Benefits of becoming an affiliated triathlon club
The following benefits are offered to all clubs affiliated with Triathlon SA:
- Recognition as an affiliated triathlon club of Triathlon SA (TriSA) and Triathlon Australia (TA)
- Reduced membership fees for club members (as opposed to non-club TA members).
- All club members must also be TA Members. This means that your members are covered by 24-hour personal injury and public liability insurance while training (solo or in groups) for and participating in sanctioned domestic races. (This 24-hour coverage excludes participation in unsanctioned triathlon events or non-triathlon sporting disciplines).
- Access to comprehensive insurance through Triathlon Australia for public liability and directors and officers insurance. Information on insurance can be found at the following link: Insurance
- Access to the Active Works Membership System, an online system that manages the club membership database and collects membership payments. The Active Works Membership database is essentially a ‘one stop shop’ for joining TA, Tri SA and the Club of your choice. Membership is arranged in a single transaction and the club portion of the membership fee is paid into the club account and clubs have full access to their membership database. For membership information, including fees and FAQs, refer to the following link: Membership
- Provision of a free basic club website through Active Network.
- Eligibility to compete in TriSA's Club Championship.
- First hand news of TriSA's sanctioned events, coaching, policies, development information and TA announcements.
- Access to TriSA resources, personnel and seminars for committee advice, coaching advice and development, junior development and education.
- Access to accredited programs such as TRYstars Kids Triathlon program.
- Access to coaching courses and Technical Official Courses.
- Access to TriSA policies for implementation at club level.
- Awareness and assistance with club development in areas such as strategic planning, risk management, child protection, event management and funding opportunities
- Promotion and recommendation as an affiliated triathlon club on the TriSA website and through promotional material.
- Eligibility to apply for and conduct sanctioned events, which include the provision of qualified Technical Officials.
FORMING A CLUB
Firstly, a meeting of all interested persons must be held. Promote this meeting publicly to invite anyone who may be interested in joining. Make sure you keep minutes of this meeting as they will be required when the club incorporates and opens a bank account. At this meeting, the following should be agreed by majority vote:
- The preferred name of the club
- The preferred club colours (should not be the same as an existing club’s colours).
- The Election of office bearers, the minimum required being a President, Secretary and Treasurer.
- The official address of the Club.
- The name, address and contact details of the person who will act as the club contact.
- Training venues for the club.
- Annual fees for members of the club and method of registration (the Active Works Membership system provided by Triathlon Australia will provide the method of registration for affiliated clubs).
- Creation of the club constitution (see Office for Recreation and Sport link ‘Resources to help run your Club’ for helpful resources including a club constitution template): Resources to help you run your club
- The club will need to become Incorporated and open a bank account.
incorporation
Incorporation is a voluntary, simple and inexpensive means of establishing a legal entity, separate from the individual members. It is particularly suitable for small, community-based groups. In other words, the association is considered by law to have a distinct identity that continues despite changes to its membership. Incorporated Associations are not for profit organizations. Any profits made should be kept by the association and should not used by members for personal gain. Most funding programs and opportunities will only fund incorporated associations.
The whole process of how to incorporate is outlined on the Government of South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services (CBS) website which can be found at the following link: How to Incorporate
Prior to Incorporating, hold a meeting of members to:
- Authorise a person to make the application for incorporation. The role of this person is to complete and sign the necessary forms and to lodge them with this office.
- Obtain the consent of the person who will be the club’s first public officer. The person who consents to be the first public officer can also be the person authorised to make the application if that is what the meeting wishes. Refer to the following link for public officer responsibilities: Public Officer Responsibilities
- Approve the name of the association (as well as a couple of alternatives in case there is a problem with the first choice). The name selected should reflect the association’s nature, objects and purposes. If there is a problem with the name selected the matter will be taken up with the lodging party.
- Approve the club rules (constitution). The proposed rules should be considered as to whether they will cater for the activities of the particular association and comply with section 23A of the Act.
- Keep minutes with formal motions ie: I move that the [name of association] be formed, and that the [name of association] rules be those attached, I move that the [name of association] incorporate as an incorporated association under the provisions of the Associations Incorporation Act. Arrange for one person to move each motion, with another to second it.
AFFILIATION
The Triathlon SA Constitution states that an affiliated club must have a minimum of 10 members. All club members must also become Triathlon Australia/Triathlon SA members and affiliated clubs must agree to comply with all Triathlon SA and Triathlon Australia Polices. Refer to the following links for Triathlon SA’s Constitution, Club Affiliation Policy, Tri Before You Buy Policy and other helpful policies:
Triathlon SA Club Affiliation Policy
Once the club has created its constitution, incorporated (or in the process of becoming incorporated) and opened a bank account, it can affiliate with Triathlon SA. The affiliation process is online and usually opens in May for the coming financial year (however the club can affiliate at any time during the year). For clubs with less than 100 members the affiliation fee is $200 (as of 2015/16). This fee also covers the cost of the club’s insurance. As part of affiliation the club will receive its insurance certificate of currency and access to the Active Works Membership System so that it can receive membership payments.
SANCTIONING EVENTS
The Triathlon Australia event sanctioning process is designed to ensure that events conducted in Australia are conducted in a safe and fair manner for all participants.Event organisers (including clubs) who wish to have their events sanctioned by Triathlon Australia are able to do so by submitting their applications through Triathlon Australia’s online sanctioning portal. One of the benefits of this system will be that event organisers will be able to access Triathlon Australia’s whole of sport insurance scheme. Refer to the following Event Organiser Information link for information on sanctioning an event and accessing the online sanctioning portal: Event Organiser Information
Clubs that run events for its members only (including members of other TA affiliated clubs) or as ‘Come n Try’ events to attract new members (see Tri Before You Buy Policy) are able to do so without having to pay the event sanctioning fee. All club races should be sanctioned and ensure club races are safe, fair and legal.
Clubs that wish to hold larger races open to non-members (i.e. more than a ‘Come n Try’ event that has the purpose of attracting new members) must have the race sanctioned and pay the appropriate tiered sanctioning fee. This is because if a club holds a race that is not sanctioned it will not be insured and therefore participants will also be uninsured. (A race means a sanctioned event, whether a triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon, single discipline event or other multi-sport event).
CLUB DEVELOPMENT & SUPPORT
Triathlon SA is available to assist with advice on club development areas including strategic planning, risk management, committee development, event management and member protection.
Triathlon SA runs Coaching Courses, Technical Official courses and also advises clubs of other support and training seminars that are available through providers such as the Office for Recreation and Sport.
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