Can I run with you before I decide to join?
COBS don't expect anybody to pay for membership before running with us. We strongly recommend you try and run with us for a few weeks before deciding whether the club is for you and if you want to join. There are several clubs in Birmingham who all have their own website. You can research different clubs before you decide who to affiliate to.
How much is the membership fee?
The membership fee is £45 per year, covering the April to April year. Membership can be started at any time from April in one year to March in the next - the sooner you take up membership, the more time you get as a member. If you're a new member joining the club for the first time, the membership fee also includes a free t-shirt or vest.
If you can't afford the membership fee, speak to a member of the committee in confidence so we can work out how to help you.
What does the membership fee go towards
£17 (£19 from 1 April 2024) goes to our governing body England Athletics (EA) to affiliate you individually to EA as a club athlete.
An annual club subscription fee to England Athletics. This gives us registered club status which includes payment of Public Liability Insurance, access to specialised legal advice and club support from a regional Club Support Manager. Without Public Liability Insurance there could not be a running club or runs.
What are club funds spent on? How do I benefit?
Training of volunteers to LiRF/CiRF (leader/coach in running fitness) qualification level so that club runs are insured and all runners benefit from led or coached training sessions. All sessions are open to any runner without additional cost. Without the money to fund LiRF/CiRF club runs, led/coached sessions could not take place.
Training of club volunteers to become qualified officials for competitive events where we compete, and for welfare officers.
Running the website and associated costs.
Affiliation fees to Warwickshire Athletic Association, Midland Cross Country League and Midland Counties Athletics Association.
Other costs, for example, venue costs and awards for our AGM and awards ceremony, and any equipment we may need.
Expenditure is at the discretion of the Committee - accounts for the previous year are made available at the AGM.
What are the additional benefits of paid membership?
Individual training plans devised by a club coach.
Represent club at cross country and autumn/spring relay races
Attend and vote at the Club AGM, and put resolutions to the AGM
Stand to join the committee
Enter the club ballot for the club's London Marathon place (subject to meeting qualifying criteria)
Discounts at running stores such as Up & Running and SportsShoes.com - your membership has to be current to validate the discounts
Discounts on EA registered races - EA will automatically check your EA number for race entries
If you have any questions that haven't been answered above, please email info@cobs.org.uk.
Terms Of Use
1. Terms
By accessing this website, you are agreeing to be bound by these Website Terms and Conditions of Use, all Website applicable laws and regulations, and agree that you are responsible for compliance with any Website applicable local laws. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing the Website. The materials contained in the Website are protected by Website applicable copyright and trade mark law.
2. Use License
Permission is granted to temporarily download one copy of the materials (information or software) on the City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) Website for personal, non-commercial transitory viewing only. This is the grant of a license, not a transfer of title, and under this license you may not: modify or copy the materials; use the materials for any commercial purpose, or for any public display (commercial or non-commercial); attempt to decompile or reverse engineer any software contained on the City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) Website; remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from the materials; or transfer the materials to another person or "mirror" the materials on any other server. This license shall automatically terminate if you violate any of these restrictions and may be terminated by City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) at any time. Upon terminating your viewing of these materials or upon the termination of this license, you must destroy any downloaded materials in your possession whether in electronic or printed format.
3. Disclaimer
The materials in the City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) Website are provided "as is". City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties, including without limitation, implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property or other violation of rights. Further, City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) does not warrant or make any representations concerning the accuracy, likely results, or reliability of the use of the materials in its Website or otherwise relating to such materials or on any sites linked to this Website.
4. Limitations
In no event shall City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) or its suppliers be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of data or profit, or due to business interruption,) arising out of the use or inability to use the materials on the City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) Website, even if City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) or a City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) authorised representative has been notified orally or in writing of the possibility of such damage. Because some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties, or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental damages, these limitations may not Website apply to you.
5. Revisions and Errata
The materials Website appearing on the City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) Website could include technical, typographical, or photographic errors. City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) does not warrant that any of the materials on its Website are accurate, complete, or current. City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) may make changes to the materials contained on its Website at any time without notice. City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) does not, however, make any commitment to update the materials.
6. Links
City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) has not reviewed all of the sites linked to its Website and is not responsible for the contents of any such linked site. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) of the site. Use of any such linked web site is at the user\'s own risk.
7. Site Terms of Use Modifications
City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) may revise these terms of use for its Website at any time without notice. By using this Website you are agreeing to be bound by the then current version of these Terms and Conditions of Use.
8. Governing Law
Any claim relating to the City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) Website shall be governed by the laws of the UK without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
Privacy Policy
This privacy policy applies between you, the User of this Website and Arden:Twenty, the owner and provider of this Website. Arden:Twenty takes the privacy of your information very seriously. This privacy policy applies to our use of any and all Data collected by us or provided by you in relation to your use of the Website. Please read this privacy policy carefully.
Definitions and interpretation
In this privacy policy, the following definitions are used: Data collectively all information that you submit to Arden:Twenty via the Website. This definition incorporates, where applicable, the definitions provided in the Data Protection Act 1998; Cookies a small text file placed on your computer by this Website when you visit certain parts of the Website and/or when you use certain features of the Website. Details of the cookies used by this Website are set out in the clause below (Cookies); Arden:Twenty, we or us Arden:Twenty, a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 10922374 whose registered office is at Accountancy House, Priory Road, Kenilworth, England, CV8 1LL; UK and EU Cookie Law the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 as amended by the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011; User or you any third party that accesses the Website and is not either (i) employed by Arden:Twenty and acting in the course of their employment or (ii) engaged as a consultant or otherwise providing services to Arden:Twenty and accessing the Website in connection with the provision of such services; and Website the website that you are currently using, https://cobs.org.uk and any sub-domains of this site unless expressly excluded by their own terms and conditions. In this privacy policy, unless the context requires a different interpretation: the singular includes the plural and vice versa; references to sub-clauses, clauses, schedules or appendices are to sub-clauses, clauses, schedules or appendices of this privacy policy; a reference to a person includes firms, companies, government entities, trusts and partnerships; "including" is understood to mean "including without limitation"; reference to any statutory provision includes any modification or amendment of it; the headings and sub-headings do not form part of this privacy policy.
Scope of this privacy policy
This privacy policy applies only to the actions of Arden:Twenty and Users with respect to this Website. It does not extend to any websites that can be accessed from this Website including, but not limited to, any links we may provide to social media websites.
Data collected
We may collect the following Data, which includes personal Data, from you: in each case, in accordance with this privacy policy.
Our use of Data
For purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, Arden:Twenty is the "data controller". We will retain any Data you submit for 12 months. Unless we are obliged or permitted by law to do so, and subject to any third party disclosures specifically set out in this policy, your Data will not be disclosed to third parties. This includes our affiliates and / or other companies within our group. All personal Data is stored securely in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998. For more details on security see the clause below (Security). Any or all of the above Data may be required by us from time to time in order to provide you with the best possible service and experience when using our Website. Specifically, Data may be used by us for the following reasons: internal record keeping; improvement of our products / services; in each case, in accordance with this privacy policy.
Third party websites and services
Arden:Twenty may, from time to time, employ the services of other parties for dealing with certain processes necessary for the operation of the Website. The providers of such services do not have access to certain personal Data provided by Users of this Website. Links to other websites
This Website may, from time to time, provide links to other websites. We have no control over such websites and are not responsible for the content of these websites. This privacy policy does not extend to your use of such websites. You are advised to read the privacy policy or statement of other websites prior to using them. Changes of business ownership and control
Arden:Twenty may, from time to time, expand or reduce our business and this may involve the sale and/or the transfer of control of all or part of Arden:Twenty. Data provided by Users will, where it is relevant to any part of our business so transferred, be transferred along with that part and the new owner or newly controlling party will, under the terms of this privacy policy, be permitted to use the Data for the purposes for which it was originally supplied to us. We may also disclose Data to a prospective purchaser of our business or any part of it. In the above instances, we will take steps with the aim of ensuring your privacy is protected.
Controlling use of your Data
Wherever you are required to submit Data, you will be given options to restrict our use of that Data. This may include the following: use of Data for direct marketing purposes; and sharing Data with third parties.
Functionality of the Website
To use all features and functions available on the Website, you may be required to submit certain Data. You may restrict your internet browser's use of Cookies. For more information see the clause below (Cookies).
Accessing your own Data
You have the right to ask for a copy of any of your personal Data held by Arden:Twenty (where such Data is held) on payment of a small fee, which will not exceed £100. Security
Data security is of great importance to Arden:Twenty and to protect your Data we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure Data collected via this Website. If password access is required for certain parts of the Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We endeavour to do our best to protect your personal Data. However, transmission of information over the internet is not entirely secure and is done at your own risk. We cannot ensure the security of your Data transmitted to the Website.
Cookies
This Website may place and access certain Cookies on your computer. Arden:Twenty uses Cookies to improve your experience of using the Website. Arden:Twenty has carefully chosen these Cookies and has taken steps to ensure that your privacy is protected and respected at all times. All Cookies used by this Website are used in accordance with current UK and EU Cookie Law. Before the Website places Cookies on your computer, you will be presented with a message bar requesting your consent to set those Cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of Cookies, you are enabling Arden:Twenty to provide a better experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies; however certain features of the Website may not function fully or as intended.
This Website may place the following Cookies: Strictly necessary cookies These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website, use a shopping cart or make use of e-billing services. Analytical/performance cookies They allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily. Functionality cookies These are used to recognise you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalise our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region). You can choose to enable or disable Cookies in your internet browser. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser. You can choose to delete Cookies at any time; however you may lose any information that enables you to access the Website more quickly and efficiently including, but not limited to, personalisation settings. It is recommended that you ensure that your internet browser is up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.General
You may not transfer any of your rights under this privacy policy to any other person. We may transfer our rights under this privacy policy where we reasonably believe your rights will not be affected. If any court or competent authority finds that any provision of this privacy policy (or part of any provision) is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision or part-provision will, to the extent required, be deemed to be deleted, and the validity and enforceability of the other provisions of this privacy policy will not be affected. Unless otherwise agreed, no delay, act or omission by a party in exercising any right or remedy will be deemed a waiver of that, or any other, right or remedy. This Agreement will be governed by and interpreted according to the law of England and Wales. All disputes arising under the Agreement will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.
Changes to this privacy policy
Arden:Twenty reserves the right to change this privacy policy as we may deem necessary from time to time or as may be required by law. Any changes will be immediately posted on the Website and you are deemed to have accepted the terms of the privacy policy on your first use of the Website following the alterations.
You may contact Arden:Twenty by email at hello@connectmyclub.co.uk.
28 August 2017
Cookie Policy
City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) puts small files (known as 'cookies') onto your computer to collect information about how you browse the site.
Cookies are used to:
- measure how you use the website so it can be updated and improved based on your needs
- remember the notifications you've seen so that we don't show them to you again
How cookies are used on City of Birmingham Striders (COBS)
We use Google Analytics software to collect information about how you use City of Birmingham Striders (COBS). We do this to help make sure the site is meeting the needs of its users and to help us make improvements, for example improving site search.
Google Analytics stores information about:
- the pages you visit on City of Birmingham Striders (COBS)
- how long you spend on each City of Birmingham Striders (COBS)
- how you got to the site
- what you click on while you're visiting the site
We don't collect or store your personal information (for example your name or address) so this information can't be used to identify who you are.
Google Analytics sets the following cookies:
Google Analytics
| Name | Purpose | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| _utma | This lets us know if you've visited before, so we can count how many of our visitors are new to City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) or to a certain page | 2 years |
| _utmb | This works with _utmc to calculate the average length of time you spend on City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) | 30 minutes |
| _utmc | This works with _utmb to calculate when you close your browser | when you close your browser |
| _utmz | This tells us how you reached City of Birmingham Striders (COBS) (for example from another website or a search engine) | 6 months |
Our introductory message
You may see a pop-up welcome message when you first visit our website. We'll store a cookie so that your computer knows you've seen it and knows not to show it again.
Making secure connections to websites
Your browser uses cookies to make secure connections to websites with a 'https' URL. There are different versions for different levels of security.