Proposed Changes to Club – The Valley Bowmen of Huddersfield

Background

Archery GB has remodelled their membership to remove pro-rata fees aligned to 1^st October and introduce individual renewal dates for AGB membership. The introduction of individual renewal dates means that The Valley Bowmen of Huddersfield (“VBoH”) can no longer be confident that all members accessing our facilities on any given day of the year will have valid AGB membership (and hence insurance) in place. Our facilities are available to members 24-7 and as such, unlike at a competition or a scheduled shooting session, we have no feasible way of checking the AGB membership status of every individual when they arrive to shoot.

The Howdens Archery GB Insurance Centre clearly states that AGB members are not insured if shooting with non-members (“Please remember Archery GB members are not insured if shooting with non members as per the Rules of Shooting”). This leaves the club vulnerable to a claim if a member shoots at the club with an expired AGB membership. The club committee feels this is not an acceptable insurance risk.

Mitigation

The club committee have discussed the options at great length and believe we will be unable to manage this risk if we are reliant solely on the insurance cover provided by AGB membership. We therefore conclude that the only way to completely mitigate this insurance risk is to arrange private insurance from another insurer to cover all club members and guests, regardless of their AGB membership status.

This insurance cover will be provided by Protectivity and will provide almost identical cover to the Howdens Archery GB policy, covering day-to-day shooting, competitions, guests, beginner courses, coaches and club officials. This cover only applies at VBoH facilities, it does not extend to cover VBoH members shooting at other clubs or at competitions held elsewhere.

Ramifications

With private insurance in place and bearing in mind that VBoH have many social archers who do not shoot in external competitions, the club has decided to restructure into two clubs, with all members being members of BOTH clubs. All current and future members will choose whether to be a “Shooting Member” or a “Social / non-shooting Member” of VBoH (which will remain affiliated to Archery GB) and will continue to pay the standard membership fee of the club.

However, in addition, all members will automatically be enrolled as a “Shooting Member” of “club 2” regardless of AGB membership status, and it is this club that will have private insurance cover for shooting.

There are many other clubs who already operate like this and have done successfully for years.

Note that as a requirement of AGB affiliation, all “Shooting Members” of VBoH will be required to maintain membership of AGB (plus county and regional bodies) and will be responsible for maintaining/renewing their membership whereas “Social / non-shooting Members” will not be under any obligation to maintain AGB membership.

Both clubs will operate in accordance with the AGB Rules of Shooting & Codes of Conduct. VBoH is still committed to providing an environment where everybody can learn and participate in a sport free from harassment and abuse. We will continue to adopt the AGB Safeguarding Policies and have identified appropriate resources and external safeguarding support to ensure peace of mind for all our members.

VBoH is not leaving AGB. We are simply restructuring to be able to offer club-only membership without the requirement to also be a member of AGB.

Mission

Our goal remains to make archery available to as wide a range of people as possible and to encourage participation in the sport at all levels and abilities. Our coaching team and club committee are firmly committed to supporting and developing both grassroots and competitive archery by working closely with Archery GB, in the local community, and with other archery organisations across the county and further afield.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the proposed changes please contact one of the committee. We will ensure you receive a response to your question and have created an FAQ page collating all the answers to questions that have been asked.

Feedback

If you wish to give feedback, make a comment or ask a question you may complete the form below