The Payment Problem in Athletics Clubs

Athletics clubs have one of the most complex payment structures in grassroots sport. A typical club collects annual membership fees, England Athletics affiliation fees, weekly or monthly training fees, competition entry fees, kit costs, and occasional levies for facility improvements or equipment. Each of these has different timing, different amounts, and often different collection methods. The result, in most volunteer-run clubs, is a treasurer spending hours every week reconciling bank transfers, chasing late payments, and manually tracking who has paid for what.

The scale of revenue leakage in this model is significant. A club with 200 members losing just five pounds per member per year to uncollected fees, late payment write-offs, or administrative errors is losing a thousand pounds annually. For a club operating on tight margins, that is the difference between affording new equipment or not, between subsidising competition entries or passing the full cost to athletes.

Automating payment collection is not about replacing the treasurer with software. It is about freeing the treasurer to manage club finances strategically rather than spending their volunteer hours on manual collection and reconciliation.

Membership Fee Structures

The first step toward automation is simplifying your fee structure into clearly defined categories that a billing system can handle.

Standard Membership Tiers

Most athletics clubs need three to five membership tiers. A typical structure includes a senior training member (18 and over, full track access, includes England Athletics registration), a junior training member (under 18, full track access, includes England Athletics registration), a social or non-training member (committee members, volunteers, supporters who do not train), a second-claim member (registered with another club as first claim, limited to training only, no championship eligibility), and a life or honorary member (typically free, reserved for long-serving volunteers or exceptional contributors).

Price each tier to cover your actual costs. A junior training member tier should cover the club's per-head facility hire cost, a contribution to coaching costs, the England Athletics affiliation fee (currently 17 pounds for seniors, with junior rates varying by county association), and a contribution to overheads (insurance, equipment, administration). Be transparent about what the fee covers. Parents who understand that 15 pounds per month covers facility hire, coaching, insurance, and England Athletics registration are more willing to pay than those who see an unexplained monthly charge.

Family Discounts

Family discounts are standard in athletics clubs and are one of the most effective retention tools for junior-heavy clubs. The usual model is full price for the first family member and a discount of 10 to 25 percent for each subsequent member. Your billing system must support family grouping so discounts are calculated and applied automatically. Manual family discount tracking is one of the most common sources of billing errors in athletics clubs.

Direct Debit as the Default Collection Method

Direct Debit is the most reliable automated payment method for UK clubs. Unlike standing orders (which the member controls and can cancel without notice), Direct Debits are initiated by the club and are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee, which gives the payer the right to an immediate refund for any incorrect payment.

Setting Up Direct Debit Collection

Athletics clubs can access Direct Debit collection through a bureau service or a payment platform that includes Direct Debit as a feature. The setup process involves registering as a Direct Debit originator (which requires a Service User Number from Bacs), or using a bureau that holds the SUN on your behalf. Most clubs use a bureau or integrated platform because obtaining your own SUN requires meeting Bacs' financial and operational requirements, which are designed for commercial organisations rather than volunteer-run clubs.

Collection Schedules

Monthly collection on a fixed date (such as the first of each month) is the standard for athletics club subscriptions. Set the collection date to align with your own payment obligations. If your facility hire is due on the 15th, collect subscriptions on the 1st so the funds have cleared before your bill arrives. Offer annual payment as an alternative for members who prefer it, typically with a small discount (equivalent to one month free is common) as an incentive for upfront payment.

Failed Payment Handling

Direct Debit failures happen when members have insufficient funds, when they switch bank accounts without updating their mandate, or when their bank rejects the collection for administrative reasons. Your system should automatically retry failed collections (typically after three to five working days) and notify the member. After two consecutive failures, flag the account for manual follow-up. Do not let failed payments accumulate silently for months, because recovery becomes increasingly difficult and awkward.

England Athletics Affiliation Fees

England Athletics affiliation is a mandatory cost for competing members and is a common source of billing confusion. The club pays a block affiliation fee to England Athletics based on its membership numbers, and individual athlete registration fees are charged per member.

Embedding Affiliation in Membership Fees

The cleanest approach is to embed the England Athletics registration fee within your membership tier pricing. This ensures every competing member is registered (avoiding the situation where an athlete turns up to a competition without a valid registration) and eliminates the need for a separate collection. When the England Athletics fee changes (as it does periodically), adjust your membership pricing accordingly and communicate the change to members with the explanation that it reflects the governing body fee increase.

First-Claim and Second-Claim Billing

Second-claim members should not be charged the England Athletics registration fee by your club because they are already registered through their first-claim club. Your billing system must distinguish between first-claim and second-claim members and apply the correct pricing. This is a straightforward data field, but it is frequently overlooked in manual billing systems.

Competition Entry Fee Pooling

Competition entry fees are one of the most operationally challenging payments to manage because they are irregular, variable in amount, and often need to be paid by the club on behalf of multiple athletes before individual collection.

The Pooling Model

Many clubs operate a competition levy system where a fixed monthly amount (such as two to five pounds) is added to every competing member's subscription. This pool funds competition entry fees, team transport, and related costs. The advantage is predictable cash flow and simplified billing. The disadvantage is that athletes who compete frequently effectively subsidise those who compete rarely. Communicate the levy clearly and publish an annual summary showing how the pool was spent.

Per-Entry Billing

The alternative is to bill athletes individually for each competition they enter. This is fairer but creates significant administrative overhead: tracking who entered which events, calculating individual costs, issuing invoices, and collecting payment. If you take this approach, automate as much as possible by linking competition entries to billing and generating invoices automatically when entries are submitted.

The goal of payment automation is not to squeeze more money from members. It is to collect what is owed reliably, reduce volunteer hours spent on administration, and provide financial transparency that builds trust between the club and its membership.

Key Takeaways

Simplify your fee structure into clearly defined membership tiers with transparent pricing that covers facility costs, coaching, insurance, and England Athletics registration.
Implement family discounts automatically through your billing system rather than tracking them manually, which is the most common source of billing errors.
Use Direct Debit as the default collection method with automatic retry for failed payments and prompt notification to members.
Embed England Athletics affiliation fees within membership pricing to ensure every competing member is registered and eliminate separate collection.
Choose between a competition levy pool or per-entry billing based on your club's competition culture, and communicate whichever model you choose transparently.