AGB Membership Fees 20/21

dvd8n

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Tiered membership is a nice idea but I don't know if it would work. AGB would need to eviscerate it's programs to give a meaningful reduction in fees and at the end of the day it'd still be a drop in the ocean of total shooting fees.

Fifty quid a year isn't a long way from what other governing bodies charge so it's not an outrageous price in my opinion.

But, AGB seems to have a reputation for offering poor value for money and being irrelevant to a significant number of its members and I think that it needs to find a way to fix that.
 

geoffretired

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But, AGB seems to have a reputation for offering poor value for money and being irrelevant to a significant number of its members and I think that it needs to find a way to fix that.
I agree with what you are saying. I have to wonder also, what it is that grass root archers want help with from ..... or can they manage by themselves? Most clubs seem to manage their own members using committees.Most members would know nothing of AGB if they didn't have it mentioned to them when the fees are due.
It's a bit like saying I can refrain from racing away at the traffic lights without having to consult with, and pay a donation to the F1 bosses.
 

Kerf

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Fifty quid a year isn't a long way from what other governing bodies charge so it's not an outrageous price in my opinion.
I agree. But it’s more the principle of the thing. If I pay someone 50 of my hard earned notes I’d like to get something back.
But, AGB seems to have a reputation for offering poor value for money and being irrelevant to a significant number of its members and I think that it needs to find a way to fix that.
And that’s the nub of it all. AGB is totally irrelevant to me and many others. Personally speaking, I view AGB as an unhealthy monopoly and the membership fee as a shooting tax. I am sure I am not alone.
 

bimble

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And that’s the nub of it all. AGB is totally irrelevant to me and many others. Personally speaking, I view AGB as an unhealthy monopoly and the membership fee as a shooting tax. I am sure I am not alone.
AGB isn't the only archery organisation in the country, there is no need for you to join if you don't want to...
 

English Bowman

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I think that AGB need to do more to promote themselves and make themselves relevant to the grass roots archer, but it is a matter of how you look at it. You can look at it as £50 a year is expensive for just allowing you to shoot target once a week at your club, or you could view it as £1 a week is cheap to able to shoot target, field clout and flight, and to have access to coaching, progress awards, and competitions, with support for our international archers, which is open to all as long as they are good enough. That's not to mention the discounts at some retailers. It's a matter of perspective. I do agree that AGB have a problem, that does need to be addressed, but I don't think that poor value is one of the issues. (Maybe if they introduced a monthly payment scheme it wouldn't seem too much)
 
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dvd8n

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I'm not getting at you, but I'd like to offer a different viewpoint:

£1 a week is cheap to able to shoot target, field clout and flight
It's the clubs that let you do that; AGB only provides insurance that costs about £1 a year

and to have access to coaching,
The coaches give you the coaching, which they themselves pay to gain qualifications in, which they expend their own time and effort, and which the member remunerates for their expenses

progress awards,
OK, but you need to pay for the badges

and competitions,
It's generally clubs, counties and regions that organise those

with support for our international archers, which is open to all as long as they are good enough.
Yes, but that's a big if. The majority of the membership will never be good enough

That's not to mention the discounts at some retailers.
Pretty much the same discounts that I get from the National Trust, the Camping and Caravaning, English Heritage, and my ex-employer. Most of these people will offer discounts to the Tufty club if asked

It's a matter of perspective. I do agree that AGB have a problem, that does need to be addressed, but I don't think that poor value is one of the issues. (Maybe if they introduced a monthly payment scheme it wouldn't seem too much)
£50 a year or £1 a week, it's a lot if all that you get is insurance worth a quid. As I said, I don't think that £50 is bad for membership of a sport controlling body, but they need to offer something in return.
 
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KidCurry

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... with support for our international archers, which is open to all as long as they are good enough.
That's a whole new thread. I suspect at 60 I'm less likely to be viewed as an Olympic prospect. Perhaps younger archers have more to gain from the AGB coffers.

Tier fees... without going into the maths, if there were two tiers for non competitive and competitive archers, and 80% were non comp, then if you drop the non-comp tier to £36 the comp tier has to rise to £86, pretty steep. In fact I suspect the non-comp to be nearer 90% which would make the comp tier £110 to balance the books.
If you only include comps such as the nation series, masters rather than club and county, you could be looking at 5% upper tier.... you get the drift
 
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English Bowman

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I am opposed to a tiered membership, as I think that it will discourage participation in competitions. I have trouble persuading people to enter their first competition, once they've shot one, I'd say that 90% go on to enter more. (AGB Field) If they had to pay an additional fee to AGB it would be another reason not to enter.
 

dvd8n

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I am opposed to a tiered membership, as I think that it will discourage participation in competitions. I have trouble persuading people to enter their first competition, once they've shot one, I'd say that 90% go on to enter more. (AGB Field) If they had to pay an additional fee to AGB it would be another reason not to enter.
Me too. I think that it would create first and second class citizens. And you're right - it would create a barrier to competition entry.
 

mk1

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I am opposed to a tiered membership, as I think that it will discourage participation in competitions. I have trouble persuading people to enter their first competition, once they've shot one, I'd say that 90% go on to enter more. (AGB Field) If they had to pay an additional fee to AGB it would be another reason not to enter.
In a way the membership is tiered as tournaments organisers pay a fee for BRS or WRS which is passed on in the entry fees that members pay when they enter a competition. In that way it is transparent and only competitive archers pay it and pro rata. I worked out one tear that these fees had cost me about £20 as I shit every weekend and often ast smaller competitions where the per head amount would be greater.
 

mk1

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In a way the membership is tiered as tournaments organisers pay a fee for BRS or WRS which is passed on in the entry fees that members pay when they enter a competition. In that way it is transparent and only competitive archers pay it and pro rata. I worked out one tear that these fees had cost me about £20 as I shit every weekend and often ast smaller competitions where the per head amount would be greater.
apologies for the typos - I don't seem to be allowed to edit the post
 

Corax67

Well-known member
I cannot help comparing this to airgunning - I join a club, pay club membership, get coached by experienced fellow shooters, enter competitions in my club, go to competitions at other clubs (regional and national) such as FT or HFT.

At no point am I forced to join any regional or national body in order to be allowed to do this, nor do I receive anything less because of this.

My club membership includes my insurance cover - or I may seek to join an organisation like BASC for additional personal insurance that allows me to shoot on permissions for pest control.


Why can’t Archery be like this ? ?


I don’t give a tuppence about Olympic glory - as an air gunner if I wanted to chase Olympic 10m rifle then I’d join British Shooting and a dedicated specialist club. Grass roots airgun clubs provide recreational shooting facilities that the vast majority of UK shooters want with minimum fuss - we should do the same.



Karl
 

KidCurry

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I cannot help comparing this to airgunning - I join a club, pay club membership, get coached by experienced fellow shooters, enter competitions in my club, go to competitions at other clubs (regional and national) such as FT or HFT.

At no point am I forced to join any regional or national body in order to be allowed to do this, nor do I receive anything less because of this.

My club membership includes my insurance cover - or I may seek to join an organisation like BASC for additional personal insurance that allows me to shoot on permissions for pest control.
Why can’t Archery be like this ? ?

I don’t give a tuppence about Olympic glory - as an air gunner if I wanted to chase Olympic 10m rifle then I’d join British Shooting and a dedicated specialist club. Grass roots airgun clubs provide recreational shooting facilities that the vast majority of UK shooters want with minimum fuss - we should do the same.

Karl
I looked at air rifle shooting a while back. Club fees varied massively. They ranged from £35/yr + shooting fees £3+ up to £155/yr which is where I stopped. All included insurance but I couldn't work out how transferable it was between organisations. There is, like archery, a range of organisations, BASA, BASc, WTSF, WAA, WRA, BTFA, UKAHFT, UKBR22, SSRA, SARPA etc. When I looked at the sport it was more expensive than archery.
No club/person is forced to join AGB and can run autonimously. Clubs can operate completely on their own or belong to other organisations. And if you do want to shoot AGB comps you can join AGB as a direct member. So I don't think there is any real difference between the two. I do wonder why so many clubs feel the need to be associated with AGB. I guess it's a one-stop-shop, or the committee are AGB/GNAS ingrained and don't have the incentive to change what they know. But AGB is just one association among many.
 
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geoffretired

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I guess many clubs have their roots in GNAS and what that represented in its time. I feel "archery" has changed over the years; it seems far less "homely" in the sense that archers did things for themselves rather than buying everything. There was a time when a shooting line of twenty archers would have bows ranging from new to over 20 years old. These days I see almost all bows are under three years old. I think that indicates a different mind set from 30/40 years ago. Perhaps that also produces archers who just pay for their memberships in the same way they just pay for their gear. AGB has little meaning for them.
 

KidCurry

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I guess many clubs have their roots in GNAS and what that represented in its time. I feel "archery" has changed over the years; it seems far less "homely" in the sense that archers did things for themselves rather than buying everything. There was a time when a shooting line of twenty archers would have bows ranging from new to over 20 years old. These days I see almost all bows are under three years old. I think that indicates a different mind set from 30/40 years ago. Perhaps that also produces archers who just pay for their memberships in the same way they just pay for their gear. AGB has little meaning for them.
Perhaps they made a mistake when GNAS renamed themselves to AGB, although GNAS still exists. Perhaps it would have been better to create AGB as the elite/world archery arm of GNAS, leaving GNAS to focus on club to county archery. When archery was GNAS it felt more involved. I can't say I have really thought this through though :)
 

geoffretired

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I totally agree with that thinking. Each to serve its own purpose while being connected so that there is some chance for archers to move from one to the other where/when appropriate.
 

Kernowlad

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I guess many clubs have their roots in GNAS and what that represented in its time. I feel "archery" has changed over the years; it seems far less "homely" in the sense that archers did things for themselves rather than buying everything. There was a time when a shooting line of twenty archers would have bows ranging from new to over 20 years old. These days I see almost all bows are under three years old. I think that indicates a different mind set from 30/40 years ago. Perhaps that also produces archers who just pay for their memberships in the same way they just pay for their gear. AGB has little meaning for them.
This is where NFAS is different; a huge variety of bows and kit, old, new, a bit weird, slightly “Robin Hood,” hi tech, low tech, everything really.
But also less emphasis on this weeks kit; much more on technique and distance estimation; which I’m weak at!
 
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