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Q. How many clubs
have affiliated to ARC?
A. The
continuously updated number appears on this website - just click
on “Membership”. We have grown from 116 clubs/organisations in
our first year and enjoyed continuous growth every year with
currently more than 340 clubs/organisations (see table below).
We expect growth
to continue.
Year |
clubs/organisations |
2007/2008 |
116 |
2008/2009 |
145 |
2009/2010 |
165 |
2010/2011 |
202 |
2011/2012 |
227 |
2012/2013 |
272 |
2013/2014 |
301 |
2014/2015 |
310 |
2015/2016 |
320 |
2016/2017 |
318 |
2017/2018 |
343 |
Q. Is
it possible to affiliate to ARC and England Athletics?
A.
Yes. Obviously this is not something that ARC would advocate but
we can understand why some clubs may want to hedge their bets.
Interestingly most clubs that have so far chosen to double
affiliate have paid a club affiliation to EA but have only
registered a minority of their runners, which highlights their
concerns about the whole runner registration process. The
benefits of ARC affiliation can be enjoyed without such concerns
and the accompanying bureaucracy.
Q. How many events
have ARC permits ?
A.
Just click on “Races/Permits” for the updated figure. In 2017 we
issued 542 permits.
Q Will
ARC issue Race Permits to an organisation which is not an
athletic or running club ?
A In
approved cases yes. ARC will need to be satisfied that the event
is competently organised by experienced officials. The
organisation will need to affiliate to ARC as an associate
member. Please apply using the
following online
Associate Membership Application form.
Q. Will ARC permitted
races charge unattached race fees to members of UK Athletics
affiliated clubs?
A.
ARC permitted races will not charge unattached fees to members
of clubs affiliated to either ARC or UK Athletics.
Q. Does the ARC
insurance give my club the same level of protection as that
afforded by UK Athletics ?
A.
The ARC policy
gives a very wide cover and compares very favorably with the UK
Athletics policy. The ARC policy gives some important
improvements in cover over that previously enjoyed by clubs. It
does not require clubs to license and register their coaches and
race officials. It covers all coaches, officials and volunteers
who are competent. The ARC policy gives employers’ liability
cover for volunteers, and directors’ and officers’ cover for the
club committee.
Q. Will ARC need to
increase its charges?
A.
We want to sustain reasonable fee levels for our clubs and not
subject them to unexpected or unjustified increases. For each of
the 4 years after its inception ARC successively REDUCED its
charges. It has never raised its affiliation fees.
Q. How will you
keep insurance premiums low?
A.
ARC can only survive in the long term if it can insure clubs at
a competitive price. To do that ARC needs to have a good claims
record. We will therefore apply sensible safety standards and
only commit our insurers to the insurance of quality risks. We
will not insure races that are poorly run or organised by
inexperienced people.
Q. How is ARC
coping administratively?
A.
Many members have commented favourably on the prompt and
efficient handling of affiliation, permit requests and queries.
We will avoid pointless bureaucracy and unnecessary systems. ARC
is run by volunteers (all running club members) who understand
the ramifications of the sport. We will remain a volunteer
organisation although we recognise that as the Association grows
we might have to pay for clerical assistance at some point.
Q. Will members of UK
Athletics clubs who enter ARC permit races be banned, as stated
in UKA Rules?
A.
This Rule has never been enforced in the past and the Chairman
of England Athletics has gone on record to the effect that there
is no question of it being enforced.
Q. How will you know
whether clubs are declaring the full number of their members
when applying for membership of ARC?
A.
ARC pays a premium to insurers based on the membership figure
given by member clubs. Any serious discrepancy could cause the
clubs insurance to be invalid. The ARC insurance policy states
“This Policy shall be voidable in the event of
misrepresentation, misdescription or non-disclosure in any
material particular.”
Q. If a club joins
ARC, what effect will this have on any of its members who are
UKA licensed coaches or officials?
A.
None. Coaches and officials are licensed as individuals, their
club membership is irrelevant. For example, any member of an ARC
affiliated club can continue, in his individual capacity, to
take UKA coaching courses and qualify as a UKA licensed coach
Q. What will ARC’s
relationship with the County association be?
A.
ARC recognises that the County Associations are good for the
grass roots of the sport. ARC would like, and will seek, to be
recognised by them.
(Remember that
under the post Foster set-up, the Counties do not have a
designated role and many of their constitutions will have been
outdated by the changes. Remember too that county associations
are still democratic and can be made to conform to the will of
their
members – and running clubs constitute a majority in many
counties.)
Q. What
is the connection between ARC and ABAC?
A.
They are quite
separate legal entities (although ARC did originate from a
strategic review which began in ABAC) and have markedly
different objectives. ARC was set up to provide a new
democratic governing body for running clubs. ABAC functions as a
lobbying body for all aspects of Athletics.
Q. What
has ARC achieved so far?
A.
We have taken the
major step of establishing an affiliation option to the UKA
imposed “modernisation” where previously none existed. This has
been done at much lower cost to clubs and without the need for
individual runner registration.
The success
of the ARC Permit scheme has been instrumental in causing UKA to
radically reduce it permit charges and we would argue that the
very existence of ARC has been a limiting factor on the extent
to which UKA has been able to increase affiliation and runner
registration fees.
ARC has
also developed safe but not over-restrictive rules and
organisational standards for all non-stadia events. We have
arranged for course measurement facilities to be extended to ARC
permit races. We believe these achievements have provided a
welcome new environment in which our member clubs can enjoy
their running activities economically and with minimal
bureaucracy.
Q. Our club has taster
sessions for novice runners who are not club members. How do we
stand with regard to insurance?
A.
Your insurance covers your club members including your coaches
and volunteer helpers against claims made against them following
their negligence. It covers your members’ liabilities to these
novices and any claims made against your club members following
negligence by the novices. Since these novices are not club
members they are not themselves entitled to indemnity under the
club insurance. Clubs should only allow non members to attend
their training sessions for a limited period, at the end of
which the novices should either join the club or not as
appropriate.
Q. Our club race has a
difficult road junction. How should we see that the runners are
safe?
A.
It is a requirement that you should perform a comprehensive risk
assessment before your race. You must grade all potential
hazards as low, medium or high. In the case of hazards that are
high or medium you must take steps to reduce the hazard to low.
For a difficult road junction this could be done with an extra
marshal, uniformed police, signs for the traffic and runners or
cones placed in the road to guide runners on a safe route
through the junction.
Q. Do we need to
do risk assessments for our club training routes?
A.
Most clubs use such a variety of training routes so a formal
risk assessment is not practical. However, before leading a run,
leaders should mentally review the route and the weather
conditions and decide whether any specific precautions are
necessary. For instance if conditions are icy then it may be
advisable to warn runners to be careful or to use routes which
are not subject to icing. Of course if ice is very dangerous
then it may be appropriate to cancel the run.
Q. Do we need to
take any particular precautions when running at night?
A.
Your runners should be advised to wear a fluorescent vest or a
white shirt. If you have no option but to run in areas where
street lighting is poor or where there is no street lighting,
then runners should carry a torch
Q. Do our coaches
and run leaders need to be qualified?
A.
There is an insurance requirement that coaches are competent.
Coaches for road running clubs should either have a formal
qualification or should have regularly trained with the club for
at least 2 years, be over 18 and be approved by the club
committee as sufficiently experienced and competent. Coaches
training elite or near elite athletes should have a formal
qualification. There should be a leader for all club runs but
he/she will usually be whoever is available on the day. Leaders
are responsible for seeing that all return to the clubhouse or
car park safely and particularly that females are not
unaccompanied.
Q. What races need
a permit ?
A.
For insurance reasons ARC needs to issue a permit for all events
for which the organising club charges an entry fee. This
includes league events where entry fees are paid by member clubs
paying a subscription to the league.
Q. What cover is
provided to UKA club members and unaffiliated runners at ARC
permitted races?
A.
Any competitor in an ARC arranged &/or organised event whether a
member of an ARC club or not, would be covered for or in the
event of their negligence under the ARC policy providing they
have paid an entry fee to participate in the event
Q. Does the ARC
policy provide Employers’ liability cover for volunteers?
A.
Yes
January
2018 |