JOINING THE VALE OF AYLESBURY ATHLETIC CLUB:
The Vale of Aylesbury Athletic Club (VoAAC) is based at the Guttman Centre, in Stoke Mandeville, Aylesbury, home of the Paralympic Games. VoAAC caters for athletes starting from eight years of age.
For Adult Membership, please use the contact form, and include information regarding your athletic experience. All applications for membership must be made via this form.
For younger athletes, please read the ‘Commitment to Compete’ paragraph and the information relating to ‘Junior Athletes Expected Commitment to Compete’ below, to see if you think that membership of VoAAC is for you, before selecting ‘Membership Enquiry’ on the contact form to make enquiries.
Membership Enquiries:
VoAAC does not operate a waiting list. New intake of athletes is in April each year. Enquiries should be made, via the contact form, in March to see if spaces are available. The club may consider taking new athletes throughout the year if spaces are available, see current status list below.
VoAAC only uses licenced coaches. Training groups numbers, and spaces available, are determined by a coach to athlete ratio. Spaces are therefore limited by the number of coaches the club has.
If you were previously a member and your membership has lapsed, you will have to re-apply and may have to wait for a space to become available. Athletes, particularly Juniors, whose parents/guardians are suitably qualified and willing to assist in the running of the club, especially in a coaching role, will be given priority.
Current status list:
– Kestrels (age 8 to 11 – school years 3, 4, 5 and 6): NO AVAILABILITY
– Development Squad (age 11 to 14 – school year 7, 8, 9): LIMITED SPACE
– Event Squads: Places may be available in certain squads.
– Senior: Places available
Please note: Completing a Membership Enquiry does not mean that you have become a member, at this stage you are only enquiring about membership. VoAAC will invite you along for a ‘Free Trial’ when space becomes available, and only after this will VoAAC offer you the opportunity to become a club member. This will include payment of an annual Membership Fee. Both Senior and Junior athletes are expected to be available to compete for VoAAC if selected for competition teams – see information below.
Membership Trials:
Potential new members will be offered an opportunity to attend a ‘free trial’ when space
becomes available. Performance and attitude in trial sessions will be reviewed as part of any
membership offer. Membership will include payment of an Annual Membership fee.
COMMITMENT TO COMPETE:
VoAAC is a competitive athletics club, and our athletes take part in league and individual
competitions. In the same way as other sports clubs would, we expect our members to
make themselves available for selection for team competitions and to compete when
selected. All athletes are also expected to compete individually in Open or other
competitions that are supported by the club or otherwise recommended by their coach.
As a minimum we would expect our athletes to compete as below.
Junior Athletes Expected Commitment to Compete (Each Year)
Kestrels:
– If selected, athletes are expected to be available to compete for the VoAAC team in
Sportshall competitions:
– 4 Chiltern League Cross Country Competitions (this is the minimum attendance
required to score points for the VoAAC team).
Development Squad:
– If selected, athletes are expected to be available to compete for the VoAAC team in
YDL League matches, and/or Sportshall competitions.
– If eligible, VoAAC athletes are expected to enter the Bucks County Track & Field
and/or Cross Country Championships.
– 4 Chiltern League Cross Country Competitions (this is the minimum attendance
required to score points for the VoAAC team) and if selected athletes are expected to
be available for Southern England teams.
Event Squads:
– If selected, athletes are expected to be available to compete for the VoAAC team in
YDL League matches.
– If eligible, VoAAC athletes are expected to enter the Bucks County Track & Field
and/or Cross Country Championships.
– 4 Chiltern League Cross Country Competitions (this is the minimum attendance
required to score points for the VoAAC team) and if selected athletes are expected to
be available for Southern England teams.
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION:
Membership will include payment of an Annual Membership fee. The Membership fee is
due by 15th April annually and covers the membership period of one year from 1st April to
31st March each year. Fees include England Athletics Athlete Affiliation. Fee invoices are
payable in full by the specified due date and are non-refundable.
For new members, if you are joining the club part-way through our membership year, we
will pro-rata your fees dependant on the month you join. Concessionary fees are however
not pro-rata and payable in full. Please contact us for details.
Note that Club funding and support (for subsidised fees) may be available to those athletes
in financial hardship – where fees payable is a barrier to joining our club. Please apply in
confidence via our contact form. All applications are
reviewed on a case-by-case basis and are subject to approval by the clubs committee. You
will be asked to reapply each new membership year.
Membership Fees 1 April 2025-31 March 2026:
KESTRELS
New membership: £166 (Inc admin fee and vest)
JUNIOR
New membership £141 (Inc admin fee and £20 UKA registration)
SENIOR
New membership: £115 (inc admin fee £20 UKA registration)
FAMILY (does not include kestrels)
New membership (x2 members): £240 (inc admin fee and x2 £20 UKA registration)
New membership (x3 members): £315 (inc Admin Fee and x3 £20 UKA registration)
OTHER
Includes Associate (senior non track), OAP (65 plus), Student,
New membership: £65 (inc admin fee and £20 UKA Registration)
Second Claim – £50 (inc admin fee but no UKA registration)
Payment of Membership Fees:
Membership invoices are emailed to members directly from an England Athletics no-reply
email address. All invoice queries should be referred to the VoAAC Membership Secretary
(NOT to England Athletics).
Membership fees must be paid online through PayZip. To make payment, click the payment
link within the email with your invoice. Please do not pay your membership fees by direct
bank transfer.
Contact our Membership Secretary using the Contact Form if you have any membership
payment queries.
What if I pay my membership fees late?
The due date for your membership fees is usually set by the Membership Secretary and
VoAAC Committee. Athletes may commence training with the club or enter competition(s)
only when subs have been fully paid up. Otherwise, you will not be insured to train with
VoAAC and your England Athletics Licence will not be valid for competitions.
Can members use the track facilities outside of club times?
No. The club hire the track facilities for specific times only. VoAAC members are therefore
only allowed to train at the track and use the facilities during club times. Membership with
the VoAAC does not cover the use of the Guttman Centre facilities outside of our normal
club booking times. Please do not attempt to use the track outside of club training sessions
as this would be considered trespassing. If you wish to use the track when the club does
not have a valid booking, you will need to make and pay for your own booking by
contacting the Guttman Centre directly to arrange.
Click the England Athletics logo to log into your EA account – please keep your information up to date.
England Athletics registration also provides athletes with a profile page on the online myAthletics Portal which contains their athlete information. It is important that an athlete’s contact details on this portal are kept up-to-date, as the data is used by England Athletics and VoAAC when contacting you with latest news and important club information. Athletes are advised to check their profile page regularly and update their details if necessary.
Types of Memberships:
- Junior– Those aged between 8 and 20 (Kestrel groups have separate membership form)
- Senior – Those aged 21 years and over.
- Family – Junior and/or Senior individuals belonging to one household.
- Concessionary – (i) Junior and Senior individuals who are living away in connection with full time education but who wish to compete for the club and resume full membership on completion of their studies. (ii) Unemployed individuals. (iii) Retired individuals over 60.
- Associate – Senior individual members who do not qualify as Concessionary members and who do not wish to use the club’s training facilities or to train with the club.
- Second Claim Members– Junior and Senior Individuals who are first claim members of other clubs but who use the Club’s facilities, there will be a difference in membership for local Second Claim Members and non-local. Local is deemed if they are first-claim to another Athletic Cub located within Bucks/Oxon/Herts.