• MembershipFees

Aikido club membership fees explained

The basics

The club is looking to expand and develop. In addition, we need to cover the three venues we train at and the increased insurance costs. To do this, we (aka the dan grades) decided on the following scheme.

Aikido fees scheme

When you come in for the first time, you will be asked to sign the membership form and pay £6. You have four sessions to decide if Aikido is for you. Those sessions will be at the cost of £6 per session. Once you have decided that Aikido is for you, you have to join the club.

Joining the club requires a yearly membership fee of £25. This covers your insurance, participate in covering the cost of insurance for the dojo (where we train) and administrative costs.

A direct debit form will be given to you once you join the club and is required to be filled in for £20 per month. This is your monthly club mat fee. Every time you come and train during that month, the training fee will be £2.

Examples

Fred can make all the Tuesdays in May 2011 and half the Thursdays. Fred's monthly mat fee is £20 and there are five Tuesdays (5 * 2 = 10) and four Thursdays (4 / 2 * 2 = 4). Thus Fred pays 20 + 10 + 4 = 34 pounds for May 2011. Now, Fred has to renew his yearly membership in May, thus pays £25 extra which cover his insurance for the year.

Alice decides to try out Aikido. She pays a training fee of £6 for her first session and fills in a membership form. She comes back for another session and pays £6 again. She is impressed and wants to join the club. She then pays her yearly membership fee of £25 and monthly mat fee of £20. She then can pay the £2 training fee each time she trains.

Expansion plans

First and foremost, we want to be able to pay our bills on time and without worry. Second, we want to get some more mats for the Burton stone lane dojo. Thirdly, we want some weapons (tanto, bokken and jo) for the club. Lastly, we do want to have more external instructors (such as Scott, 6th dan) come and teach us on a regular basis.

The club is a non profit organisation so all the money will go back into the club.

Frequently asked questions

How much do the instructors get paid?

Nothing for the town club. The costs of the student club go into the club funds to help cover extra costs of training on Monday.

I liked the £6 per session. Why the change?

There are three main reasons. First, we are looking to expand the club and remove the stress of never knowing where money is coming from. Second, the new scheme should encourage you to come more often as it is much cheaper. Finally, we need your support for the club to grow.

How much does it cost to run the club for a year?

We need £4,100 which covers three dojo rent and insurance for them.

How many weeks are there in a month?

52 weeks in a year gives you 52 / 12 = 4.333333...

If I train once a week, how much does it cost?

It costs you 20 + 4.33 * 2 or £28.67. This is a little more than the old scheme which would have been 4.33 * 6 = £26.

If I train twice a week, how much does it cost?

It costs you 20 + 4.33 * 4 or £37.34. On the old scheme, this would have cost you £52. Thus you save £14.66.

If I train thrice a week, how much does it cost?

It costs you 20 + 4.33 * 6 or £46. On the old scheme, this would have cost you £78. Thus you save £32.

How much does it cost yearly?

Easy. It is 25 + 20 * 12 = 265 membership plus two times the number of sessions you come to: 104 (once), 208 (twice) or 312 (thrice). Of course, you are unlikely to be there at every session so in practice these would be the highest cost you can pay but chances are it will be much less.

Do I get a dogi or other goodies with the yearly membership fee?

No. This covers our administration costs and insurances only.

What is my insurance?

It is a British Aikido Board (BAB) insurance allowing you to train at any BAB affiliated organisations. See their web site for more details.

If I am injured, do I still need to pay £20?

No, we will take the cost of your time off due to injury off your next training fees -- those are the £2 fee.

What constitute an injury above?

Anything that had a BAB incident report form filled in. If you injure yourself severely outside of Aikido, we will review this on a case by case basis.

I am unemployed for more than two months, do I still need to pay £20?

No, you can reduce it to £15. But once you get a job, you must go back to £20.

Can I see the club accounts?

Sure. Just ask the secretary treasurer -- currently, that is Yann.

I want to quit!

We require a month's notice before you cancel your the direct debit. We would appreciate a note saying why you decided to quit.

If I quit after my first session, am I still insured?

Yes, you are insured for a year. We must insure you before you train.

I am a visiting student from another dojo, what do I pay?'

£6. If you are insured via the BAB, you get the added satisfaction of helping the club. If not, the fee cover your insurance for a year.

I do not have insurance but want to train, can I?

No.

There are no instructors at a session, can we still train?

You cannot train if one of Matt, Ken, Rob or Yann is not down as the insurance will not cover you. But if that happens, you can shout at the instructors as this should never happen.

I am going on Holiday for a number of weeks, can I be let of the mat fee for that month?

No.

I have a question that is not answered here, what do I do?

Ask The treasurer (currently Yann) either by email or in person.