Cancellation of Coached Sessions Due to Adverse Weather
To ensure the safety and wellbeing of our members and coaches the club will be guided by The Met Office during spells of adverse weather. In the event of a weather warning category yellow or above being issued and in place at 3pm and extending beyond 7pm on the day in question, coach led training sessions at the Club will be considered cancelled. Members will be notified by email and are encouraged to check members facebook group / email for notifications before travelling to training during potentially hazardous weather conditions.
Keeping Members Informed
Our main methods of communication are via email, our website saintfieldstriders.com and our members only Facebook group. The facebook group is a good platform for posting details of training schedules, events and general club business. It is also a fun forum for encouraging and motivating clubmates by sharing experiences, stories and photos etc. Please use this link to join and feel free to introduce yourself. We appreciate that not everyone is a Facebook user, so we also issue regular club communication via email.
Facebook Group Rules
Our facebook member's group exists to support, motivate, and connect our runners of all levels. To keep things positive and useful for everyone, please follow these rules:
- Be kind, supportive, and respectful.
- Keep posts relevant to running (training, races, injuries, motivation, gear discussions, etc.).
- Off-topic posts may be removed at admin discretion.
- No advertising, other than running related events.
- Race entries/bibs may be shared only if it follows the race’s official transfer/name-change rules.
- Avoid giving medical advice — sharing personal experience is fine.
- Respect privacy. Don’t share screenshots, personal information or photos without permission.
- Admins may remove posts or members if needed to keep the group positive.
Social Media/PR
We publish club news on our public Facebook page and in the local newspapers. We love sharing all the positive posts and hearing from our members - so be sure to let us know where you are running and share your pics and achievements with us in group. To help us with report writing etc we ask members to be sure to include the Club name against their race entry and likewise with parkrun - make sure your club is listed against your profile.
Athletics NI Membership
All full members of Saintfield Striders are automatically registered with our governing body Athletics NI. Benefits of affiliation include athlete public liability insurance, support from governing body staff, reduced entry fees on a wide range of road races, cross country and track and field events, to name a few. A mandatory requirement of your membership is that you MUST complete an anti-doping declaration on the Opentrack website. If you require assistance to do this, our secretary will be happy to help.
Transferring Race Entries Between Members
We all know how disappointing it is when you’ve signed up for a race and then, for one reason or another, you can no longer run it! Our facebook members group is a good place to trade entries BUT we must emphasise that transferring entries AFTER name change cut-off should 100% be avoided. Running under someone else’s name has all sorts of safety implications and as race organisers ourselves we know well the seriousness of not having correct emergency contact details etc for competitors. We would ask therefore that members take this into consideration when posting in group and be aware that for our club integrity we may remove posts where swaps are in contravention of race rules.
Club Kit & Policy
We have a range of bespoke club kit currently supplied by Playrfit with online ordering system. The online shop opens at various times throughout the year.
Members are asked to wear official club t-shirt or vest when participating in events.
Full members are entitled to purchase items of kit which have been supplied/branded by the club or our official kit partner(s) ONLY. Members are permitted to arrange printing/embroidery of their name on RACE tops (vests/t shirts) ONLY. Members are not permitted to add the club crest or club name to personal clothing items. Advertising or promotional text or images is not permitted on any club garments. Members are reminded to adhere to the club’s Code of Conduct when representing the club.
London Marathon Club Ballot
Athletics clubs associated with British & NI Athletics may be eligible for club entries to the London Marathon. The number of entries allocated to each club changes from year to year and cannot be guaranteed. If an entry or entries are awarded to Saintfield Striders, a member ballot will be held. The following criteria applies - 1) must be a full member of Saintfield Striders prior to the close date of the general ballot, 2) members previously in receipt of the club ballot cannot re-enter, 3) evidence showing a failed attempt to enter the open ballot must be provided, 4) Athletics NI Anti-doping Declaration must be completed. Ballot entries cannot be 'gifted' to other members. We also recommend that members only enter the ballot if they fully intend to train and participate in the event.
Affiliate Membership
We are delighted to be able to offer "affiliate membership". This is for athletes who are registered with Athletics NI through another affiliated club. These members are entitled to attend training sessions and social runs but are excluded from competing in any of the club challenges such as Super 8, Naked parkrun etc. and are not eligible to enter the club ballot for London Marathon.
Strava
We have a club community profile on Strava (an app for tracking and sharing your activities). To get started with Strava click here. As Strava is a public app we advise that you read their safety running guidelines and review your settings to ensure they meet your own requirements.
Partner & Member Benefits
Sportswear - we have an ongoing deal with online store www.sportshoes.com who offer us a 10% to 15% discount on orders over £50 (the code is emailed to members monthly).
We also have great relationships with local sports shops - The Running Bubble, Lisburn and Pure Running, Belfast, who from time to time join us at training with promotional offers and trainer try-ons. If you are in-store, be sure to let them know you are a Saintfield Strider!
Kingsbridge Private Medical – Sports Membership
As an Athletics NI affiliated club, our members are eligible to register with Kingsbridge for free. Registered members will be able to benefit from preferential rates on private healthcare services and avail of a range of additional benefits from across the Kingsbridge Healthcare Group. If you are interested in registering, please email secretary@saintfieldstriders.com. Details of the scheme can be found on their website and brochure (see Useful Links section of this document).
Saintfield Sports Club
Your membership includes social use of the bar and clubhouse facilities, and free venue hire for private functions. Bar opening times Fri 5-9pm, Sat 2.30-9pm, Sun 4-8pm (subject to change).
From time to time, we receive other special offers which will be communicated to members by email.
Getting Involved
We encourage our members to get involved in all aspects of the club, so if you have any requests, suggestions, queries, ideas, please get in touch with any of the committee or email secretary@saintfieldstriders.com