England Athletics Registration

[Colin Ardron]

Just received my bit of plastic today with the grandiose title of England Athletics Competition Licence.

Now I know where my extra £3 is being spent.

What a load of baloney!

[Chris Bentley]

I've heard via the grapvine that money is filtering back down from England Athletics (to county level at least), so maybe we shouldn't be so cynical about the levy.

Still sending out competition licences for the year to 31 March 2008 in April 2008 is to put it politely, daft.

[BARRY BLYTH]

Me to, Colin Ardron Bsc; EACL (and sheep shearer). You need something to display to get your various discounts and gives you race insurance. I presume we won't now get a bit of plastic from North of England AA.

Barry LCTC (less cynical than Colin (but more than most; could be my relative youth))

[Colin Ardron]

Ha! I was thinking of asking John to provide a Victor Meldrew atavar for me - I seem to be changing into him - must be something to do with age I guess - and the sheep shearing!

Just seems odd that I've been entering and running and sometimes finishing races quite happily for nigh on 30yrs without the need for bits of plastic etc. As for showing your card to get a discount, well that's a larf, I've never had to show a card to get any discount for anything - ever. Take last night for instance - I was in Sainsburys and I asked the spotty youth behind the cooked chicken counter what he would accept for a cooked chicken - no Tucker he didn't say that! We settled quite amicably for a 33% discount.
I had a clear out of my wallet the other day - plenty of plastic cards some of which I have forgotten why I ever "needed" them. And I bet they aren't biodegradeable. Oh yeah and a few moths flew blinkingly out of the inner confines.
It's the thin end of the plastic wedge if you ask me - micro chipped running shoes - you mark my words - we will all have microchips
embedded in our heads if this govt has its way. The mark of the beast!!

[phil cheek]

By `eck you`re a load of cynics.
The bits of plastic,(NOT needed for discounts cos your Macc Harriers card will do that),a bit of insurance & a few other bits & bobs "filtering down" are a front for vital expenditure....... for a load of blokes in blazers to fund jollies to Peking(or whatever we have to call it this week) and the necessary "equipment" & "support infrastructure" for our elite track athletes,& we all know how expensive it is to buy undetectable equipment & support.
So please stop your cynicism & look forward to an Olympics where China wins more medals than ever in their history without any Chinese athlete failing a drugs test.

Phil

[Julian Brown]

Jo got her second card the other day - I've yet to get one - but unlike Colin's she didn't get any polony - or even a discount on her chickens - which is OK 'cos she's veggie.

I sent them a couple of reminders about the cards 'can we have the cards we paid £900 for about 9 months ago - and which now have expired' in the last couple of days so that's why you might have them now.

Basically I'm sure most people including me would be ...

- very happy to contribute to funding for the juniors and grassroots of our sport,
- and much less happy to buy some new blazers and fund EA's Xmas do (reminds me of the fat bloke who's name I forget on the natwest ad).
Where our dosh has gone I'm afraid I couldn't tell you, sorry.

However, as a senior you're more than welcome to be a 'social' rather than 'competing' member of Macc H, you'll save £3, but it means that you have to run unattached and pay the U/A levy at any EA permitted event. The club has to remain affiliated to take part in XC, Cheshire Grand Prix road races and so on.

If anyone wants a (several ?) Macc Harriers membership card in a hurry let me know, I have 2200 or so. Otherwise they will turn up with the next mag.

[phil cheek]

A card arrived for me today from Ea entitled "volunteer registration".As I volunteered for nowt I wonder what this means.Do any of our officials,who must surely have the ear of EA granted how much money we give them,know what the significance of this is please?
Phil

[Julian Brown]

You big fibber Phil, you volunteered for this....

http://ccgi.macclesfield-harriers.co.uk ... .php?t=658

I'm sure you realise you can't go bimbling over the Langdales and so on for nothing, you have to pay these days, and register as an 'official BG supporter'.

If I were you I'd pay up and keep quiet, otherwise with the number of BG's you've supported you probably owe someone a fortune....

[phil cheek]

Jules,
That`s not volunteering,more of a vocation.But don`t tell EA I`m a member of the BG club & The FRA or they`ll want 3 lots of fees.
However they ain`t getting ANY of my dosh & I`ll wait to see how many times I`m asked for the levy.As far as I can see from the FRA calendar there is no such provision.
I also interpret the FRA rules as saying that I can run for Macc Harriers,be insured,& (unlikely) count as a team member on the basis that I am a member of both Macc & the FRA.ERGO I don`t need to pay EA for what my FRA membership already gives me.Or have I missed something?
Phil

[Julian Brown]

HI Phil (and anyone else...)

FRA races and similar things are NOT run and permitted via England Athletics, and there is no unattached levy for them, indeed generally you can run for who you like or as unattached in fell races, the entry cost is (nearly always) the same.

If you're only going to compete in these (or not compete at all !) then you'd save yourself £3 by joining the club as a 'social member'. It makes little difference to Macc H finances as the extra £3 goes to EA anyway.

It's only such things as road races, XC when the race is part of an EA event, track and field and so on.

[Colin Ardron]

Lest people think the issue is about £3, we need to know that EA have a full time staff of over 3 dozen with an average wage bill of something like £31,000 each. Now to me that equates to a business and we expect businesses to deliver don't we? We aren't talking about volunteers. These are career wallahs! I simply want to know what this excess charge is to be spent on. I can't find any hint of a clue on the EA website and nobody else seems to know either.

[phil cheek]

So why the hell,when I can`t find anyone who wanted to,did the FRA align themselves with UKA/EA or whatever they call themselves?
Is it all so some bigwig can represent us in Peking while the Chinese murder Tibetans & then in London while the British "help" Iraq & Afghanistan.My vote for the 2016 games goes to Rhodesia,no on second thoughts in recognition of their sterling work on whale research let`s give it to Tokyo.God I feel grumpy.
Phil
Phil