Happy New Year everyone!
Club Membership fee unchanged for 2023
The HJ Committee has reviewed the Club’s finances and discussed increasing membership fees. Two key points are:
- There has been an increase in expenses associated with races and other costs like kit and equipment storage.
- We do not want to use the Club’s built-up surplus to cover yearly costs but want to keep that for reinvestment back into the club, e.g for Leadership in Running Fitness Courses.
However, after careful consideration, we are pleased to confirm that individual and family membership fees will remain at £10 and £20 respectively for 2023. What great value!
This will be reviewed regularly and it is not inconceivable that the fee may increase in the next couple of years. Any increase will be to cover increased expenses because, as a Community Amateur Sports Club run by volunteers, we do not aim to make a profit.
The accounts for the club can be viewed each year at the AGM, or on request from club members.
Please note: England Athletics has announced that the affiliation fee will increase from £16 to £17 per athlete from 1 April 2023. Thus, if you are affiliated with the EA, then your renewal fee will reflect this increase which is passed to the EA on your behalf.
Code of Conduct
HJ is a club affiliated to UK Athletics and as such, complies with the standards set by UKA. When you renew your membership for 2023, you will see a new requirement to read and agree with a code of conduct. Members were first notified of this earlier in 2022 when the various codes of conduct were made available on the HJ website.
London Marathon
Three HJ members have won guaranteed places through ballots to take part in the London Marathon in April 2023. The winners of the ballot for the places for London Marathon via the Club’s membership of UK Athletics were Martin Allen and AIan Pettitt. The winner for the ballot under LM Volunteering is Viv Underhill.
Race Directors
In this post in November, we highlighted the need for two race directors for the Horsham 10k and the Gunpowder Trot which are held in May and November each year. Unfortunately, we have not had anyone put their hands up for either of these roles. Please consider if you are able to help with this and contact info@horshamjoggers.co.uk for more information. Thank you!
Running Course 5k to 10k
HJ will be organising an 11-week running course starting on 20th June 2023 to take participants from 5 to 10k, culminating in the Littlehampton 10k in September. There will be two sessions each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The course will cost £35 for non-members and £25 for current members.
If you would like to participate in the course or know of anyone who would like to do so, joining forms will be available online in March. The course can accommodate up to 55 participants.
For the course to be a success, we are dependent on our members to volunteer their services. We have several run leaders with Leadership in Running Fitness (LIRF) qualification who will be leading the course, with Simon Perkins and Sue Hensman being the main leads. In addition, for each session, we need six members who are able to jog with the course participants at their respective paces to keep them motivated.
If you are able to volunteer, please email SokWahLee@leeholgate.co.uk who will coordinate this and set up a roster.
Committee Members Needed
We have up to three vacancies in the committee and are looking for team players who are happy to give up some of their time to ensure that the club can deliver to its members. If you are interested, please contact info@horshamjoggers.co.uk.
The main roles in the committee have descriptions consistent with those published by UK Athletics. The other members of the committee, who are also key to the efficient functioning of the committee, not only help in specified areas but, together, provide a good sounding board for debate and joint decision making. The committee act as a whole and attendance for most of the meetings would be a requirement.
The committee meets every six weeks on Wednesday at 7 pm. The dates of the committee meetings for 2023/24 are as follows.
- 1 February
- 15 March
- 26 April
- 14 June (changed from 7 June to avoid a clash with the WSFRL Littlehampton Beach Run)
- 19 July
- 30 August
- 11 October
- 22 November
- 3 January 2024
Volunteer and Jogger of the Year
Thank you to everyone who has nominated either a Volunteer or Jogger of the Year. The voting survey should be made available to all members at the end of January and polling will end after 4 weeks.
This is an annual exercise so please keep your nominations coming for 2023! The list of nominees are collated at the end of each year.
Leadership in Running Fitness (LIRF)
HJ is continuing to invest in our members by funding the training to achieve LIRF certification. In return for this, the club would like members who have achieved the qualification to support the club in its coaching activities.
Joggers on Tour at Bevendean Down Parkrun
This parkrun near Brighton is under threat because the number of runners have dwindled to about 30 recently. To support this event, HJ would like to make this our first tourist parkrun outing for 2023. We will run there on Saturday 4th February. More details have been posted on HJ Runs on Facebook. Please car share where possible.
More Events in 2023
The ‘Naked’ Run takes place in April 2023. More details here.
HJ is planning a family camping weekend at a campsite near Brockenhurst so that we can do the Brockenhurst Parkrun on the Saturday morning. Those who do not wish to camp will be able to find accommodation nearby and join in the outdoor fun and barbecue at the campsite.
Marcus Leach, our social secretary has other ideas such as a 70s/80s disco. More information will be available as these are brought to fruition so watch this space!