Competition Participants
The base Competition Participant membership is for individuals who participate in local, regional, and national competitions as an athlete, official, judge or competition volunteer. Competition participants also include members who simply want to support paddlesports competition. The basic dues for Competition Participants are $40, which is the same as the dues for a general Individual Membership. ACA dues payments are non-refundable.
Any athlete 18 years or older who participates in a National or International competition in any ICF discipline, as well as any qualification or selection event leading to these competitions (such as Team Trials), must purchase a Competition License ($80). Any official, coach or volunteer participating in the described competitions must also purchase a Competition License and must comply with the U.S. Center for SafeSport education requirements and complete an NCSI background check every two years or as required by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
Competition Participants who purchase a Competition License receive valuable and important benefits that are not available to other members, including ACA’s competition insurance program, which provides additional liability protection via Sexual Abuse and Molestation coverage and Participant Accident insurance coverage. Selecting athlete representatives to the ACA’s Board of Directors and important board committees, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Athlete Advisory Council and other governing committees is another privilege for athletes who purchase the Competition License.
All Competition Participant memberships expire annually on December 31st. ACA recommends that Competition Individual Members choose the auto-renewal option to prevent a membership lapse.
As part of the join/renew process, Competition Participants are asked to select their primary competitive discipline. The response to this question determines the athlete’s discipline-level voting rights for positions related to a specific discipline. For example, the Paracanoe representative to the Board of Directors is elected only by athletes who select Paracanoe as their primary discipline.
Competition Participants are also asked to select a secondary competitive discipline, if applicable, and to select their primary role within Competition which enables ACA to communicate more effectively.
Competition Participants are required to electronically sign the Athlete Code of Conduct each year and to confirm that they are currently in compliance with the U.S. Center for Safe Sport’s education requirements.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
Do I have to purchase a Competition License to race in local and regional races?
You only need to purchase a Competition License to compete in team trials, nationals, or internationally.
Do I have to purchase a Competition License if I am on a National Team in an ICF discipline that is not an Olympic discipline?
You need to purchase a Competition License to compete in team trials, nationals, or internationally even if your discipline is not an Olympic discipline (Sprint, Slalom Extreme Slalom, or Paracanoe).
