Archery GB membership changes: What you need to know

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 explain the reason for the changes and how they affect you.

Following consultation with you, the member, and the wider sport, we are ready to make changes to membership and the structure of the sport from October 2024. Feedback showed that:

• You should be put in control of your own membership 
• Clubs want to reduce the administrative burden of managing their member's AGB memberships 
• New membership features and benefits would be welcome 
• Clarity and transparency of upcoming price changes is required, including better parity across membership types 
• There is a need for you to have a better understanding of how the regional and county fees are used 

With this insight as a background, the following will be put in place from 1 October for the new membership year: 

• You will now be able to manage your own membership directly via your Sport:80 Membership Portal  
• Membership types are being streamlined to make them clearer 
• Membership fees are changing so they are balanced better across the sport 
• The features and benefits of membership are being refreshed and updated in line with the needs of you, the archer 

Managing your own Archery GB membership 

You will now be able to manage your own membership via the Sport:80 Membership Portal, reducing the administrative burden on clubs. Payment for Archery GB membership will be made directly through the Member's Portal, and you can set up automatic renewals to make the process easy next year. 

More instructions on how to manage your membership will be shared with you and your clubs via email in the coming weeks. 

Membership types 

Our previous membership offering was made up of over 20 membership categories and different ways to pay. In response to feedback from our members that these were overly complicated, the different types have been consolidated into the following: 

Membership fees 

Over the last ten years we have worked hard to minimise increases to our membership fees. Price increases have been minor, and not in line with the increasing costs that we all, as businesses and individuals, are subject to. This has resulted in the organisation needing to use reserves to subsidise the resources needed to maintain the sport.  

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.  

Insight has shown that if increases are necessary, members would like to know what to expect in future years, so to provide this clarity we have set out the planned changes for the next three years below:

We are discontinuing pro-rata payments, which will be replaced by personal anniversary, so your membership will last a year whatever time of year you join. This means that new archers aren’t faced with a delay in joining or having to join us twice within the same year.  

The new fees come into force for the new membership year starting 1 October 2024 for new and renewing members. We are opening renewals from Monday 2 September to give you longer to renew and get used to the changes. 

Features and benefits 

We have been working on updating our membership features to continue to provide value to you, including: 

• £20 off your first booking and discounted hotel rates through HotelPlanner 
• Access to an exclusive members wellbeing helpline via Health Assured (16+) 
• Savings on your custom kit with the Archery GB Kit Designer  
• Discounts on national retailers 
• 10% off your first order on the Archery GB shop 
• Comprehensive archery insurance while on a certified range as standard 

Your membership also supports the important work that Archery GB does at a grassroots level, through community initiatives and increasing accessibility for all, lobbying the Sports Councils and Government on any initiatives that affect archery, whilst developing and managing the welfare and safeguarding structures required to keep archers and volunteers safe across the sport. 

Changes for university and school clubs 

In line with the above membership changes, the price of university and school club affiliation will increase as laid out below. The way that these clubs and members are managed is unchanged at this stage. 

Regional and county fees 

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. 

What’s next? 

We'll be sending out emails to all our clubs and members soon, explaining what you need to do to get ready to renew your memberships.  

For clubs – we need the correct details for your chair, secretary, membership secretary, welfare officer and other officers updated on your Sport:80 profile. The club's profile will need to be updated and renewed BEFORE members renew their memberships. 

For members – make sure that you have an up-to-date member profile and that it has your correct details, and preferences so that your membership and access to benefits will renew seamlessly. 

We will be running a series of webinars – keep an eye on your emails to submit your questions and book your place. 

*Whilst we will make every effort to keep prices set as laid out, they may be subject to change if global and national economies are affected by events outside of our control.