Archery GB is introducing a range of changes to membership to put you, the member, at the centre of our offer, refreshing the features and benefits, whilst ensuring that the sport can grow and prosper. Here we respond to your questions you've asked since the announcement of the changes. This page will also include the latest membership updates.
On Saturday 22 February the penultimate in-person focus group was held at New Century Bowmen, in Macclesfield.
Attendees represented a range of roles from club secretaries, to county chair and treasurers. Three members of staff from Archery GB led the session including Chief Executive Ruth Hall.
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Discussion points included:
The final face to face focus group will take place on Saturday 8 March at Crystal Palace Bowmen, in Kent. There are also two more online focus groups, and members can sign up to those that have spaces available through the events calendar (search for Membership) here.
On Monday evening, Archery GB held our first online focus group for those participants who are unable to attend an in-person event.
Four members of staff from Archery GB attended including Chief Executive Ruth Hall. Seven members joined the session to discuss the following:
The next face to face focus group will take place on Saturday 22 February at New Century Bowmen. There are also four more online focus groups, and members can sign up to those that have spaces available through the events calendar (search for Membership) here.
Cleve Archers in Bristol kindly hosted the third in our series of face-to-face membership focus groups.
Members, clubs, and county and region volunteers from across the region were represented in a broad discussion about how we can work together to reduce the administration burden of membership.
The nine attendees and four members of the Archery GB team spent the afternoon discussing a range of subjects, including:
There are two more face to face focus groups, the next one taking place on Saturday 22 February at New Century Bowmen. There are also five online focus groups, and members can sign up to those that have spaces available through the events calendar (search for Membership) here.
The second membership focus groups was held at Thirsk Bowmen, in North Yorkshire.
The session gave club representatives the opportunity to contribute to the second phase of the membership review.
This phase is looking at two areas of membership:
Seven members attended the focus group along with three members of AGB staff from across Sport Development and Chief Executive Ruth Hall.
There are three more face to face focus groups, the next one taking place on Saturday 8 February at Cleve Archers. There are also five online focus groups, and members can sign up to those that have spaces available through the events calendar (search for Membership) here.
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Archery GB held its first membership review focus group of the year at Sherwood Archers, in Nottinghamshire.
The meeting, held on Saturday 25 January, was the first in a series of face-to-face and online sessions, allowing club representatives to contribute to the second phase of the membership review.
This phase is looking at two areas of membership:
Nine members attended the focus group along with three members of AGB staff from across Sport Development and Communications.
The archers ranged in experience from 18 months in the sport to 50 years with members holding a variety of roles including membership secretaries, chairs, presidents, equipment officers, website officers, judges, and coaches, with many wearing multiple volunteering hats.
The focus group began by setting the scene for the discussion and the background to the membership review, which aims to encourage more people into the sport by making it easier to join AGB direct. The purpose being to reduce some of the administrative burden on clubs and increase direct communication between archers and their governing body, answering the age-old question: ‘what does AGB do for me?’
The members gave feedback on the following areas:
Archery GB would like to thank everyone who attended and our hosts Sherwood Archers.
There are four more face to face focus groups, the next one taking place on Saturday 1 February at Thirsk Bowmen. There are also five online focus groups, and members can sign up to those that have spaces available through the events calendar (search for Membership) here.
On 17 and 18 January, Archery GB hosted a two-day meeting at Lilleshall National Sports Centre for Regional and Home Nations Chairs and Secretaries. This meeting gave us the opportunity to consult with key stakeholders on the second phase of the membership review.
Ruth Hall, Archery GB's Chief Executive, expressed her thanks to those who attended and shared their time, contributions and insight.
"It means a great deal to the team at AGB, that you took great efforts to attend, both in person and online, to support the process," she said.
Ruth added: "It was a really great start to what we hope and intend will be a permanent change in the way we work together, to benefit our sport."
The broad themes were around improving communication, the process for managing change, specific concerns around some of the membership changes, and considerations about roles and responsibilities across our structure.
Further meetings will be held, both in-person and online, to continue this important collaboration work.
17 January 2025
On 17 January 2025, Archery GB announced that we are continuing a consultation to reduce the administration of joining and renewing for clubs and members.
This is in response to members and clubs saying they want broader consultation on any future changes.
The second phase of the project involves us holding a series of in-person focus groups and online sessions to gather your views to ensure any changes improve processes for everyone. We will also be sending an online survey to all members to ensure everyone has a chance to have their say.
In September we issued an update on the membership changes following feedback from clubs and members. You can read this update here.
You can read about the membership changes here or scroll on for further updates. We held two webinars on Monday 15 July and Thurs 18 July for member and club officials. Both included a set of slides, and there may be some differences in the delivery, but the content is the same.
Questions were welcomed in advance of the webinars, and the content was built around these topics. The series of questions below capture the overall context. You can find an additional PDF with answers to specific questions provided on the webinar in the top right of this page under Resources .
Membership renewals can still be processed by the club in September 2024. So, if the club has already collected fees or want to provide this service to their members, the club can carry on as usual. The process will be the same as 23/24 memberships.
We have made the membership tab in Sport:80 streamlined for both club and members. We will be encouraging all members to log into their accounts and make sure that their details are correct.
However, from 2 September each member can process their own membership, so if the club are happy with handing this process over to their members, then individuals can renew and purchase Archery GB membership and associate themselves with the club. We will leave it for the club to decide whether they are happy for this to happen.
In the webinars we did mention that we will migrate fully to direct memberships for 2025/26; we will update members and clubs on the plans for 2025/26 renewals in spring 2025.
Club and membership secretaries renewing any member in September or October, will receive the end of September 2025 as their renewal date. Members paying clubs still receive their benefits from the point of payment. So, the bulk of your members will stay on the usual annual renewal and can remain like this going forward.
We know that there sometimes is a delay in members receiving their membership confirmations and e-cards, and we do receive many enquiries about membership which is payment pending or incomplete – by going directly to Archery GB, new or renewing members will become members instantly upon receipt of payment, and as membership secretary you could be relieved of some admin of doing this.
Everyone will be asked to update their own profile in August ready for September renewals. All accounts in Sport:80 will be activated, and users given access to update their own details.
There are multiple ways of checking who is a member:
We have heard feedback that people think that the Archery GB fees are simply a tax, with benefits "that nobody wants or needs" – that is until there is an incident, or a safeguarding issue where they have to pay for legal support as a club. Either of which could cause an uninsured club to go bust.
Archery GB is focused on maintaining a safe and fun environment for those taking part in the sport, as well as continuing important work to grow the sport across the country. In order to do this, and following a full review of our costs and consideration of cost-saving options, there is now a need to be more realistic about the cost of membership to ensure that the work Archery GB does for the sport remains sustainable.
We have presented a three-year pricing plan (with caveats against forces beyond our control) so that members are aware of what is coming, and clubs can plan.
If you have not watched it, please refer to Chief Executive Ruth Hall’s statement here:
For now, county and region fees need to be paid via club or directly. Archery GB continues to collect the Archery NI fees with the process working well for all parties.
Feedback from the sport indicates that more clarity is required over the structure of regional and county fees, how they are established and where the money is spent. We will be talking to the regions and counties in the coming months to discuss how we can tackle this challenge collectively, to provide clarity to you.
We know that AGB fees are not the only fees members pay. Collectively can AGB, region and county do something together that saves archer money? Following the roadshows we attended in 2022, many people told us that county and regional associations are only there for coaching and competitions. We know much more goes on, including the support for safeguarding and disciplinaries across all levels, so all parties need to come up with a solution.
Abolishing the pro-rata system means new members can join immediately at any time of the year, and their membership lasts for 12 months.
Often, we are told that new members do not want to wait but clubs tell them to wait until 1 April or 1 July or even 1 October, so we are reducing the wait for people to join, get access to their membership benefits and be insured to shoot. Let’s open the sport up to as many people as possible, without barriers.
There is a single price point for all members, regardless of category, so anyone joining gets 12 months membership, and therefore the 18-month restriction does not exist.
Please visit the Archery GB/Howden Microsite here for full details of the insurance cover and policies.
Members who knowingly shoot alongside non-members, or clubs who are knowingly allowing members to shoot alongside non-members, could be invalidating their insurances as this would be in breach of the Archery GB Rules of Shooting.
Members should not be shooting alongside non-members, except as detailed in the insurance schedule (e.g. those on a beginner’s course). This is to protect the members as they are all benefiting from the Archery GB insurance, at the same level of cover.
Should one member accidentally injury another and an allegation for negligence is made, the aim of the liability insurance policy is to defend the member if it is clear they have not breached their duty of care. Where there is a breach of the duty of care the insurers would manage the claim and any award for compensation set by the courts or out of court settlement up to the limit of indemnity.
Only Archery GB members are insured should an allegation for negligence be made against them. Any non-member (whether they have insurance with another provider or not) would have to manage any allegation or claim for negligence against them personally. This may mean their personal assets are at risk to pay for the defence costs and any award the courts set against them.
It is also important to note that every claim is looked at on an individual basis and is dependent on the type of allegation being made.
Claims for public liability awards have exceeded £10m in the world of amateur sport and recreation in recent years. By being included in the Archery GB Insurances there is a consistent approach to the insurances and their cover, for all members. There are significant limits that apply to all members – £15,000,000 for public liability exposures and up to £10,000,000 for management liability, that being the personal liability of the committee.
Where clubs make their own insurance arrangements, they run the risk of buying limits below these recommended levels. This could leave clubs and committee members exposed.
Archery GB and our insurance advisors spend a lot of time negotiating a comprehensive level of cover. As with your car and home insurance, cover and cost changes rapidly, and we want to ensure that the sport and our members remain safe and covered at all times.
As we have shown there are a number of ways to check who is a member. Every club has different procedures on how to access the club’s facilities and Archery GB cannot mandate this – however, it is good practice for the club to always have knowledge of who is at the range and when.
We are not saying that you need to check every 5 minutes who is at the range, but in case of an incident or a claim, then there should be a sign-in book, QR code or booking-in system. Any claim that is put to the insurers would require this information.
Archers renewing in September or October this year will have membership ending September 2025. From 1 November 2024, any new or renewing archer’s membership will renew 12 months from the date they join. So it is not until November 2025 that a more dynamic membership year will come into effect. Members will receive several renewal reminder emails prior to their renewal, and further emails 7 days and 30 days after their membership has lapsed if they do not renew.
Clubs currently accept members at all times of the year. This admin may not change – but could change if you ask the new member to complete their own Archery GB membership. Clubs could prevent new members joining until a certain date – for example September/October and April – therefore limiting renewals to two specific periods. We recommend that clubs use the lapsing members report on a monthly basis and remind members to renew alongside the email reminders they will get from Archery GB.
Clubs and members should not allow non-members to shoot alongside Archery GB members. Members who knowingly are shooting alongside those who are not members or the clubs who are knowingly allowing members to shoot alongside non-members could be invalidating their insurances as this would be in breach of the Archery GB Rules.
Further emails were sent in August instructing clubs on how to affiliate ahead of renewals opening for members on 2 September.
