FRA Full membership

[Amex]

My renewal form has landed and i look at the life membership as i do every year should i do the life time or just a year?
Then i wonder what do i get for my money mag yes fixtures yes but i can get these else where.
is it insurance or ????

[ydt]

My renewal form has landed and i look at the life membership as i do every year should i do the life time or just a year?
Then i wonder what do i get for my money mag yes fixtures yes but i can get these else where.
is it insurance or ????

Can you really get the mag elsewhere? As for the fixtures calendar, the FRA should emulate the LDWA, by allowing website access to members only.
ydt

[Antisocial]

My renewal form has landed and i look at the life membership as i do every year should i do the life time or just a year?
Then i wonder what do i get for my money mag yes fixtures yes but i can get these else where.
is it insurance or ????

Do you envisage needing membership after you have finished competing in a few years time or will you always be interested in what goes on even after you retire. You will need to be an individual member for over 12 years before you get the benefits of life membership at current rates. If you reckon you will have given up by then and no longer be interested in the sport stay with the £12.00. If you intent to be always involved as spectator, marshall etc. Go for the life membership.

I think you should only be able to race if you are a member, after all £12 for the year is less than it costs for most single races entry for other sports. If you feel you get nothing get on the committee or harangue Graham B at the meetings with what you want.

[Brotherton Lad]

Amex, the crucial question is how long do you intend to live? 30 years of the magazine for £5 pa would be a bargain.

I also see the subscription as my little contribution to the sport so that the FRA can keep it going, bearing in mind that this necessary work is done by willing volunteers for the sake of the sport and its membership.

Not sure about Antisocial's idea of restricting races to members only (or even setting different prices) as I like the idea of races being open. However, the idea of charging more for on the day entries does appeal to me (still didn't stop people paying £15 at Pendle, though).

My knotty little problem is whether to re-join as I'm moving to Scotland in Feb. Any FRA members up in Scotland or do people tend to go native?

[Amex]

I also see the subscription as my little contribution to the sport so that the FRA can keep it going, bearing in mind that this necessary work is done by willing volunteers for the sake of the sport and its membership.

That is a good enough reason for me then, i just wondered if i was missing something like a type of insurance (which over recent months i would have claimed against)

[Mark G]

My view is £150 in the bank will get you about £5 or less a year in interest before tax. So paying for life membership probably saves at least £7 a year on a membership fee of £12 at the moment, which might increase. Only if interest rates go back to about 9 or 10% will you break even. And if you do happen to die before you get your moneys worth will you really be bothered about the money?

[Brotherton Lad]

That is a good enough reason for me then, i just wondered if i was missing something like a type of insurance (which over recent months i would have claimed against)

I'm no expert here Amex. UK Athletics has public liability insurance:

http://www.uka.org.uk/governance/insurance/?locale=en

I imagine this includes FRA races. So, I think you'd would need to prove negligence and claim against the race organiser, who would turn to UKA. If you simply fell over on a race, then I imagine you're on your own. I have personal accident insurance for that sort of thing. It is worth asking someone who knows, though.

[Amex]

If you simply fell over on a race, then I imagine you're on your own. .

Lol i did and i am.

[Brotherton Lad]

Personal accident insurance is pretty cheap, you'd probably need to say you go fell running. Things like para-gliding, rock climbing, sub-aqua etc attract higher premiums.

I spent a month in hospital 7 years ago after losing a disc in the spine that went septic on me. Got £2600. Not quite worthwhile but it helped and I have a lovely excuse for descending like a fairy.

[daz h]

Amex if it's insurance your after then personal insurance is really the only way. Easy to say after I know.

Now for your twelve quid membership
The fra organizes the race calendar for a start, imagine coming into the sport wanting to race and having no information about races etc. Thenproduction of the calendar is one thing, championship organization, organizing the junior champs as well. Looking after the accounts, allocation of money for the magazine that we receive, ensuring races qualify as fell races, the list goes on.
But I think one of the main reasons for the formation of the fra was to produce the race calendar, I may be wrong.

In an ideal world there would only be one association instead of more than one.