Step One: Contact the Regional Director for your region. They will guide you through the process.
State Associations are in these states: CA, FL, IL, IN, MD, NC, OH, OR, PA, TX, VA and WA. If your new club application falls within a state that has a State Association, approval must be made by the State Association first, then reviewed and approved by the Regional Director.
Visit AVA
Policy Manual for walking club requirements and guidelines and rules for hosting Volkssport events.
Fill out the required Application for Club Membership form AVA Form 201 Application for Club Membership.
Step Two: Evaluation: Why do you want to form a club? Is there another club in your area you can join? AVA Clubs
Why form a club? There is no club in your area. There are few
clubs in your area and many weekends there are no scheduled walks. You want
to fill a niche that is unfilled by another club in your area: tougher
walks, easier walks, weeknight walks, group walks, more social aspects of
walking together, etc.
Only AVA clubs may host sanctioned volkssport events in the USA. A sanctioned event has
event liability insurance, which can be difficult or expensive to get
otherwise. Your events are listed
in The American Wanderer newspaper and on the AVA website at
no
charge, see Locate Walking Events. AVA event rules and
guidelines are good basics to hosting any walking event.
While you may form a
non-AVA club and "just walk together," being part of a larger organization
lends your club some status and stability. Your club members will
enjoy walking OTHER CLUB's AVA sanctioned events, and sanctioned volkssport
events around the world.
AVA clubs and IVV clubs
around the world share the IVV Individual Achievement
Award, so your club members and walkers can chart their walks and
earn awards for walks and distance, both at your events and at events around
the USA and the world.
AVA clubs may apply for
tax exempt status under the AVA's 501(c)(3) group exemption, which means that
club officer expenses and donations to the club may be tax
deductible.
AVA clubs vote for AVA
officers and Regional Directors and state officers.
An AVA club can ask for
and expect advice and assistance from other clubs, the state organization, and
the Regional Director.
The club
receives:
The American
Wanderer newspaper
AVA Checkpoint e-newsletter (news for clubs)
20% discount on
AVA
Merchandise