BIM24335 - Mutual trading: community amateur sports clubs: conditions for registration

What is a community amateur sports club?

You should refer any application to be accepted as a community amateur sports club to CAR (Charities).

A club may register as a community amateur sports club where the club and its constitution satisfy the conditions below (FA02/SCH18/PARA1):

• it is open to the whole community,
• it is organised on an amateur basis, and
• it has as its main purpose the provision of facilities for, and the promotion of participation in, one or more eligible sports.

A club is open to the whole community if (FA02/SCH18/PARA2 (1)):

1. membership of the club is open to all without discrimination,
   
2. the facilities of the club are available to members without discrimination, and
   
3. any fees are set at a level that does not pose a significant obstacle to membership or use of the club’s facilities.

‘Discrimination’ for this purpose includes indirect discrimination and in particular includes discrimination on grounds of (FA02/SCH18/PARA2 (2)):

1. ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion or beliefs,
   
2. sex, age or disability, except as a necessary consequence of the requirements of a particular sport.

The anti-discrimination rule does not prevent the club from having different classes of membership depending on (FA02/SCH18/PARA2 (3)):

1. the age of the member,
   
2. whether the member is a student,
   
3. whether the member is waged or unwaged,
   
4. whether the member is a playing or non-playing member,
   
5. how far from the club the member lives,
   
6. any restriction on the days or times when the member has access to the club’s facilities.

A club is organised on an amateur basis if (FA02/SCH18/PARA3 (1)):

1. it is non-profit making,
   
2. it provides for members and their guests only the ordinary benefits of an amateur sports club, and
   
3. its constitution provides for any net assets on the dissolution of the club to be applied for approved sporting or charitable purposes.

By satisfying the latter requirement, the club will ensure that it does not carry on a mutual trade (see BIM24120).