Membership matters

Caroline Fenton, AUK Membership Secretary

Over the last year or so, Audax UK (in common no doubt with many organisations) couldn’t really predict what effect the covid-19 pandemic would have on activities and membership mid/long term. As we are now (fingers crossed as I type) seeing most of daily life back to something quite near “normal” with few restrictions, it seems like a good time to check out how our membership has fared over the last few months. I have compiled a quick graph to show total membership numbers over the last 2 years – note that I don’t have detailed figures before April 2019, also there has been some interpolation and adjustments to raw data because of the reduction in life memberships after last year’s verification process.

As you can see membership in 2020 fell behind 2019 as the pandemic started and continued to lag all year. 2021 started just below the previous year (note that we offered a membership deal through to December 2021 to new joiners from August 2020 onwards which had good take-up). Unsurprisingly early 2021 didn’t show the same increase in members as the same period in 2020 (before the pandemic really started in the UK) but has since caught up. So, things look pretty healthy again – for that we owe a big thank you to all our event organisers as without events we would not have people joining us or staying with us. In particular we are very grateful to those who have delivered calendar events – these are the events that more than anything draw newcomers into Audax, and in some cases, long lapsed members back again.

2021 KW Audax Rides Schedule

The KW Audax Chapter is planning monthly rides from March through to October, building up to an epic flagship new 1,000 km event in July down to Land’s End and back, please click the ride links for further details and how to enter: Sat 11 Sep – Fifth Continent 300 km to celebrate 100 years of audax! Sun 3 Oct – Brace of Bramleys 200 km

Cotswold Challenge 160K Warwickshire Wanderer 100K

Saturday 11th September 2021 8.00/9.00am start from Meriden in Warwickshire

●● Popular Audax events moved from usual May date. Mostly country lanes across the Avon then leafy scenery into the Cotswolds with a couple of climbs to Edgehill where the first Civil War battle took place. On to Burton Dassett Country Park before the return leg FREE REFRESHMENT ON RETURN