As an organisation we receive many questions at the racetrack or in our inboxes about the Motorcycling Australia (MA) Alliance (MA and State Controlling Bodies). In a series of short articles over the coming days the Motorcycling Australia Alliance will answer a number of frequently asked questions about our organisation.
We will outline what is included in your MA License that you purchase each year, we will explain the term MAIL and how it benefits our organisation as a whole, we will illustrate how MA operates and how it is that we all work together to create a national sporting body, and finally we will share with you some exciting projects that we have been working on whilst we have not been at the racetrack.
We hope that this series of articles provides you with some insight and understanding into our organisation that as members and motorcyclist, we own and run.
Licensing
When you process your Motorcycling Australia (MA) License each year do you wonder what the license actually includes and where the fee goes? You are not alone! In this article we will outline what is included in your MA License.
MA has multiple licenses on offer, each required in the management of the sport and the specific intended use by its members. There are around 16 licenses that range through competition, recreational, entrant, crew coaching and official licenses. Some of these are available as an annual licence, while others can be purchased on an event-by-event basis.
In addition to the licence type, there are also a number of endorsements that help extend the scope of participation based on the competence of the member. The combination of the licence type and, where appropriate the endorsements, determine what and how a member can participate in the sport.
Each of these licenses help MA, the State Controlling Bodies (SCB), Promoters and Clubs manage the participation and safety of its members. With over 28,000 members, including 5,000 officials, and over 4000 events run annually, this structure is crucial to ensuring the future growth and development of motorcycling.
The diversity in licence options is also reflected in the pricing structure; with premium products offering more variety where and how the licence can be used. For example, a Senior Annual Competition licence allows participation in any MA and SCB permitted event whether it be competition or non-competition, practice or coaching events and the licence holder to act as a crew member for another competitor. While a One Event Recreational licence allows a one-time participation in any MA permitted recreational event only.
Not all licenses come with a price tag, and there are several free licence options available, predominantly around volunteer roles such as officials. Irrespective of which licence an MA member holds, all have access to the same MA insurance coverage of both Public Liability and Personal Accident no matter what the MA permitted activity being club, state or national. If you’re an MA licence holder and signed on, you are protected and insured.
The fee of your license is split into supporting our organization with 31% of your license is directed towards your SCB from where you purchased that license for them to support state programs and clubs across all disciplines. Whilst 26% is sent to Motorcycling Australia to support the national programs and 33% is to cover the $2.9 million in annual insurance premiums that protects us all. The final 10% is GST!
The fee of your license is reinvested into the sport to ensure that at both a local, state and national level that you as a rider are insured when you are participating, that you are riding on tracks that are safe and regularly inspected and that programs are developed to ensure the improvement of our sport both on track and off.