We offer a ‘banked entry’ system to help you out if you need to move a race place from one event to another, but you haven’t figured out which one you want yet. We do get a lot of questions about this, so we’ve put together some information on banked entries that might be useful. This has been updated for the 2023 race season.
This should answer the most-common questions and issues we come across, but you can contact us if you can’t find the answer here – please do read the section on ‘how long does my banked entry last?’ as many queries we’re getting are from people trying to use older banked entries for future races outside of the terms and conditions that are set for the banked entry system. The time that your banked entry lasts starts from when you put it in there for the first time (ie if you were to bank it, transfer to another event, then bank it again, it still dates from that first time your banked it).
What are banked entries?
We know that sometimes you can’t make an event for whatever reason. You can opt to transfer your place to a friend or to someone on the waiting list (if there is one). Or you can defer to a future race of your choice, paying the difference if you chose a more expensive race. These are all different options to having a ‘banked entry’.
Sometimes you might not know what future race you want to defer to, which is why we offer the ‘banked entries’ system. You can transfer your entry into the ‘Banked entries’ event, which will hold your race place for you until you decide what event you want to do. You can then transfer your entry out of the ‘Banked entries’ event and into the race of your choice, as long as the race is open for entries and has spaces.
You can find out more about the race transfers process here: https://whitestarrunning.co.uk/race-transfers/
Banked entries are not a voucher code or credit, therefore they cannot be applied at checkout. They need to be transferred out of the bank and into the race of your choice. See the validity information below to see how long you have to use your banked entry. Banked entries are designed to be a short-term holding space while you think about what race you want to do instead and use your race place for.
All transfers and deferrals must be completed before the transfer deadline for each event, as listed on the Event pages on our website: https://whitestarrunning.co.uk/wsr-events/
** Please note: the transfer process mentioned above will only work on entries for races that you have entered for yourself on Clubtrac, and therefore have full options to manage your entry. If we have transferred you into the race manually, you will have to contact us to make changes **
How long does my banked entry last?
From the beginning of 2022, we have been enforcing our policy of a 12-month deadline for all banked entries to be used. We announced this in October 2021, and you can read the full update here: https://whitestarrunning.co.uk/wsr-update-october-2021/. This information was also circulated via email, on social media and in our White Star Running Group. This policy has always been part of our race terms and conditions, though we haven’t always enforced it. Due to the sheer number of unused banked entries that built up, and the impact that this was having on the future of the business, we had to make the decision to enforce this long-standing rule.
Here is a summary of the current validity of entries in the bank and how you can use them.
If you have chosen to transfer any 2022 race into ‘Banked entries’, you will have 12 months to transfer it to another race or it will be removed from the bank. We feel this gives you plenty of time to make a decision and move your entry. You should be able to manage this yourself from the My Profile section of your Clubtrac account, using the Race Transfer guides linked above.
If you had a banked entry from a 2019-2021 race, then these have all now expired. We extended our policy last year to allow them to be used against a 2022 race due to the impact of Covid, but this has now passed. This policy applies to everyone, so to be fair to all, please don’t ask if you can use old banked entries, as we will have to say no.
We would also like to take a moment to say a huge thank you to everyone who had an older banked entry and chose not to use it and gift it back to us. This was truly appreciated, as we had an unsustainable amount of banked entries that was causing a lot of pressure on the business at a time when the events industry was also struggling. Your contribution has helped us to move forwards and be able to plan a 2023 race season.
I still don’t get it…
If you have a question that isn’t answered here, then please send us an email. However, please bear in mind the above answers, especially with regards to the validity of your banked entry. We have a lot of emails coming in, and we’re getting through them as quick as we can, but it really helps us if you have read this information first.
We think a year is a reasonable amount of time to decide what event you want to run instead and move the banked entry to a race. We can’t send out reminders when your banked entry is about to expire, so it is your responsibility to make sure you use it before it runs out!