bigG 0 #1 August 26, 2003 Hi, I am thinking of starting a Collegiate Skydiving Club here at FloridaTech in Melbourne,FL. I could use some pointers and positive advise on how to setup a club. I was told that I would have problems with insurance. Anyways to get around that?!? Thanks in advance!! G. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pd190 0 #2 August 26, 2003 somebody did a nice article on starting a team or club or something a few months ago on this site..... (damn, where is it.....) also, I remember reading something in Parachutist... (damn,,,... what were we posting about??) under news and dropzones..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sangiro 26 #3 August 26, 2003 Have you read this article? http://www.dropzone.com/news/HowtoStartaCollegiateSky.shtmlSafe swoops Sangiro Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brabzzz 0 #4 August 26, 2003 Ello! i'm looking forward to the challenge of running Bristol Uni's (long established!) skydiving club this year. I can only imagine that starting one from scratch must be a LOT of work. I don't know what the deal in the US is with insurance and the official side. We have to pay our university 'union' a proportion of our membership fees and they provide some totally useless insurance. Joy. So we actually gain nothing by being affiliated to the university, but we can't get out of it! The key factor is finding a good dropzone that will really appreciate your custom and negotiate a good deal with them. It's not everyday that someone offers to bring 100 potential FJC's to their DZ with no advertising outlay for them! As your in the US, i reckon the guide above gives better idea of whats involved that i could as most of whats in it seems very US specific/unique. Good luck!!! Mike --------------------------------------- Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club www.skydivebristoluni.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigG 0 #5 August 26, 2003 Hi Mike, I know the low-down on the British Collegiate Clubs as I was also running University of York Sports Parachute Club [UK] untill few years ago... Now trying to have a go at the US systems...Lets see how it goes...here. Thanks Mate!!! Wish me luck! G. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #6 August 27, 2003 Actually you can get out of joining the union, and still get money off em too - there's a nice little loop hole in the law governing how student unions operate. Only problem is that you can expect a pretty heated legal battle before you get your way cos the ramifications for the union if you won would be disastrous. oh yeah, and by the time you win... it would be time for your successor to hand over the their replacement. damn student union good for nothing scum. At least yours isnt run by someone who looks like they've been on the wrong side of a propeller blade, god kirsty's a mess. Sorry - unrelated rant. On a practical note, befrend your university/union/whatever the us equivalent is - they can make life very difficult for you if they want to, (give em an inch of red tape and they all become little hitlers) shame they cant actually make running the club any easyer if they so chose. Insurance might not be too much of an issue so long as you have a huge long waiver - you can do that in the US. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrickyDicky 0 #7 August 27, 2003 Our Union is quite good because we dont pay anything to them at all. To be affiliated with you union you need to have so many members (30 I think) and you can claim a max of £500 a year off them to cover "expenses" (has to be receipts). All we pay for is the 2nd day at the freshers fair (first day is free) which is £25. I dont think its a bad deal. You have to keep to the union's constitution but this is mostly just equal rights stuff (ie. no excluding blacks, whites, girls, boys, nerds etc) but we have to charge minimum £5 membership which we do anyway (clubs keeps all membership money). No problems with off site trips (ie. going to the DZ) as I heard with the althletic union you're supposed to fill in forms every time you go anywhere not uni affiliated (like the DZ) but we never did. UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #8 August 27, 2003 SU's can be a very good friend to clubs and help them out with funding and setting up things when the club is new. When run by people with integrity they are a wonderful resource. But now imagin the SU when the troggs that run the joint (they're always ugly) get up themselves and come over all little hitler-ish. They now want you to fill in forms in triplicate every time you go to the DZ or have a pub meeting and to carry out risk assesments for each activity. They justify this by giving you insurance that covers you if you are on uni premises ONLY, and specifically excludes skydiving. How pissed would you be if they then told you that YOU - (not your club, but YOU individually) could not go to the DZ without their say so. And they have period pain so say NO. They dont care that you are affiliated to the BPA first and to them second so NO means NO and if you do go to the DZ they take away your funding. They then freeze your club account that has no uni funding in but a lot of money you rased from sponsorship deals. Befrend your SU - they can be dangerous if provoked. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigG 0 #9 August 27, 2003 I have found someone who may be able to help me out here. Some one was trying to start a club here before but had problems with SU..so I will talk to them and see what can be done. There are quiet a few Collegiate clubs here in Florida, but no governing body like the BCPA for example, to organise events. May be in the near future we should try and organise US & UK Collegiate events or competitions... May be a Collegiate World Championships...(ok..I may be dreaming a bit too far now!!) Thanks for the help folks...I'll let you know how it goes. G. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
