How should we pay the 90K british orienteering wants?

[Scott]

A potential consequence of some clubs subsidising membership and increasing entry fees to compensate, is that some people will hunt around for the club with the lowest membership fees and join that club, even if it's miles away from where they live.

That's not really any different to the situation today, where the club + association portion of the membership fee already varies significantly, and yes, there are already people who shop around for the cheapest membership.

The solution is for clubs to ensure that the benefits they offer are commensurate with their membership fee: people aren't going to fork out much cash if the only benefit on offer is "the chance to help at our events".

As SeanC says, capitation isn't some kind of panacea, but it does give clubs more power and freedom to come up with a membership system that works for them.

[roadrunner]

A potential consequence of some clubs subsidising membership and increasing entry fees to compensate, is that some people will hunt around for the club with the lowest membership fees and join that club, even if it's miles away from where they live. History has shown that some people will do anything to save money.

Compared to many triathlon, athletics and running clubs who often include weekly coaching/training sessions and facilities, orienteering clubs generally don't offer much in return for the membership fee, so it doesn't matter if you are not local.
I could even be tempted to look around for a club that has the best O-Top design/colour scheme.

A very good point - and it's not always necessary to look far away. I won't name the clubs concerned, but local to me there is one that charges £7/£1 club membership and one that charges nothing. It may be that one of them provides other benefits (training, social, etc), or provides them on a more convenient day of the week, of course.

Another factor is that people don't just go to their own club's events - so for the lowest cost option, join the club that subsidises membership and compete at the events of the one that subsidises events

[awk]

A potential consequence of some clubs subsidising membership and increasing entry fees to compensate, is that some people will hunt around for the club with the lowest membership fees and join that club, even if it's miles away from where they live. History has shown that some people will do anything to save money.

Compared to many triathlon, athletics and running clubs who often include weekly coaching/training sessions and facilities, orienteering clubs generally don't offer much in return for the membership fee, so it doesn't matter if you are not local.
I could even be tempted to look around for a club that has the best O-Top design/colour scheme.

Yes, some people would - but IMO the benefits far outweight the negatives - this worrying about what a small minority might or might not do has all too often bogged orienteering down. I'm tempted to ask of that problem - so what?!

Your second paragraph may have been intended to show why orienteering is different. To me it suggest what clubs should do to help combat any problem - if they see it as one to worry about.

[Paul Frost]

I think that part of the problem is that orienteers don't tend to train much, but they compete a lot.
Triathletes and runners tend to train a lot more than they race. So they want training and coaching sessions every week or more frequently. I suspect that many orienteers probably belong to a running club of some sort as well and so get their general training there. It doesn't leave much for the orienteering club to offer in the way of a benefit to membership that's worth paying much for.

[roadrunner]

I think that part of the problem is that orienteers don't tend to train much, but they compete a lot.
Triathletes and runners tend to train a lot more than they race. So they want training and coaching sessions every week or more frequently. I suspect that many orienteers probably belong to a running club of some sort as well and so get their general training there. It doesn't leave much for the orienteering club to offer in the way of a benefit to membership that's worth paying much for.

My experience (from some years ago admittedly, when I was a more active club member) backs that up. We used to have evening training events in the summer, which I thought were really useful, but they weren't well attended. They were subsequently changed to low-key events (which could still be used for training, of course) and that was better supported. This was all before the introduction of "club nights", so I don't know if it's changed more recently.

It always struck me as strange that there was less demand for training from orienteers; while it's true that many get their running and fitness training elsewhere, what about the technical aspects? You can of course pick them up through competing and discussing your run afterwards, but is that the best way for someone relatively new to the sport?

[Nottinghamshire outlaw]

Roadrunner said: You can of course pick them up through competing and discussing your run afterwards, but is that the best way for someone relatively new to the sport?

I don't think it is - well I would say that (as a coach who tries to put on some regular coaching sessions and is really pleased when some people come along) wouldn't I? Chatting about routes certainly helps but how can a new orienteer hone the technical side of the sport unless they practice. A coach will put on exercises so a particular technique can be practised - over and over again and in different circumstances. It's what other sports coaches do - why not in orienteering? Sadly, many orienteering coaches become dispirited when members aren't interested (seemingly) in improving. I know that's not the same in some clubs and I wish more orienteers would support club coaching instead of just wanting to compete every week.

[roadrunner]

I agree entirely (well, as a coach - though not of orienteering - I would say that, wouldn't I? ) But if there isn't any coaching on offer (or you choose not to take advantage of it), then trial and error - mainly error - is what's left

[mykind]

Are we maybe just a tad off thread here?

[Big Jon]

I could even be tempted to look around for a club that has the best O-Top design/colour scheme.

So you'll be joining Maroc then...

[SeanC]

I think most people have voted now.

I'm not surprised there are different views... but I am a bit surprised for the support for putting most of the increase on the levy. I'm assuming nopesport readers are the 40-50 event a year type people like me. You're voting to pay £50 extra per year instead of £10 extra

Using the principle that those that benefit most should pay, that would be fair enough..

Perhaps you are an untypically generous bunch - but I would have thought that the less committed orienteers would be even more in favour of paying the extra by levy?

So using this completely unrepresentative poll as evidence, I think the board should re-examine the assumption that raising the 90K by membership fees is the preference of the membership.

A friend of mine put it nicely earlier

If BOF were a company, it would provide options for its shareholders and allow them to decide the most appropriate way forward. In this instance, the clubs are the proxy shareholders and I think BOF should consult them rather than just passing on the shortfall.

[maprun]

BOF is a limited company, limited by guarantee, accountable to its members. Shareholders are also referred to as members. Both are governed by the Companies Acts and exactly the same laws.

No votes for clubs or associations, just the members in BOF Ltd vote, so capitation on clubs being the main source of funding might not be ideal as they don't have a vote.