How it works

How an application moves from the form to election

The stages of a membership application, who is emailed at each, how a proposer is found and asked, and when it is ready for the committee.

Who this is for: Anyone with “Membership applications” (by default: Administrator).

An application goes through a few stages, each shown on Club > Members > Applications with a label. Most of the moves happen by themselves, from links the applicant and the proposer press in their emails. The office records only the committee's decision.

The stages

StageWhat it meansThe Applications tab
Email not confirmedSent from the form, but the applicant has not yet pressed the link in their email.Not confirmed
Waiting for proposerConfirmed. The proposer has been asked and has not said yes.To decide
Ready for committeeThe proposer said yes, or the applicant wrote to the committee and named no proposer.To decide
ElectedThe committee accepted it, and the member records are made.Elected
DeclinedThe committee did not accept it.Declined or withdrawn
WithdrawnThe applicant withdrew.Declined or withdrawn

1. The form

The applicant chooses a membership and fills in five steps: who is joining, their details, an emergency contact and other clubs, their proposer, and a check of everything before they agree to the club's rules and send it. See Apply to join the club.

The application is then Email not confirmed, and the applicant is emailed Confirm your membership application.

2. Confirming the email address

The email has a button, Confirm my application. Pressing it opens the club's page, where the applicant presses Confirm and send. Only then does the application reach the office. This makes sure the email address is really theirs.

The link works for 30 days. An application nobody confirms is shown under Not confirmed for a week, and then no longer listed.

3. Finding and asking the proposer

As soon as the application is confirmed:

  • Sports Club OS looks for the proposer among the club's current members, by the membership number or the email address the applicant gave. It must find exactly one.
  • If it finds them, it emails them at the address the club holds for them, never one the applicant typed: … has named you as proposer for membership, with a button, Answer now. A seconder, if named, is found and asked the same way.
  • If it cannot find them, the application says so, and the office finds the member. See Chase a proposer.
  • Everyone who handles applications is emailed Membership application: …, saying whether the proposer was asked or needs finding, with a link to the application.

The applicant is never told whether the person they named is a member.

4. The proposer answers

The proposer's link opens a page asking Do you know …?. They say how long they have known the applicant and press Yes, I know … and support the application, or No, I can't support this. See Answer as a proposer or seconder.

  • Yes moves the application to Ready for committee.
  • No leaves it at Waiting for proposer, and the application says The proposer said they do not support the application.
  • Either way, everyone who handles applications is emailed what they answered.

A seconder's answer is shown on the application, and does not change its stage.

An applicant who knows no members writes a few sentences to the committee instead of naming a proposer. Their application goes straight to Ready for committee once confirmed.

5. The committee decides

The office records the decision: Elected: make them a member…, Declined or Applicant withdrew. A decision can be recorded at Waiting for proposer too, if the committee chooses. See Record the committee's election and Decline an application, or record that the applicant withdrew.

An application is decided once. If two people record a decision at the same moment, the second is told This application is already decided. and nothing more is done.

What the office sees of one application

  • The committee's decision: what is still needed, and If elected today, the first invoice would be: each person's fee and joining fee, and the total.
  • Proposer and seconder: who was named, whether they were matched to a member, and their answer, with what they wrote.
  • The application: everyone on it with their date of birth, contact details, address, profession, reasons for joining, emergency contact, other clubs, any refusal by another club, and who agreed to the rules and when.
  • Notes: for the office and committee. The applicant does not see them. Press Save notes after typing.
  • What has happened: every step, newest first, with when and who.

Last checked in release 2026.10.23, on 23 October 2026.