Membership Policies Updated  - May 4th 2023Scope:

• This policy covers all memberships issued by the Southern Okanagan Sportsmen’s Association  (SOSA) Membership Chair or authorized members or authorized establishments.

Definitions:

• Membership year – is a defined calendar year, from 00:00 Jan 1 of the year of issuance to 24:00 December 31 of the year of issuance
• Primary member – in the case of an individual membership (Regular, Senior, Junior, Life) the primary member is the member named on the membership card. In the case of a Family membership the primary member will be the first adult member signed up in a sequence.
• Secondary member – the spouse/partner of the primary member
• Children – anyone under the age of 18 that qualify for a Family membership. Children must live in the same residence as the primary member.
• Adult – anyone over 18 and under 65 years of age
• Senior – anyone 65 years or older
• Junior – anyone under the age of 18 that wishes to hold an individual membership
• Corporate – a category for business or government organizations purchasing bulk memberships.

Policies:

• Memberships – general:
• Memberships are issued at the sole discretion of the SOSA Executive
• Annual dues will be set at the sole discretion of the SOSA Executive
• Memberships are sold by authorized members, authorized establishments or authorized processes (ie: in-person, email, post) as determined by the SOSA Executive.
• Memberships can be paid by cash, cheque or electronic funds transfer (EFT) only
• Memberships must be paid in full before issuance
• There are no refunds in whole or part for any reasons
• There are no prorated memberships regarding annual fee or duration
• All members will automatically be enrolled in the British Columbia Wildlife Federation (B.C.W.F)
• Each primary member has one vote at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
• In the case of a Family membership both the primary and secondary adult members will have one vote each at the AGM.
• Membership cards must be carried at all times when on SOSA property and must be produced upon request by any executive member.
• One membership card and one key will be issued to each primary member, all secondary members will receive a membership card only
• Additional gate keys can be purchased at a cost determined by the SOSA Executive
• Members initially entering SOSA property must sign in utilizing the form and process as per the SOSA policy in force at the time.
• Members leaving SOSA property must sign out utilizing the form and process as per the SOSA policy in force at the time.

• Memberships – Regular:
• A regular membership is a single individual between the ages of 18 and 64 years old
• Each Regular member is entitled to one vote at the AGM
• Memberships – Senior:
• A senior membership is available to anyone 65 and older
• Each Senior member is entitled to one vote at the AGM
• Memberships – Family:
• A family membership consists of one primary member, one secondary member (if applicable) and unlimited children under the age of 18 that are living in the same residence as the primary member. Children meeting this definition receive insurance coverage as provided by the BCWF membership and can partake in all club activities.
• All adult members (primary and secondary) each have a vote at the AGM and qualify to run for and hold executive positions.
• Children on a family membership have no voting privileges and do not qualify to run for or hold executive positions
• Anyone over the age of 18 must have a full regular membership even if they still reside in a household that has a family membership
• Memberships – Junior:
• The junior category is available to any individual member under the age of 18.
• Junior members have no voting privileges
• Memberships – Life:
• This category is bestowed at the SOSA Executive’s sole discretion.
• Each Life member is entitled to one vote at the AGM.

• Memberships – Corporate:
• This category is assigned at the sole discretion of the SOSA Executive
• Corporate memberships have one vote per corporation memberships.

Memberships

• Memberships can be revoked at the sole discretion of the SOSA Executive without refund or compensation. In the case of a Family membership either one, some or all family members can be revoked at the same time or individually.
• This policy may be amended by the SOSA Executive at any time without notice.

 

SOSA Handgun Policies

• The 2 handgun bays located at SOSA are for the use of members and members guests.
• Approved firearms for use are any handgun (centrefire or rimfire) and rimfire rifles. Law Enforcement (LE) may also use 223 centrefire firearms for training purposes.
• All range safety rules are posted at each handgun bay and must be abided by.

Corporate Memberships

Basis:
Corporate memberships are sold to groups such as the RCMP, CBSA, Sheriffs, Conservation Officers, etc. The basis of the corporate membership is to provide memberships to a group rather than specific individuals so that organizations can have different individuals use the range. The policies relating to corporate memberships are as follows:
• The granting of a corporate membership is at the sole discretion of the SOSA Board of Directors.
• The annual corporate membership cost is 10 times the annual individual membership rate.
• All SOSA facilities can be used by corporate members.
• Individuals using SOSA facilities under a corporate membership must be direct employees of the corporate member. Corporate membership does not extend to employees’ family members nor are individual corporate members able to invite guests who are not direct employees of the organization.
• Corporate membership does not give individuals exclusive use or priority use of any SOSA facilities, unless a bay has been booked and approved for exclusive use. See below for policies relating to exclusive use of Handgun Bays.
• A maximum of 10 individuals per corporate membership can use the range at any one time and must abide by all SOSA rules and policies. Any breach of range rules and associated disciplinary action (including the revoking of membership for an incident deemed serious enough) by any individual using the range under a corporate membership will be applied to the corporate membership as a whole, not just the individual.
•The SOSA handgun Chairperson will assign one delegate for each corporate membership. That delegate is the only person who has the voting right for that corporate membership.
• 10 keys are provided per corporate membership.

Exclusive Use of Handgun Bays

Basis:
SOSA makes available the exclusive use of one handgun bay at a daily fee. The specific policies relating to this are as follows.
• Corporate members can request the booking of a bay for their exclusive use. Booking requests must be sent in writing to the SOSA Handgun Chairperson who will approve or disapprove the request.
• If approval for a range booking is granted, the bay will be closed to the general membership for that day and the corporate member will have exclusive use of that bay for the days booked.
•A daily rental rate applies. The daily rental rate is set by the SOSA Board of Directors.
•Only one of the two handgun bays will be made available for reservation per day. This ensures that at least one handgun bay will be available for general use.
• Daily range rentals are only able to be made for weekdays (Mon-Fri). The SOSA Board of Directors may, on special circumstances, make an exception to this rule.
• Range bookings will be posted on the SOSA club calendar.
• Priority will be given to corporate members with respect to eligibility to book bays for exclusive use. Groups or individuals who are not corporate members but wish to book a bay for their exclusive use must make a request in writing to the SOSA Handgun Chairperson. The SOSA Board of Directors will then determine if this request is approved. If approved, a daily rate will apply which will be a significant increase on the daily rate that corporate members are paying.
• All range safety rules and policies apply.
• SOSA reserves the right to cancel any previous range bookings if necessary. If this occurs reasonable notice will be provided, in writing, to the corporate member.

Trap and Sporting Clays Policy

Overview : To create a safe and fun environment for Shotgun Sports.
Policies:
• All are welcome( members and non-members) to come and shoot at SOSA but are encouraged to join SOSA after 3 Guests visits.
• Gun handling and safety are the primary concerns while on the property.
• Whomever is running the event is the range officer and has the final say on all rules and policies. Failure to do so MAY involve removal
from the property and member privileges revoked.
• Ear and Eye protection must be worn at all times during shooting.
• Only trap loads of a shot size no Larger than #7 1/2 and speed of 1300 fps are allowed (some special conditions apply) see range officer for clarification.
• No short barreled or defensive style shotgun allowed during events but members are allowed to shoot them on the property ( trap fields
only) during regular opening times.
• No Slugs to be shot at the steel patterning board.
• All members shooting clay targets other than at regular scheduled times should do so that the targets break beyond the concrete Trap
Houses not on the grass in front.
• All shotguns must ONLY be loaded on the firing line.

Overall: Everyone entering SOSA property acknowledges that shotgun shooting is a inherently dangerously activity, each person entering the property accepts the risk of possible injury and releases SOSA , its directors and officers and each and every member from liability whatsoever on behalf of such person , their successors and assigns.