Athlete registration

England Athletics believes that athletes are at the centre of our sport. That is why we work hard to attract athletes into the sport and then provide them with the support they then need. A major aspect of that is our registration scheme. Many of the services that are available to athletes are best accessed through being part of an athletics club that is affiliated to England Athletics. By joining a club you can also become a registered athlete and enjoy many of the benefits this brings. Once you are a registered athlete you will be sent a competition licence.

On this page you will find information on subjects including:

• Keeping your profile up to date - click here
  
• The importance of affiliation and membership in athletics - click here
  
• Benefits for registered members - click here
• How affiliation works
  • Becoming a Registered Athlete - click here
  • Why we work through clubs - click here
  • A personal relationship with athletes - click here
• Moving clubs - click here
• Claiming your £5 Sweatshop voucher and additional discounts - click here
• Special deal on accommodation with Premier Inn and England Athletics - click here
• More information for clubs - click here

Keeping your profile up to date

Along with your competition licence you will also receive their username and password which enable you to log in to keep your profile up to date. To go to the 'Edit My Profile' page please click here or go to www.englandathletics.org/editmyprofile. This will help you to get the most from the benefits we are able to offer athletes. If you have any queries relating to club affiliation please email affiliation@athleticsservices.org.uk or call  0121 713 8400.

It’s your sport - the importance of affiliation and membership in athletics

Club affiliation and athlete registration are a vital part of the sport of athletics. They bring great benefits which allow the sport to function effectively and fairly. The reasons a club should affiliate and athletes should be registered include:

• athletes and clubs have the right to fair competition. Both clubs and athletes have the right to compete in confidence that they are competing against legitimate opposition, and not against opposition which is ineligible. For appropriate checks, monitoring and enforcement to be made affiliation and registration are necessary
• athletes and clubs have the right to information. They have the right to be contacted directly with essential information about the sport rather than having to rely on this being passed on indirectly or second-hand. Registration allows this to happen and for each member to make personal decisions about whether to receiving different types of non-essential information. This also reduces the burden on other people, often volunteers, who would otherwise be relied upon to communicate this information.
• athletes and clubs have the right to have their voice heard, and to have a say in how the sport is run. This requires two-way communication between England Athletics and its members. Affiliation and registration enables this to happen
• clubs and athletes that are affiliated or registered with England Athletics have rights with regards to support, services and resources. These benefits include insurance, club places at the London Marathon, specialist coaching visits to clubs and preferential entries to events. To administer these and other benefits fairly and effectively it is important for us to know who our affiliated clubs and member athletes are
• athletes and clubs have the right to know that appropriate standards are upheld in the areas of health, safety and welfare when they are participating in the sport. Licensing and registration help to enable the monitoring and enforcement necessary for the observance of these standards throughout the sport
• the information and communication that is made possible through club affiliation and athlete registration also help us to provide clubs and athletes with support and opportunities to help them maximise their potential and get as much enjoyment from the sport as possible.

Benefits for registered members

Membership of England Athletics brings a wide variety of benefits for members ranging from reduced entry fees for road races, to discounts on products such as a £5 Sweatshop voucher and a further 10% discount of subsequent pruchases, representative opportunities and much more. Importantly it enables you to opt to receive fortnightly bulletins on what is happening in the sport including essential information for athletes to know. To find out more about receiving this information click here. You can learn more about updating your profile to ensure we send you the information by clicking here.

For details on how your £5 contributes to the development of the sport and the support you, your club, your coach and the wider sport receive from England Athletics please see our member welcome booklet. To download a copy please click here.

How affiliation works

Becoming a Registered Athlete
As an athlete it is straight forward to become a registered member of England Athletics.

• To start with you must become a member of a club that is affiliated to England Athletics.
• Your club is then responsible for registering you with England Athletics. They enter your details on a secure online club portal, but without these details England Athletics will have no record of you.  There is a £5 charge for each member who is registered and the registration year runs from 1 April to 31 March. The £5 charge is often paid alongside your club membership subscription and many clubs state this when publicising the membership fee.
• Once England Athletics have received your details from your club, and payment for your registration, we will allocate you a Unique Registration Number (URN).
• Athletics Services submit details of registered athletes to our membership card printers every two weeks. Your England Athletics membership card should be received no later than three weeks from that submission.
• Your Registration number will be on the membership card that you are sent, it will also be available from the person at your club who keeps your details up to date on the secure club portal.
• Once registered your URN stays the same from year-to-year. However, your club must have made an up-to-date payment on your registration for your registration to remain active. If payment is not received your registration will become inactive.
• Should you experience any problems in receiving your URN / Athletics Card, you should contact –
  • Your Club Secretary or Membership Secretary
  • Athletics Services on 0121 713 8400

Why we work through clubs
England Athletics operates this licensing system in partnership with clubs for the following reasons:

• It encourages athletes to join clubs and gain the many benefits of training, competing and socialising with a club
• This approach ensures clubs know which of their athletes hold competition licences
• It means everyone can be confident a registered member is who they say they are. That means other people can’t compete in your name and vice versa.
• Clubs do not have to chase members to renew their subscriptions AND their competition licence. The two can be administered together.
• New registrations and updates to registrations can be processed and updated on a much larger scale. This saves time and money, allowing your club and England Athletics to spend more time and money on other work
• It gives athletes a more local point of contact for their England Athletics registration

A personal relationship with athletes
As an athlete much of your involvement in the sport comes through your club. As an athlete you can also receive information directly from England Athletics on issues that are relevant to you. To do this you should ensure your contact details, most importantly your email address, are up-to-date on your member profile.
Use your Unique Registration Number and password (sent with your Competition Licence/Registration card) to log in at www.englandathletics.org/editmyprofile.
If you have lost your password or Registration card you can contact Athletics Services on 0121 713 8400 or affiliation@athleticsservices.org.uk.

Moving clubs

If you are moving between clubs you should be aware of the process for this. Please see the document ‘England Athletics - Eligibility Process Map’ below which will ensure you understand the process involved in this. More information is available in the clubs section of this website.

You will also need a copy of the form ‘Change of first claim club’. You may be given this form by your club or you can download that document from the right hand side of this page.

The monthly eligibility decisions will be placed as downloadable documents on the right hand side of this page. If you are moving club all applications for exemption from the six month must be made to Athletics Services. Applications received by the 16th of the month will be processed in time for eligibility waiting periods to be determined from the 1st of the following month. Applications received after the 16th of the month may be delayed until the following month. Futher information can be found on the form. Please address any queries to eligibility@athleticsservices.org.uk or call 0121-713-8400.

Claiming your £5 Sweatshop voucher and additional discounts

Your England Athletics Membership card gives you a number of fantastic benefits in Sweatshop, the award winning running store. You receive a £5.00 discounton your first purchase, 10% off subsequent purchases and a 2% donation to the England Athletics Flying Coaches Program. Also, from time to time there will be other seasonal offers. See the Sweatshop booklet enclosed in the pack you receive with your membership card for details.

To claim your FREE £5.00 in store fill in the form on the back of the Sweatshop booklet in your membership pack and visit any branch of Sweatshop, visit www.sweatshop.co.uk/eashop to find your closest store.

To claim your benefits online visit www.sweatshop.co.uk/eashop, enter your membership number and follow the on screen instructions. Full details are in the Sweatshop booklet enclosed in your membership pack.

Special deal on accommodation with Premier Inn

England Athletics has chosen Premier Inn as our preferred hotel supplier and that means that if you stay at a Premier Inn hotel at any time you can ensure that money is ploughed back into your sport. For each booking made with Premier Inn through the official England Athletics portal a percentage is donated back to the sport.  To visit the special booking page please click here.

More information for clubs

If you are looking for more information on registration and affiliation for your club please visit our Club Affiliation page which has details on how to use the clubs' affiliation portal, affiliation forms and other resources for clubs.