How to set up a NEW Club
The difference between a club set up to ‘lead’ others on walks as opposed to one where ‘active involvement’ is expected is important and influences the way any new club will be set up, particularly regarding the inclusion of young people and beginners. Ordinarily, the MCofS requires prospective Club Members to fall into the latter category and we can help support how such a club operates in this manner. MCofS would see the most important reason for setting up a club being “…a coming together of a group of individuals with a common interest, to share adventures and experience and to socialise.”
What you need to think about
The idea of setting up a club may appear simple, but quickly appears complicated as the range of issues involved come to light: If the club has a membership fee, what happens to the money? Who runs the club? How are they chosen? What responsibility do they take? What happens when the club owns outdoor gear for communal use? Owns or leases a Club Hut? What happens if there is a dispute between members?
However, there are mechanisms that simplify the process and the MCofS can help guide you through it.
Here are the most important items:
- Constitution
- Liability and Responsibility Issues
- Information to Members
- Do You Need Qualifications
- Children within Clubs
- Clubs for Children
It is important to write a constitution for the club. This need not be too onerous and the MCofS offers a basic TEMPLATE CONSTITUTION. This can be modified to suit the particular reasons for the setting up of the club. Enshrine in the constitutional ‘Aims’ what is regarded as the ethos of the club: is it to encourage self awareness and personal responsibility? Is it to help introduce beginners to the outdoors or is it only open to climbers who have certain skills and experience? Is it to educate members in safety in the hills or to enhance member’s awareness of conservation issues? etc.
Ensure a fair system for electing those persons who will run the club. Elect a Chairperson or President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. Include measures for renewing these ‘Office Bearers’ regularly and keep them accountable for what they do. Make sure the clubs accounts are made public and if the club should be disbanded, decide where any assets and money will go. It is often a good idea to say in the constitution that separate ‘Operating Systems’, ‘Club Procedures’ or ‘Guidelines’ will be kept and decided on by majority votes at meetings. It is also good to refer to “The Law of Natural Justice” regarding fairness in solving disputes between members.
Liability and Personal Responsibility:
A ‘Duty of Care’ exists between all of us in society and we should always undertake what we do with due regard to the safety and well-being of those who might be affected by our activities, whatever they may be. In a club, the duty of care is the same. However, if the more experienced members of the club are willing to take novices out then they automatically take on a greater duty of care and should act accordingly.
If members of the club are designated as ‘Leaders’ of others, be they novices, beginners or guests, then they are being given an even greater responsibility. You should ask whether they have the experience and skills to make decisions for others and whether that is what you intend. Don’t forget that members who are happy to be led all the time will never gain the experience to participate on their own and will never be able to take over as ‘leaders’. ‘Leaders’ may also get disillusioned over time as they are always taking a heavy responsibility. If ‘leaders’ are given the ‘power’ to exclude members from an activity because they think they do not have the right equipment, then disputes may erupt and members may leave (what is regarded as ‘proper’ equipment can be a very arbitrary as requirements are different from one person to the next depending upon their experience).
The MCofS gives advice on the use of the term ‘leader’ and how to manage this difficult situation in Guidance on Safety and Liability for Clubs and Other Organisations
Whatever system you decide, it is still worth informing members about the hazardous nature of the activity. State the MCofS Participation Statement.
As long as the club distributes or makes freely available information to its members about the activities it intends to participate in, then there is no extra duty of care incumbent on those who organise the clubs activities.
Professional Outdoor Activities Qualifications held by members of the club may seem like a good idea, but they are not necessary and they may indicate greater skills and experience to those individuals than they actually have. This is important regarding the duty of care and the way less experienced members view such people. It is also important if the club organises its own ‘courses’ in skills and safety. It is best simply to have more experienced members offering their advice to others. MCofS describes this process as ‘the sharing of knowledge’. Such a process is specifically covered by our Civil Liability Insurance.
It is always possible to buy-in professional expertise from those who are qualified as guides or instructors, but the MCofS recommends that if a member of a club wishes to ‘share knowledge’ with novices in that club in an informal manner, those people may benefit from undertaking the training element of one of the National Awards (SPA, ML), without the necessity to be assessed and become qualified.
The MCofS would wish to support any club which includes children under 18 in their membership and activities. If the parents are active members and always accompany their children on club activities, they will be responsible for their protection and their behaviour and there is no requirement to undertake ‘Disclosure’ and other checks as described in the MCofS Child Protection Policy & Recommendations for Good Practice.
Such checks are only necessary if an adult is in ‘sole charge’ of children who are not their own. In most circumstances on a club family meet, this would not be the case.
If clubs wish to accept children as members whose parents are not members and do not participate in any event, the club should operate a system which ensures the child/children are never left alone with one adult. If this situation arises, the club should refer to the above MCofS guidance and operate accordingly.
Clubs specifically set up for Children:
The MCofS is encouraging the development of clubs whose aims are to support and educate children in the sport. This brings with it particular problems of child protection, as such clubs are operated by adults other than the parents. The MCofS has drafted advice on how to set up such a club that allows the parents some control over the activities of the club and who, and under what circumstances, delivers the activities to the children. See Young People In Mountaineering Clubs. The MCofS advice regarding ‘sole charge’ and ‘unaccompanied children’ should also be born in mind in the organisation of activities.