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Why Do Some Clubs Have Joining Fees For New Members And Returnees?


David Davis 2
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In another thread a man returning to the hobby after a break of several decades was dismayed at the negative reaction he received when he applied to join a local club.

 

I have always been perturbed by the existence of "joining fees" which some clubs add to the cost of membership for new members, lapsed members and those returning to the hobby after a break of decades in many cases. For those unfamiliar with joining fees they are an extra charge sometimes amounting to 25%-30%  of the annual subscription which is imposed on top of the club's membership fee.

 

If our aim is to encourage new people into the hobby, why do we impose this additional cost on newcomers and returnees?

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As Paul said, the existing members may have an investment in the assets of the club and the joining fee is often put there to facilitate joining members investing in the club.  The reason for applying a joining fee to lapsed members  is to aid in the onerous task of collecting the club fees, where there will invariably be some members who leave paying their subs until the last possible moment.

 

The existence of a modest joining fee ought not be a discouragement to joining a club - relatively speaking this is not an expensive hobby, club fees are typically nowhere near what it would cost to join and maintain a membership in a mainstream sports club.

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There may be an historic reason for joining fees. Many years ago my club membership numbers rose very steeply over a few years. Yet the numbers flying, attending club meetings stayed the same. Curious. At that time our local model shop offered a discount to members upon production of a membership card. This model shops main stock in trade was model railway components etc. We realised that a person buying model railway goods could very quickly recover the cost of our membership fee in discounts on railway purchases! We introduced a joining fee and our membership fell back to more normal levels. Of course in those days there was a cost to enrolling a new member due to everything being sent by mail.

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A small fee for keys or membership cards i can accept, but most clubs ask for more than a year's membership as a joining fee and its a disgrace in my view. Nothing more than a cash grab and it only adds to the startup cost for people to get into the club/hobby. It can also lead people getting started in the hobby to abandon clubs and fly in the park instead with no training and no insurance. That is not a recipe for success for both them, and the hobby as a whole as any accidents or incidents will reflect badly on us all. 

 

 

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I joined a local club and paid a substantial one off joining fee. After a few weeks competently flying two models of around 7kg alongside some regulars I took over my 7.8kg new P47 for a maiden. The club safety officer came over to enquire its weight and when I told him he replied saying, “if you try to fly that here without a B certificate I will have you thrown out of the club.  Not very friendly imo but undeterred I asked how I could test for the B Certification. I am one of the examiners he said. Returning home with the model unflown I revisited the club handbook/rules and no mention of the B requirement was present. A phone call to the safety officer didn’t go particularly well and he subsequently had the committee rewrite the rules to stipulate that members wanting to fly 7.5kg plus models required a B. The annoying thing was the disparity of my well sorted models and competent flying compared to many of the regulars who would turn up and play lawn darts with models that just were not airworthy. .

 

Back to the joining fee. I obtained my B at a Buckminster Achievement Day and decided to leave the club after only a few months membership to join a different and more welcoming club. Would the club refund my £75 one off joining fee? Not a hope. So I for one do not agree with such charges. What about modellers who move home regularly for work reasons. Why should they be penalised every time they change clubs?

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Requiring a B cert to fly XX model type is another irritation. Having a B cert does not make you a better or safer pilot. Do you think half the people on the road would pass a driving test if they had to take one today? Not likely and its the same with B certs. Its also nonsense anyway as you could pass the B on a foamy acrowot and then strap in for the heavy metal warbird flight on the P47, or a 15kg turbine model, or a 1/3 tiger moth. Its just meaningless as a measure of competence to fly a given type of model. 

 

Also, in your case Nick dont discount a healthy dose of jealousy. You turn up as a new member, fly, land, go home with your models airworthy and then return with a lovely scale model scratch built. If the rest of them are doing one point landing's all over the field with aircraft barely hanging together you make them look bad and they cant have that as you are clearly just a show off. I have had similar experiences several times and its really depressing. 

 

Perhaps its just me, but having a model start, fly, land (on the wheels), and go home in one piece is the barest minimum standard i would accept from myself. I am not showing off by landing on my wheels and having a reliable model. Anything less just makes me bad at the hobby 😕 

 

Anyway rant over, back to the OP. 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, GrumpyGnome said:

I must be lucky - only 1 club I have been a member of had a joining fee. It was to cover the cost of having a key cut. This key was for the padlock on the gate leading to the single access point.

 

Lots of valid reasons I guess......

Or in the case of some of our members, getting yet another key cut when they lose theirs for the umpteenth time. I don't see the problem with joining fees; it shows if someone is serious about joining and helps cover club costs such as rent and equipment maintenance. We don't have membership cards, but I would welcome them as there is a public right of way around the field and the cost involved would be minor compared to the security it provides... As long as people don't lose them.

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I see the main justification for joining fees being to reflect massive investments in time and money made over the years by members both past and present. The joining fee is a token gesture to showing commitment to the club and not just using it to “pay as you go”. 
 

The old chestnut of certification will always cause division but the requirement for a B for flying larger model has been accepted at my club for decades - long before I joined.  I saw it as a justifiable target to achieve before building a larger model.
 

I fully accept that possession of a B (particularly one achieved in past years before efforts to standardise requirements may not have been applied) is no guarantee of competence but in a club which has adequate examiner availability I see little reason why someone wanting to operate a large model with its physical and legal responsibilities should not be asked to demonstrate a relatively simple level of competence. While bunting a 1/4 scale Cub may not be high on priorities, the aerobatic elements of the test show that the pilot is comfortable in recovery from unusual attitudes so DO have relevance. 
 

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44 minutes ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said:

I see the main justification for joining fees being to reflect massive investments in time and money made over the years by members both past and present. The joining fee is a token gesture to showing commitment to the club and not just using it to “pay as you go”. 
 


 

 

I disagree with this on the basis that any facilities already at the field are already bought and paid for. That money has gone, invested as you say in that equipment/facilities which are improved in part to attract new members.  Club fees should be set at a level to cover the costs of the club for a year plus a small surplus to cover something unexpected like a mower giving up the ghost or other unexpected eventuality. 

 

One club i was considering joining told me the joining fee was there in part to cover the cost of their sky sports tv subscription so they could watch football in the clubhouse. I hate football and i am there to fly so why should i be paying for that? 

 

One thing that really irked me when i heard about it was a club adding £120 to their joining fee because 'all the other clubs charge that much'. This is a blatant money grab and really not acceptable. 

Edited by Jon - Laser Engines
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There is a joining fee at my club. As most of the members role over the actual amount garnered by its use is minimal as we have few new members. It does act as a deterrent to those errant members who have to be chased for subs, and may I say also causes those who wish to join to reflect on their commitment . The cost of maintaining the site is not constant as there are costs to replace toilets, the provision of water on site, waste removal and the usual breakdown/replacement costs which currently all seem to escalate. With our shrunken membership the chances of expanding or enhancing our facilities are somewhat limited. Should the membership increase to its former size then a 'one off' joining fee would aid in that area.

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1 hour ago, Jon - Laser Engines said:

One club i was considering joining told me the joining fee was there in part to cover the cost of their sky sports tv subscription so they could watch football in the clubhouse. I hate football and i am there to fly so why should i be paying for that? 

Good grief! That is a blatant cash grab, even when the social aspect of a club is taken into account and other sports/events are available on Sky. I can't believe I actually agree with you on something!😁

 

Although the thought of a big TV with simulator possibilities in the club house is an appealing one. 

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When you join a member's club, in most cases you instantly become an "equal shareholder" - although many clubs have a charity distribution clause on dissolution so the financial aspect may be minimal.  I believe that a joining fee reflects a part of that entitlement to use equipment and facilities provided by the existing members and their predecessors.  Many new members will take advantage of freely given instruction and help.  In the case of a commercial enterprise, start-up and maintenance costs will be factored into membership fees and expected to provide a healthy profit whereas a member's club will normally aim to cover costs and maintain a sufficient float for unexpected expenses at minimum subscription fees. The joining fee is one factor in offsetting costs for committed members and either weed out the casual "tick one off the bucket list" one season wonders or give the club [i.e. the existing members] a little return on its investment.

 

There should be a balance between it being seen as both a financial commitment to the club/incentive to renew and its cost - some clubs own their fields, others have long term agreements and considerable investment in infrastructure and equipment and some may just have an arrangement with a friendly landlord at token cost with the use of the chairman's mower...so the level they are set at should reflect this.

 

If it's the case that a club with a joining fee has a waiting list then it can hardly be seen as an off-putting factor!

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Quite a few years ago club I belonged to proposed a joining fee.  I opposed it and even though I was chairman and voted against it the committee passed the rule.  The  reason for the joining fee was to get members to renew their club fees within the first 2 months of the new year - it had been found that some members were likely not to pay their fees until the treasurer found them at the field and demanded they pay up.   It was thought that some members never paid and just flew when they thought the treasurer would not be around!     Actually there was only 1 member who was named as doing that.   But of course not paying the club fees also meant the ( non ) member didnt pay BMFA membership fee to the club either and therefore was not insured as far as we knew.   This convinced the committtee to pass the joining fee rule.    In effect the joining fee meant the club 'fined' those who tried to evade paying their fee unless caught.  I still oppose the rule in principle but concede that it has some merit.     I expect that most clubs have the joining fee for exactly the same reason even if they don't explain it and just say it's for paperwork or keys etc.    

Edited by kc
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The club I belong to found a few years ago some members were waiting till half way through the year then re joining and paying half price. The rules were changed so that anyone joining mid term would pay full price then on renewal at the start of the new term they would get a one time reduction off the renewal fee. A yearly tag is issued to tie to the transmitter, a combination lock is used at the gate and the combination is changed every year. This works very well and I am happy to say we have a great club with friendly and helpful members

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When I joined our club, I learnt that the members had put a lot of time and hard graft, also a fair amount of money into turning some scrub land into a flying field. I paid same fee as these people and it remains that way today. New members keep my fee low, they help pay to get grass cut that I use, they help do the work that gets done, and they're the future of the club when us older ones turn up our toes. Combination lock, change it and non payers can't dodge their fee. Late payers ? existing members pay full fee no matter when they pay, unless there's been working away or problems at home preventing their attendance, then the treasurer usually welcomes them back and knocks sumat off.

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