Membership Information

If you are new to orienteering or require more information about joining the club, this should provide you with the necessary details.

Orienteering is a very flexible sport and is suitable for all ages and fitness(or lack of). The best way to learn about orienteering is to come to an event. The event procedure link provides information about attending an event. There are various event types (see link at the side) but all have courses suitable for beginners.
There is no need to run while doing a course and while you are improving your map reading skills, it is usually better (and eventually faster) to concentrate on reading the map accurately rather than rushing round the course.
Newcomers are welcome to come and try orienteering at a few events before joining the club. If you want to join the club then read on.

Membership types

There are two components of membership and in combination a member will fall into one of five categories. All members will have their membership made up from one of each of the two components. The first component defines whether the member is a Local or National BOF member. The second indicates whether the member is an individual, part of a family or member of a group.

Component 1

BOF LOCAL

This membership is mainly for newcomers to orienteering or those who only wish to orienteer in the South East region. All Southdowners have automatic membership of the South East Orienteering Association (hereafter called the SEOA) which covers clubs in the south east ( Herts, London, Sussex,Kent, Surrey, Hants). Local members when entering events organised by Southdowns Orienteers and those held by other clubs in the SE region, will on production of a current SO membership card qualify for a discounted entry fee.

BOF NATIONAL

As Club members become more keen to stretch their Orienteering prowess they will probably wish to progress to membership of the national orienteering fraternity, the British Orienteering Federation (hereafter referred to as BOF). This provides scope for competition in larger, more challenging events and will allow the member to participate in National events including big events such as the JK at a discounted entry all over the country.

Component 2

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS

These are persons who do not belong to a family which orienteers or persons who wish to have a different Local/National BOF classification to the other members of their family. Individual members will receive their own copy of the Southdowner, the SO Magazine.

FAMILY MEMBERS

Couples, with or without children under 21, or a parent with children under 21 will find it cheaper to join as a Family. Family members only receive a single copy of the Southdowner.

GROUP MEMBERS

This class of membership is designed for Schools, Scout and similar groups, Cadet Forces, outdoor activity associations, etc. It operates in a similar way to family membership but individuals of the group are not identified (and therefore do not feature in the SO address book or in the SO leagues) and the discounts at events are generally less.

Membership Form and fees

Posted by Jaquie Drake on 01st Jan 07

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Our Privacy Policy.

Data Privacy Policy

The Data Protection Act 1998 imposes rules and safeguards on those who hold and process personal data, i.e. data relating to living identifiable individuals. Details of usage must be notified to the UK Information Commissioner, with some exceptions which include not-for-profit organisations whose usage is restricted to specified purposes. Southdowns Orienteers are exempt from notification but the principles setting out rules and safeguards do apply. In the interests of being open and fair, the club wishes to inform members of the data held and how it is used.

Southdowns Orienteers and its officials may hold some or all of the following data about some or all members and others who compete in orienteering events: name, postal and email addresses, phone and fax numbers, year of birth, competition age class, competition results, offices held, skills and qualifications, courses attended and details of officiating at competitions. Contact data is held for landowners and other organisations with whom we co-operate, their employees, agents and tenants. The data may be held in electronic or paper form.

The data may be obtained directly from an individual person or a family member or indirectly from the British Orienteering Federation, clubs or other organisations.

The data is used in organising the sport of orienteering and for social purposes, including, but not limited to, mailing of magazines and other literature, publication of competition entries and results, coaching, team selection, training and appointment of officials.

Data may be distributed in paper or electronic form between members, competitors, event officials and orienteering organisations.

Publication of personal data in paper form may occur in membership and contact lists, magazines, competition information and results and other literature. Publication on publicly accessible web sites may include name, age class and club in competition results; names with offices and photographs may be published, but addresses, contact numbers and personal background details will be published only with the explicit consent of the person.

The data will not be available for commercial purposes.