Joining BKO

Berkshire Orienteers (abbreviated as BKO) welcomes new members of whatever standard, from complete beginners and juniors to experienced orienteers who have moved locally from another area. To learn more about orienteering, see our What Is Orienteering? page. To join Berkshire Orienteers, please contact the Membership secretary, Alan Springett, by email - membership@bko.org.uk.

Membership Classes

BKO has three classes of membership:

• Local
• Local BOF*
• National BOF

* BOF is the colloquial contraction for British Orienteering, the federation which governs the sport in this country and to which BKO is affiliated.

New members (not those who have been members before and let their membership lapse) joining after 1st September will have membership to the end of the folowing year for the rates current at the time of joining, i.e. up to 4 months free.

Fees

Fees for 2010 are as follows:

^ Fees for local membership are paid by cheque to the Membership secretary. Local or National BOF Membership fees are paid to BOF who remit a portion of the fee to BKO. Joining as a BOF member may done on-line at britishorienteering.org.uk .

* - New members (who have not been a member of any orienteering club for the past 3 years) pay these lower amounts for their first year.
+ - Reduced by £1 if paid by direct debit.

Membership Benefits All BKO members receive the following benefits:

• The BKO newsletter (6 times a year)
• Participation in club training and social events
• Exemption from the non-member surcharge at BKO District events  
• Discounted or free* runs at most BKO events where they help
• Membership of the South Central Orienteering Association (SCOA)

Local BOF members receive in addition:

• Insurance cover (liability to 3rd parties) for events registered with British Orienteering
• Newsletter (twice a year)
• Eligibility to compete in JK, National, Regional and District events
• Exemption from the £2 non-member surcharge at Regional and District events in the SCOA region
• A vote at the BOF AGM

National BOF members receive in addition:

• Insurance cover (liability to 3rd parties) for events registered with British Orienteering
• BOF Magazine "Focus" (4 times a year) - juniors receive "RC#5" 3 times a year
• Eligibility to compete in British Championships, JK, National, Regional and District events in all regions
• Exemption from the non-member surcharge (£2 from 1st January 2007) at all events
• Discounts for sponsor-supported deals
• A vote at the BOF AGM

Remember that Berkshire Orienteers is a Clubmark club and we have committed ourselves to maintain standards for both volunteers and parents of junior members, as well as more general policies. Please see the Clubmark page for more details. 

See the BOF web site (http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk) for more details of BOF membership benefits.