The following is the Guest Policy for the FMCA 4-Wheelers. It takes into account the fact that we are a family orientated Club and that our events are not open to the public. The Policy recognizes two categories of Guests 1) Immediate Family Members and 2) Prospective Members. It also recognizes two scenarios where guests will attend events - 1) Guests who ride along in the Member Vehicles and 2) Guests who bring their own vehicle.
The three categories of Guests are:
Family Unit as defined by FMCA
Members of the Family Unit as defined by FMCA are always welcome and may be registered for a Club Event by the sponsoring member at the member rate. The term Family Unit is defined by FMCA as a person; his or her spouse, or partner; dependents of each, regardless of age; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren aged 18 and under. We have elected to include non-dependent parents and children regardless of age in this definition for our Club events.
They will be charged the Member Rate for all events.
Prospective Members
These Guests must be current members of the FMCA and have applied for membership in the FMCA 4-Wheelers and appear on our Club waiting list.
Prospective Members will be charged the Guest Rate for all events.
Special Invited Guests
Rally hosts, at their discretion, may invite non-FMCA members to our Events if it is in the interests of the Club to do so. Examples of these types of Guests would be officers in the local jeep clubs, town officials, guest speakers, etc.
Special Invited Guests will be charged the Guest Rate for all events.
The two scenarios covered by this Policy are:
Guests riding along in Member Vehicles
Members may invite up to two guests who will ride along on all trails with the Member in the Member vehicle.
These Guests must sign a Hold Harmless
The Member must register and pay for these Guests at the appropriate rate for that event.
Guests who bring their own 4 Wheel Drive vehicle
Members who have been in the Club for at least one year or who have attended two or more events may invite one guest vehicle per Event per year.
Guest must undergo a vehicle safety inspection at every event they attend.
These Guests must sign a Hold Harmless
Members must run all trails with their Guests and are ultimately responsible for that guests? behavior and vehicle breakdowns on the trail..
Members will do the trail sign up for themselves and their Guests. Guests are not permitted to sign up for trails themselves.
Guests and their hosts will be given and will be expected to adhere to our Guest Guidelines document outlining Club practices, trail etiquette, and host responsibilities.
Discussion: There are several important reasons for implementing a Guest Policy for the FMCA 4-Wheelers.
Our Club Liability Insurance Policy is provided us by the FMCA.. This coverage has recently been expanded to cover us not only at the Event Venue, but also for incidents on the trail. This coverage is limited to current FMCA members only (includes family members of members). Non FMCA participants are not covered by this Insurance Policy. FMCA has advised us that their liability coverage at FMCA events for guests is restricted to prospective members only - not the general public.
We have been under scrutiny by federal and state regulatory agencies at various locations where we wheel. So far, we have been successful in getting them to understand the unique character of our Club. An important part of our discussions with them is that we are a private, member only club and that our events are not open to the general public. Our current practice of letting members invite whomever they want to the events makes it impossible for us to enforce that statement.
We have been experiencing more and more guests at our Events. Sometimes members have invited several guests, the members do not go on the same trails as their guests resulting in our trail leaders being responsible for non-members, and some guests have attended multiple events (why would they ever want to become a member?).
If an Event has a registration limit (is Capped), then Members will have priority over Guests. This may result in a Guest registration being cancelled if the cap is reached before all Members have signed up for the Event. Note that this restriction does not apply to Member Families.
This Guest Policy is to include any Club Event, Gathering or Discovery Trek on our Website Calendar. It does not include casual get togethers of club members not sponsored by our Club.
