Updated 02.03.2023

Registration for club membership of British Fencing costs from £40, if the club signs up to auto renewal, and £45 for non-auto renewal. There is an additional £5 charge for both options for clubs that affiliate to Northern Ireland.

Prices for club affiliation are deliberately low as the sport operates on an individual membership system, where all individuals participating in the sport at all levels are expected to join the National Governing Body. In doing so, they contribute to both the benefits that they receive (eg individual and club insurance) and the services that support the sport (eg safeguarding, coach and club development).

Communication – never miss an update

• Copy of the Sword magazine
• Quarterly Club Digest
• Dedicated news section on the website
• Governance alerts
• Community Discussion event alerts

Access – provide fencing opportunities

• Fencers may affiliate to the club and represent the club in BF/HC competitions
• Fencers participating in a registered clubs beginner courses have access to the free BF Introduction Membership. Fencers must have a valid BF membership to be covered by insurance.
• Beginner fencers can participate in single taster sessions run by the club of up to three hours.
• Access to BF club membership and event entry platform to allow you to manage club members and competition entries and remain fully compliant with GDPR regulations
• Free promotion of sessions and activities through the BF Activity finder
• Free access to GB League Fixtures

Support – receive help in your club

• Insight and guidance from the BF team
• Support for grant applications (typically NGBs are required to endorse applications for local public funding – a pre-condition to this is that the club is a member of the NGB)
• Training opportunities for welfare officers and coaches

Protection – make sure you’re covered

• Public Liability (typically a pre-condition of venue hire)
• BF Coach Register and DBS checks
• Welfare Officer and volunteer checks

MEMBERSHIP TERMS

BF affiliated community clubs are expected to ensure that all fencers and volunteers participating in a club hold a valid individual membership of BF. A community club is a club that accepts members from the community – rather than a club that is solely run for pupils of a particular school or university.

Club secretaries registered on sport80 can access an online lookup facility to check individual memberships.

Individual non-members, even if they are fencing in member clubs or under the instruction of registered BF coaches are NOT afforded the insurance benefits of members except in specific circumstances. Permitting non-members to participate (other than as described in the Membership Benefits) may invalidate the public liability insurance of the club.

Clubs running community events must ensure that the events are licensed (for many events this is free of charge) and BF membership rules followed as appropriate.

Clubs must run all their activities within the rules, policies and procedures of British Fencing.

MINIMUM OPERATION STANDARDS

All clubs must have a named Welfare Officer, independent of the coaching structure. For more information visit BF’s Welfare & Safeguarding Zone here.

In the case of clubs of Education Institutions (eg Schools) exclusively for pupils of that institution, the welfare contact can be the institution’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (who does not need to be a BF member).

In line with the NSPC Child Protection in Sport minimum standards, the Club Welfare Contact must be clearly identifiable on any club website and be listed in the club profile on sport80.

Clubs are expected to list their coaches on their website and these coaches MUST be on the BF Coach Register. Coaches giving lessons must be Level 2.

If you have any questions or need further help contact the Membership Team