Hello current, past and future FPA members!

 

First of all I want to thank you for supporting the FPA with your membership. Our members are the motivation for us to work and push our sport forward, and spreading the jam in creative ways.

 

We try to listen carefully to our membership and accommodate wishes for the benefit of the sport of freestyle. In 2017 this resulted in changing our membership structure significantly. Even though we knew that it would affect our income, we decided to lower the membership fees by more than half. The main reason was that we felt that many players (especially those of younger ages) could not afford to get membership and therefore they could not enter the FPA sponsored tournaments – FPA Worlds, EFO and AFO. That change of the membership structure actually worked and we expanded access for more (especially young and new) players to compete at these events last year.

 

Also, the previous membership structure included a players package that consisted of 2 discs and a few whiz rings, which many of you appreciated but did not care too much about. For the Europeans, there were usually significant additional costs included (VAT, customs fees, etc.) which made the final price of the players package shwag higher than if they bought it on the local market. That is why the FPA Board decided to drop the package and offer significant discounts for the freestyle gear at our partner e-shops instead.

 

We are still attempting to make FPA memberships even easier to renew. That’s why we’ve given you the option to set payments to automatically renew each year, so you can remain as a member without taking any extra steps. If you took advantage of this option last year, you don’t have to do anything else to renew your membership for 2018*; you will just get an email notification with the new discount codes and other information you will possibly need to know. If you have not set-up auto-payments yet, renewing your membership is still very easy: you only have to fill in your name and your FPA member number and make the payment via Paypal.

 

* Not sure if you set an automatic payment last year? Check the public list of FPA members to find out.

 

Another new feature of the FPA membership registration form is the option to make an extra donation to the projects or organizations which we find very important for the growth of our sport.

 

  • You can support the AIF (Associazione Italiana Frisbee) and the Frisbee Temple in Milano, where great things are happening right now and the energy of local jammers is incredible. Read more and watch their amazing video at www.freestyledisc.org/support-temple-milano/ about how they are turning the Temple into a functional, comfortable, and welcoming community space where you always find someone to jam with and where the jam is spread on a daily basis. Special shout out to Francesco Santolin who is running the project and Mark Trout who is helping a LOT.

 

  • Another project you can support together with getting your FPA membership is FrisbeeGuru.com. The Gurus led by Jake Gauthier are doing a lot for our sport these days – from providing video-tutorials on their website, releasing an awesome podcast on a weekly basis, creating an international City vs. City freestyle league, to live-streaming many freestyle disc tournaments (including the last several FPA World Championships). Learn more at www.frisbeeguru.com/about-us/.

 

  • You can also decide to make an extra donation to the FPA and support our continued efforts in helping new players to learn how to play freestyle frisbee/flying disc, and other activities which are aimed to grow our sport. Extra funds will also allow us to support more tournaments and run special projects. This option is especially for those who aren’t wishing to obtain the Platinum membership, but still want to support FPA with a bit more than the cost of Regular membership. Any amount you can spare will be greatly appreciated!

 

If you decide to make an extra donation, select one, two or all of the projects you want to support. Any amount you pay above your membership fee will be forwarded to the selected project(s). If you select more than one project, your donation will be equally split between each one that you choose. And how does it work technically? When making an extra donation, please don’t use the Paypal buttons below the registration form. Instead, manually login into your Paypal account and send the desired amount (membership fee + donation) to paypal@freestyledisc.org.

 

In case you’re wondering, here are some statistics about the FPA memberships in 2017, which you might find interesting to check.

 

 

Okay, now go and get or renew your membership and don’t forget to tell your friends and family! Remember, FPA membership is free for juniors (until they are 19) and first-time members (for one year).

 

 

Once again, we thank you for supporting the sport you love via our organization – the FPA. On the behalf of our freestyle organization, we wish you a successful year 2018 full of happiness, jamming, and sheer joy of throwing plastic.

 

Sincerely,

 

Jakub Kostel,
Membership Director, FPA

 

PS. If you have any ideas or suggestions regarding technical or any other aspects of the current membership structure, please contact me at fpamembership@freestyledisc.org. Any feedback will be appreciated.