EBU subscription rates 2018/19

The fees and subscription rates for 2018/19 were agreed by the Shareholders at the AGM on 22nd November. You will receive additional notification with the full list of fees, however some changes we wish to highlight are:

• The Universal Membership Subscription fee is increasing by 1p (lower than the current rate of inflation).
• The Shareholders approved a suggestion to remove the rebate for clubs paying Universal Membership fees by Direct Debit. Since it was introduced, paying by Direct Debit has now become standard practice in most walks of life, and is used by the vast majority of clubs as their preferred option. This has been balanced by a reduction in the standard Club Affiliation Fee for all clubs from £36 to £25. In future, we will require all clubs to pay by Direct Debit, thus reducing the amount of administration necessary by the Accounts Department, though special arrangements will be made for clubs which have a legitimate reason why payment by Direct Debit is not possible.
• The Treasurer is currently forecasting a loss over the next four years, and therefore has put together a financial recovery plan aimed at tackling that deficit. One aspect of this plan which the Shareholders approved was the removal of the rebates which are made to individuals who play more than 150 sessions each year. This will affect around 650 members, but will save around £7,500 per year, and remove a significant administrative workload from the Aylesbury staff, and will come in to effect from April 2018.