New club proposals are evaluated by the BCSG Funding & Activities Board (FAB) according to the following criteria:

• Compliance with the Bates College Student Handbook and College policies, including the College’s non-discrimination policy.
• Clearly articulated purpose, objectives, and goals of the proposed club.
• Demonstrated non-duplication of the mission/ purpose of already recognized clubs. Demonstrated avoidance of evident similarity with an already recognized club.
• Feasibility of funding the club’s goals or projects.
• Local autonomy of the club: club is led completely by Bates students without direction, interference, pressure from, or obligation to, any entity external to the Bates community (e.g., a parent organization, national chapter, or charter). If the external entity maintains guidelines, policies, or other documents of any kind that are found by FAB to be in conflict with the Student Code of Conduct, Campus Life and FAB club policies, or the Bates College non-discrimination policy, the proposed club must disavow such items in its constitution in order to be approved. The club may not function solely or predominantly as a fundraising vehicle for the outside entity, or as a means for the outside entity to host events/programs on campus.
• Clubs that are chapter of, or otherwise affiliated with, an external organization must have a faculty/staff advisor.
• Interest by no fewer than seven Bates student-members.
• Demonstrated plan for sustainability of the club.
• Demonstrated plan for storing club equipment/resources, if applicable.
• Demonstrated benefit to the members, campus, and/or community.
• Demonstrated need for recognition based on benefits provided to BCSG-recognized clubs.

Recreational Sport Clubs

BCSG does not recognize clubs that participate in competitive sports; if your prospective club is interested in competitive league or tournament play, it should apply for recognition via the Club Sports Council, which is advised by Athletics.

In addition to the criteria required for all prospective clubs, students considering starting a recreational sport club must meet the following criteria:

• Club must not participate in competitive league or tournament play intercollegiately, extramurally, regionally, or at the national level.
  • Club may participate in recreational scrimmages or meets with entities outside of Bates College.
• There may be circumstances in which clubs may engage in one-off competitions, representing their club and Bates College, subject to the approval of FAB and Campus Life.
  • Travel for individual competitions may not exceed 100 miles by car from the Bates campus.
• Clubs may not be not be associated with a governing body that has developed standards for participation.
• There must be on campus facilities available for the club to practice and/or hold intramural competitions and other events. The Department of Athletics will make this determination.