Stowmarket Striders showcase the benefits of club affiliation

We recently entered into a new club affiliation year, with more benefits than ever to affiliate your club with England Athletics. We recently caught up with Stowmarket Striders, who talked about all the ways they make the most of their affiliation with us.

Stowmarket are currently celebrating their 40th anniversary as a club, and are extremely positive about all the different ways in which England Athletics support them through their affiliation with us.

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Dedicated club support

Rachel Oakley, Chair at Stowmarket Striders, works closely with Club Support Manager, Kirsty Fardell, on various projects to benefit the club, and speaks highly of her working relationship with Kirsty:

"Chris Gladwell, the coaching coordinator and I have met with Kirsty and we've talked through all of the different support avenues through our affiliation."

Chris touches on one of the issues Kirsty has helped the club work through in terms of storage solutions:

"We had an issue that we had nowhere to put our kit because we had to move it from our previous home. Talking to Kirsty, England Athletics kindly gave us a grant towards the cost of a storage container, which we now use for all our equipment. For longer term, as this site develops, it will give us a really solid base."

Race entry discounts

Stowmarket register all their athletes with England Athletics, and their members enjoys the benefits of athlete registration, particularly for one member, discounted race entries through our RunEvents platform:

"It's been really good to have the impetus to enter races because of the discount that you get. I find myself entering perhaps more than I should do!"

Another member agrees, saying that the athlete registration fee actually pays for itself through discounts on race entries through the year:

"The affiliation is really beneficial because it gives you a small discount and they add up. I'm doing probably an event a week through the year, so it really is helpful, it allows me to participate in more events."

More discounts than ever

We recently announced the launch of England Athletics Rewards Hub, allowing registered athletes to access an extended new range of product discounts. One discount registered athletes can offer is with one of our partners, SportsShoes.com. One member, Steven, uses this discount in particular regularly:

"When we're buying sports shoes from SportsShoes.com, it's really simple that we go into the menu and see which footwear is available for discount, and that helps us make a better choice for footwear."

Guaranteed London Marathon club places

As part of their club affiliation, clubs also receive two guaranteed London Marathon places each year, which is a huge benefit given the demand for places. Another member, Kate, had been trying to get a place for several years before eventually receiving a place through these club places:

"This year, I ran the London Marathon for the first time, and I got that through the club. We went into a ballot and I was picked out. I don't think I would have got the opportunity to do it if I wasn't part of an (affiliated) club."

Discount on coaching and officiating courses

Affiliated clubs also receive up to 50% discount on coaching and officiating courses for their volunteers, to help boost their workforce, another key benefit to affiliating. Chris said that this helped the club through a difficult time:

"For about a year, we were running on quite low numbers as far as coaches were concerned. We were just managing to cover the sessions but didn't have any spare capacity to do anything additional. That pushed us to find more coaches, more came forward. EA were absolutely brilliant with supporting us through that, and helping them to get onto courses quickly - we got a grant towards the cost with so many going through it."

Insurance and legal advice

Affiliated clubs receive up to £50 million Public Liability insurance, and get access to a free legal helpline for clubs and their members.

One member at Stowmarket emphasised the importance of this to the club:

"Working with England Athletics is essential for us running a club, it ensures that anyone that comes here is safe, that we're teaching them correctly. We all work collectively, and EA are an integral part of that."

Club Chair Rachel also touched on the facilities advice she has received, with the club set to have a New:Gen track built later this year following England Athletics guidance.

Rachel offered a final piece of advice for other clubs:

"If you're looking to grow in a supportive environment, definitely go down the affiliation route."