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Do I need to be an endurance sport junkie to join Club Fat Ass? |
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No. Club Fat Ass encourages anyone who supports our objectives of promoting safe, economical, environmentally friendly endurance sport events and an active, healthy lifestyle to join. Benefits of Club Fat Ass membership. |
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| Q: |
I'd like to make a gift of a Club Fat Ass membership. How do I do that? |
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Thoughtful idea! Please complete the membership form as if you were the person you are giving the gift to (e.g. enter their name, address, t-shirt size and other coordinates.) Please contact us if you would like a gift notice sent by email. |
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| Q: |
I don't live in Canada. How much is membership in my currency? |
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Your membership dues will be calculated in Canadian dollars. Currencies fluctuate hourly relative to one another, so we can't tell you exactly the amount in your currency that will show up on your credit card when you sign up for a Club Fat Ass membership. You can get a decent idea of the amount in your currency, however, from an online currency conversion service such as Yahoo. |
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Do I need to be a member to participate in a scheduled Club Fat Ass event? |
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Yes. You can choose to join for a year and participate in as many Club Fat Ass events as you want, or join for a single day and participate in a particular event.
Note: Most Flash and Speaker events are free and open to everyone, so if you have no money or are not sure if the Club is for you. Benefits of Club Fat Ass membership.
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| Q: |
I'm confused. You say you promote free events, yet you charge me a membership. Please explain. |
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Without funding of some sort, it's not possible to host a single "free" event, let alone an international network of them. Membership fees allow Club Fat Ass to function. We aim at all times to provide far more value to our members than the nominal cost of membership. |
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| Q: |
Where do my membership dues go? |
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Annual membership dues cover the cost of t-shirts, insurance, technology infrastructure such as computers and web development, consultants such as lawyers and accountants, salaries (currently all volunteer) and miscellaneous office and administration costs such as telephone.
Day-of-Event membership dues are split with Event Hosts, the people who go to the trouble to put on free Club events. These funds help them cover costs they would otherwise have to bear out of pocket, and gives them the opportunity to improve the value they provide to participants.
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| Q: |
How many months of membership do my dues cover? |
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Memberships are good until 31 December, so the number of months of club benefits you receive depends on when you join. Maximum is 14.5 months. (See clarification of 15 October below.) |
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When do I get my club colors? (The cool, custom t-shirt.) |
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We order shirts for all members on record 1 January. The order has to be processed by the fabric supplier, the manufacturer, screener and the post office. The shirts should be available in early March. |
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Why should I consider 15 October? |
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If you join between 1 Jan and 15 October you will get the classic club colors (short-sleeve, blue or black, technical MEC shirt with orange screening). Your membership is valid until 31 December and you will need to renew your membership for next year any time after 15 October. If you join on or after 15 October, you will get free access to all CFA events for the remainder of the year, membership for the next year and the t-shirt for the next year.
Sounds complex, but what it means is that after 15 October, you get 14.5 months of membership rather than 12. We figure this is a fair way to encourage new members to join toward the end of a year when they would otherwise only get a couple months of club benefits. It also encourages renewing members to renew before the first day of the new year.
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| Q: |
What's the difference between a "Fat Ass" and a "Club Fat Ass" event? |
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The term "Fat Ass" as it applies to running events was coined by Joe Oakes in 1978 to mean "no t-shirt, no aid, no wimps." Several community-minded folks around the world host "Fat Ass" events. "Club Fat Ass" aims to help more folks host "Fat Ass" events by introducing standards for quality and expectations and aims to help athletes find events by hosting a worldwide event calendar. |
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Where can I find a Fat Ass event? |
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We've attempted to list "Fat Ass", "Club Fat Ass" and any shade of cheap and cheerful endurance sport event on our Fat Ass event calendar. If you know of an event that is not listed, please send us a note and we will gladly add it. |
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| Q: |
I love the concept of Club Fat Ass. I want to help. What can I do? |
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We love you! Please join the club. Wear your club colors. Encourage your friends to join the club. Blog. Tweet. Share the love by hosting your own event. |
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I have a question or a suggestion that I'd like to direct to Club Fat Ass. Who do I contact? |
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We welcome your your feedback and count on it to improve our member benefits. Details on the people behind Club Fat Ass and contact information is on our about us page. |
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| Q: |
Some of the terms you use are new to me. Please clarify. |
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In the hope that we might better match the expectations of people who host events and those who participate, we've defined some of the terms we use below:
- CFA Event - a Scheduled, Flash or Speaker event offered by Club Fat Ass
- CFA Event Host - person who hosts a Club Fat Ass event
- Guest - someone who participates in a Club Fat Ass event
- Aid - what you may or may not get in a Club Fat Ass event
- Crew - those who may or may not assist with a Club Fat Ass event
- RP (Reference Point) - a location in an event where a guest might find aid or crew
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