my university card/ID then I had to pay full rate - my fault entirely. Same could be applied for those unemployed??

[John Morris]

Perhaps we could look at this from a slightly different angle.

Unemployment is no fun at all - and, yes, I have been there - but, even allowing for all the time you spend hunting for the next job, it does give you more free time than the average employed person.

So perhaps it might be possible to approach your local club and say something like - I'd love to orienteer with you but I can't afford all the fees; is there some other way I can earn my entries by helping the club?

Money isn't the only way to pay.

[SeanC]

My club has a policy of allowing helpers at events a free run, I guess other clubs do this too.