New Gate and Membership Rules Start February 1, 2022

There will be changes to many aspects of membership at Sioux River Sportsmen’s Club starting on February 1st.

As those of you who have been members for a while know, a lot of improvements have been made over the last two years and membership has grown considerably. With that growth, problems arose that needed to be addressed.

NEW GATE

A new gate access control system will be installed. The new system will allow a great deal of simplification for members and those who manage the memberships, mainly that we will be able to update cards instantly over the Internet.

The big advantage to members will be that memberships will last for one calendar year from the date of purchase. Regardless of when you purchase your membership, you will get one entire year of gate access. If you buy your membership on December 12, 2022, it will be good until December 12, 2023.

MEMBERSHIP DUES INCREASE

At the December 9, 2021 meeting, the board voted to increase memberships dues to $100 per year. Improvements to the range have cost many thousands of dollars over the last two years. More improvements are planned, most notably a covered firing line for the 300 yard range.

There will no longer be a “renewal” fee at a reduced rate. Every year, members will buy a new membership at their convenience and will get a new card. Processing renewals every year was a massive project for the volunteer who administers the gate and memberships. This will reduce their work load immensely.

NEW TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP

To clarify confusion over what is allowed on the range and what isn’t, the board has decided to rewrite the membership agreement. A draft of the new conditions was discussed at the December 9 board meeting and will be voted on for approval at the January 27, 2022 meeting. (All existing members are welcome to attend.)

The most notable item in the new terms is that guests (nonmembers) are not allowed to enter with a member at any time, unless the range is open to the public for an event. Violation will result in immediate termination of membership. Key cards have been abused for years by people swiping one card, the owner of which is sometimes not even present, and then two car loads of people come through the gate to shoot.

Also, all members must take a brief online range rules class, or attend one of the monthly range rules meetings.

Other items in the new terms of membership include:

• Memberships expire one year from date of purchase.
• No renewals, just buy a new membership when your previous membership expires.
• Memberships are for family members in household under 18. The member whose name is on the membership must be present when family members are on the range. They may not use the card without the member present.
• Cards must be swiped in when you arrive and swiped out when you leave, even if the gate is already open.

The complete proposed new terms can be read here.

DAY PASSES AND PUBLIC HOURS

The SRSC board has discussed opening the range to the public on Saturdays. Our tentative plan is to train members who wish to be range officers to sell day passes and maintain safety on the range. Range officers would get paid for their time spent for operating the range. Plans are not finalized, but we hope to institute this by the summer of 2022.