We’re getting quite a few questions on this at the moment, so we’ve put together some information on banked entries that might be useful. 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.
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 the following year of the same event, or 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 from the 2022 race season purchased directly through Clubtrac, and therefore have full options to manage your entry. If your banked entry is older than this, please read the next session carefully! **
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 have a banked entry from a 2019-2021 race, this needs to be used towards a 2022 event only. We announced this in October 2021, to give people plenty of time to use up older banked entries towards future races. You can see all the remaining 2022 races here: https://whitestarrunning.co.uk/wsr-events/. You won’t be able to manage this yourself, as these banked entries would have been on our old system, so you’ll need to contact us on info@whitestarrunning.co.uk to let us know which 2022 race you want to use your entry on as soon as possible. These older entries will be removed from our bank at the end of 2022.
My race was cancelled! What happens now?
If your race was cancelled by us (over the Covid years), then we would have let you know what happens to your place via email, on the website and on social media. In most cases, places would have been deferred to the next running of the race automatically, or to a suitable alternative if the event was not running in the future. If you couldn’t make the new date, you would have been given information to contact us to let us know what you wanted us to do with your place (ie transfer to another race or place it in banked entries). In most cases, you wouldn’t have to do anything yourself, as this would be dealt with by the team at our end.
Dorset Invader (Sherborne) 2021 races: This event was planned for August 2021, but sadly we had to cancel this event due to the ongoing impact of Covid, along with other races that year. Many of you opted to take part virtually, for which we are really grateful. Our original intention was to run this event in 2022, carrying over all the remaining places from the 2021 event. However, our wonderful landowner, who has been instrumental in bringing this event about, had both parents suffering and subsequently recovering from serious illness. We didn’t think it right to encroach on the family’s land at this time. We had planned to bring it back in 2023 instead. However, with the current industry conditions, we will be concentrating on established events for the time being, to ensure we can deliver the true White Star experience for you all. If you had an entry into this event only, please email us and we will turn it into a voucher code instead, valid for 6 months against a race of your choice.
I chose to defer my race place to the same event in the following year
If you couldn’t make a race for whatever reason, you may have chosen to defer it to the following year (rather than transfer the place to someone else or put it in the banked entries). As long as we receive your request before the given transfer deadline, we will load your entry into the following year’s event when it’s open and you will receive email confirmation when this happens.
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.
If you’re asking to transfer an old banked entry from 2019 to a race in 2023, then we’re going to have to say no. We have to set limits on use, or we end up with may hundreds (over 1,000 at one point) of unused banked entries and that’s not viable. 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. Due to Covid, we’re allowing older entries back to 2019 to be used against 2022 races. 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!