Terms and conditions for a boxing or martial arts club

A boxing or martial arts club sells something most businesses do not: consented physical contact, usually on a rolling monthly payment, often to children. Your terms need to deal with sparring, health declarations, junior members, gradings and the member who stops attending but keeps being charged. I draft a full set of club terms around how your club actually runs, for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Boxing gyms, MMA, BJJ, judo, karate, taekwondo, muay thai and kickboxing clubs in England and Wales, whether you run a dedicated unit or hire hall time. Almost all of your members are consumers, including the parents who sign juniors up, so consumer law does most of the work here. Corporate sessions and training contracts for other businesses are the exception and need separate wording.

What matters in club terms

Rolling memberships and how members leave

Most clubs run on monthly memberships collected by direct debit, and most disputes are about leaving. The terms need to state the minimum term if there is one, the notice a member must give, whether you allow a freeze for injury or travel, and what happens after a failed payment. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats a one-sided right to vary the price, a disproportionate charge for a missed payment, and a term the member had no real chance to read as unfair, and an unfair term does not bind them. Further subscription rules are being introduced under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

Health declarations and what a waiver can do

Every club asks new members to sign something before they step on the mats, and it is worth being clear about what that document can and cannot achieve. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you cannot exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, and no form of words changes that. What the form can properly do is record the member's declaration about injuries, medical conditions, pregnancy and medication, oblige them to tell you when any of that changes, confirm they have read the club rules, and set out which activities they are agreeing to take part in.

Sparring, contact and the coach's discretion

Contact is the point of the sport, so the terms should say how you control it: who is permitted to spar, that participation is always at your coaches' discretion, that you may refuse a pairing or stop a round, and that protective equipment is compulsory and must be in serviceable condition. The rules should also cover intensity levels for beginners, open mat sessions where supervision is lighter, and visiting members from other clubs. Put the club rules in the terms rather than on a poster, and require acceptance at sign-up so they actually form part of the contract.

Juniors, parents and safeguarding arrangements

Junior classes need the parent or guardian to be the contracting party: they sign, they pay, and they are the person you deal with over arrears and conduct. The terms should cover who may collect a child and when, your position on late collection, removal from a session for behaviour, consent to photography and video for social media, and the health information you need for each child. If you run holiday camps or sessions in a school or leisure centre, say whose site rules apply and who is responsible for children between sessions.

Class packs, gradings and cancellation rights

Class packs, block bookings and taster offers need a stated expiry and a clear position on missed sessions. A late cancellation charge is common, but the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lists disproportionate default charges as potentially unfair, so keep it proportionate to the place you held. Gradings, licences and competitions sit outside ordinary class fees: price them separately, say whether grading fees are refundable, and make clear that any governing body membership or medical is the member's responsibility. Where someone joins online or by phone, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give fourteen days to cancel, extending by up to twelve months if you do not give the cancellation information. Off-premises contracts of £42 or less fall outside those regulations.

Kit sales, payment and removing a member

If you sell gloves, wraps, gumshields and club kit at reception, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies: goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, with a short-term right to reject within thirty days. Sealed hygiene items lose the distance cancellation right once unsealed, which is worth spelling out at the till. You cannot add a surcharge for paying by card under the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012. Finally, give yourself a stated right to suspend or expel a member for violence outside the rules, intoxication or abuse of coaches, and say what then happens to their fees.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Does a signed waiver stop a member bringing a claim against the club?

A waiver cannot exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, because the Consumer Rights Act 2015 prevents it, and no wording gets round that. What the document is genuinely useful for is recording what the member told you about their health, what they agreed to take part in, and which club rules they accepted. I draft it on that basis.

Can I keep taking payments from a member who has stopped attending?

You can charge for the notice period your terms set, provided the member had a real chance to read those terms before joining and the notice is proportionate to what you are providing. What causes complaints, and now attracts regulator attention under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, is a renewal or notice term nobody was shown at sign-up.

Do I need separate terms for junior members?

One set of terms can cover both, with a junior section dealing with the parent as the paying party, collection, photography consent and behaviour. What does not work is an adult membership form signed at reception by the child, because the person you will be chasing for fees, and speaking to about conduct, is the parent.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Terms and conditions for a personal trainer
• Terms and conditions for a yoga or pilates studio

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.