Organising a social

All our social events are organised by volunteers. Any SURG member can organise a social event, and you don’t need any special training or qualifications. These guidelines will give you  an outline of what’s involved in organising smaller social events.

If you’re organising a bigger event or a weekend away you’ll need to draw up more detailed plans. The Social Secretary can help you, and you must discuss your plans with her before you make any bookings or payments.

Planning your event

You can put most types of event on the SURG programme, including pub nights, meals or group outings to third-party events such as beer festivals or art exhibitions. However, we only put third-party events on the SURG programme if there is a SURG member attending the event, and we cannot promote events run for other charities.

Choice of date can have a big affect on how many people come along. Think about dates you may need to avoid, for example engineering works on public transport, clashes with major sports events or with other big SURG events.

Most events are for SURG members only, but the committee organise regular pub nights which are open to non-members.

Putting your event on the programme

  1. Download a socials submission form, and give the following details
    • Your name and mobile phone number (and optionally, home phone number and e-mail address). Your full name and phone number are never made available on public web pages, but they will be available from the member’s area of the website.
    • Your RA membership number and expiry date.
    • Your preferred dates.
    • The event name and details.
    • The meeting point and time. If you’re meeting at a station, account for train arrival times. If it’s a large venue, choose a meeting point where members will be able to find you!
    • Details of how to book, if necessary. If you’re organising an informal event it’s up to you whether you want members to contact you before the event or just turn up on the night. If you’re booking tickets for a third-party event, you should ask SURG members to book their own tickets.
  2. Send your completed form to the Socials Secretary. You can send in your social at any time, and the deadline for inclusion in the next programme is given on the website. If your event is accepted, the Social Secretary will confirm the date before the next programme is issued.
  3. If you have to change or cancel your event, please contact the Social Secretary as soon as possible.

Insurance

The Ramblers' civil liability insurance gives organisers and members basic public liability cover. But this doesn’t provide cover for cancellation, personal accident or transport (including car shares). If you want to be covered for this, you’ll need to arrange your own insurance.