Why is the CA expanding its membership?
We’re doing this so that every croquet player a club, of all abilities, has the opportunity to join the wider croquet community and influence the running of the sport.
How will it happen?
The Croquet Association (CA) has developed a new, online Membership Database system so that clubs can upload data for their members who wish to take advantage of Standard CA Membership at no extra cost. What’s more, as the database is further developed in the next year, it will provide every club with a free database system to maintain its own records.
What are the advantages?
Players will get:
- Free Croquet Gazette mailed to each member for the first year of membership, so they can keep up to date with everything in the ‘Croquet world’. There will be new pages tailor-made for new CA members
- Access to the online Tournament Entry System enabling swift, accurate entry to participating tournaments
- Opportunities to gain awards based on both croquet skills and other contributions to the game
- Maintenance of their own records, including handicaps
- Voting rights which deal with current issues and future policy, so they’ll be able to influence CA policy and have a hand in developing the future of our fascinating sport
- Access to the Members’ Area of the CA Website (which includes the CA Directory, CA Minutes & Papers, Selection Event Availability, Surveys & Voting and Membership administration)
What if a club member doesn’t want to join the CA?
That’s fine, they don’t have to. They won’t get any of the advantages of membership though.
Can a club have a mixture of those that join and those that don’t?
Yes, and we expect that to happen. Clubs will upload the details of those who do want to join, and just give us a total number of those that don’t so that we can calculate the club’s annual subscription
What if the club doesn’t want to take part at all?
You don’t need to, but it does mean that if you have any member who does want to take advantage of Standard CA membership, they won’t be able to.
Why do we need to agree to a Data-Sharing Agreement?
It’s best practice to do this. We’ve acted on the advice of the Information Commissioner’s office. It means both the CA and clubs are clear about what each party will provide and what is done with the data.
Why does each member of the club who wants join have to agree?
Next year there will be new Data Protection Legislation which means that anyone whose data is being shared must give a positive agreement to do so. Until now, it’s been sufficient for organisations to ask
people to opt out of sharing and if they don’t opt out, it’s assumed that they’ve agreed to opt in. From next year that won’t apply: people must opt in.
What if a club member is already an individual member of the CA?
That’s OK. We will already have their data, and the consent for it to be used by us. However, it would be helpful if you include their data in your upload, as it helps us to confirm which club(s) such members belong to. We would also like to get their explicit consent (or otherwise) to use the data in the online directory, so including them in your consent gathering would be very useful.
Will individual subscriptions be phased out?
No, many players, particularly tournament players will want to continue to be individual members of the CA because there is a tournament discount for them. Not only will this save the dedicated tournament player money, it means that they are eligible for selection events.
What will the CA do with my data?
The CA will store it in an encrypted online database, to which CA officials will have access. If you give permission for your contact details to be published in its online directory they will be visible there, but only to CA or fellow club members as you decide. If you enter tournaments, they will be available to the tournament officials. The CA, its Federations and clubs may contact you in connection with your membership and to provide information about their activities.
What will the CA not do with my data?
The CA will not pass your details onto any organisation that isn’t a member of the CA.