East Sussex Walking

What We Do:
We are a countryside walking group. Our walks cover much of East Sussex and into the edges of Kent. Weather permitting, we will usually have a walk on every weekend between the start of March and the end of November, and probably a few winter walks too. The distance of the walks will usually vary between 5 and 8 miles, however we may throw in the odd longer walk. As most of our walk leaders are Hastings based, we may also hold localised walks in Hastings and Bexhill. Please check our current and past events for examples of our walks.
We expect members of the group to be capable of walking a minimum of 5 miles at an average pace on uneven and hilly terrain.
We do have Group Rules that we expect our members to adhere to and these can be found at the end of this section.

Application Requirements:
Please ensure that your ‘Profile Name’ includes your first name. The use of initials only, such as TC, BLT, JR, or similar, is not acceptable in this group. You can edit your Profile Name in 'Edit Profile' if needed.
Please ensure that your profile displays a recent photo of yourself alone that includes your face, head, and shoulders. You can load a new profile photo in your profile ‘Settings’.

Membership Fees:
An Annual Membership Fee of £5 is applicable to all members of this group. The membership period runs from 1st September to 31st August.
New members, or returning members, need to pay their £5 membership fee within 7 days from being accepted into the group, or they will be removed. Any member accepted into the group in the month of August will have their £5 fee applied to the forthcoming membership period, hence any walks they attend in that month of August are effectively free of charge. 
The fee is non-refundable regardless of the reason for not attending walks, the lack of availability of walks, or for whatever reason a member might leave the group.
Any members not having paid by 30th September of that membership period will be automatically removed from the group, but of course are welcome to rejoin.
No person, with the exception of accompanied Guests (see below), will be allowed to commence a walk with the group if they haven't paid their £5 Annual Membership Fee for the current period.
Any 'Guests' of members who attend our walks must pay a fee of £2 per walk to the Walk Leader on the day, or alternatively join the group themselves and pay the annual membership fee before attending the walk.
Payment should be via BACs. My account details are:
Bank: First Direct
Name: Norman Crouch
Sort Code:40-47-65
Account Number:91395599
Please use your full name as the 'payment reference' so we can identify payments, and message me through the site when you have paid.

Group Rules:
1) Reserving a Place at an Event
a) Only reserve a place on an event if you have a clear intention of attending it. If you are unsure whether you want to go, or may not be available, then please do not reserve a place until nearer the time of the event. The practice of members not showing up at events when their event status is ‘Going’, or regularly reserving places on events and then withdrawing at the last minute is not welcomed. This inconveniences Event Organisers, and members may be removed from the group if the Leadership Team considers that this is happening too frequently.
b) If you require transport to get to an event then use the event 'Comments' to request this, stating your whereabouts. If you are fortunate enough to be offered a lift by another member, then please offer to contribute to their costs. Do not directly approach another member requesting a lift. Do not RSVP to the event until your transport has been confirmed.

2) Bringing Guests
a) Some events may provide a member with the opportunity to bring 'guests' with them. If they do then please use the 'Guest +' feature on the Event RSVP if you wish to bring a guest(s) with you.
b) Only persons who have not previously been a member of this group are permitted to attend with the member as a 'guest'. Anyone who has previously been a member of the group who wishes to attend must reapply and have their application approved before being permitted to attend an event.
c) Members are responsible for their guests at all times.

3) Event ‘Comments’
a) The Event ‘Comments’ feature may be used for any of the following:

• To request information about the advertised event.
• To provide short notice advice that you are no longer able to attend (also update via ‘edit RSVP’).
• To request transport to an event.
• Should you wish to do so, to make positive comments about the event after it has taken place.

b) Under NO circumstances is the ‘Comments’ feature to be used for any of the following:

• To criticise the event or the Event Organiser.
• To provide advice (however constructive).
• To request alterations to any aspect of the event (the content of an event is for the Event Organiser to decide, and if you feel that any part of it does not accommodate your requirements then please refrain from attending the event or commenting on it).
• To make sarcastic, abusive, or otherwise offensive remarks, however humorous the intention.
• Regardless of whether it relates to 'Meetup' or not, to advertise items or services that are for sale, other groups or organisations, or other events or activities.

4) During the Event
a) You are responsible for your own safety and wellbeing throughout the event. The group accepts no responsibility for any injury or loss that you may incur while attending our events. The Event Host (and/or Event Organiser) is to all intents and purposes another event attendee, and they hold no legal responsibility for any difficulties that may arise during the event. If you or another attendee at an event becomes unwell please alert the Event Host immediately.
b) Any person making comments at an event that are liable to cause offence will be given a warning by the Event Host. Should the warning be ignored, the Event Host will ask the person to leave the event.
c) Discussions about politics and religion are strictly off-limits at all events.
d) We pride ourselves in being a friendly and inclusive group. We therefore disapprove of attempts to form ‘cliques’ within the group. We want all our members to be welcome at any event that is associated with this group.
e) If you have any concerns during the event, then please refer them directly to the Event Host.

5) After the Event
a) If you have any concerns after the event then please send a personal message to the Event Host in the first instance. If the Event Host has not been able to resolve your concerns to your satisfaction, please send a personal message to the Group Organiser who will do their best to resolve them.
b) If you enjoyed the event, and others that we host, then please mention our group to your friends.

6) General Etiquette and Safeguarding
a) Great efforts are made by our team to organise events, and to ensure members enjoy participating in this group. Members are expected to act in a manner that eases pressure on the Organisers. Any form of abuse aimed at the Organisers will lead to a member's instant removal and barring from the group.
b) Please act in a friendly manner towards other members, both at events or in communications outside of the events. You should not however harass, stalk, pester, or give any other form of unwanted attention to other members. Do not feel under any obligation to either pass your contact details onto another member should they ask for them, or to accept another members contact details if they are offered. This is not a dating site, it is a walking group. The site has it's own messaging system should members wish to use it. It is important that all members can feel safe. If any member feels uncomfortable as a result of an incident or communication at an event, or associated with an event, or the general behaviour of another member of the group, then this should be reported to the 'Event Host' at the time, or the 'Group Organiser', and will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. We take a zero tolerance attitude to any behaviour which is not in line with the values of this group, and reserve the right to remove from our group any member who does not observe our values. We also recommend that members report any instances of harassment or bullying to Meetup. The following link refers:
**https://help.meetup.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001673631-Harassment-and-bullying-offline**