EFTA Host Societies must follow the rules below when choosing a location to host a trip
- The location must be within a radius of 300 miles (400 miles if located on a coastal border) of your Society’s home location or your Society is the only organization that can obtain exclusive access to a desirable collecting site outside the 300 mile range. This ensures a wider dispersion and a better diversity of collecting sites. It should also limit the number of duplicate trips to more frequently visited locations. We all want to visit NEW places to collect.
- To ensure the diversity of trips, the location cannot be a location where another Society has already hosted a EFTA trip in the calendar year. Exceptions may be granted depending on individual circumstances.
- If the location is a commercial site, your Society should request a discount and exclusive access for the day of the trip. It is acceptable if a discount cannot be negotiated, but a discount should be requested. Exclusive access should also be requested so that the general public and other societies cannot collect on the same day. These terms make the site more desirable as a EFTA trip versus any other day.
- The general public, Societies that are not members of the EFMLS or AFMS, and societies that are members of the EFMLS but are not covered by liability insurance are not allowed to collect at the hosted location on the same date as the EFTA trip. The general public and members of societies that are not within the EFMLS or AFMS are not bound by the AFMS Code of Ethics. This rule is to help EFTA field trip leaders manage large groups and ensure the safety of all involved. Liability insurance is required for all EFTA field trips, so people who are not covered are not allowed to attend EFTA field trips. Note: Because of this rule, easily accessible public locations are not suitable for EFTA field trips, but exceptions may be granted depending on group circumstances.
- EFTA field trip details, whether for the host Society or another hosting Society, must not be published publicly before or after the trip. These details include the name if it is a commercial site, directions to the site, and pictures that have metadata (GPS lat/long coordinates embedded in them. Before and after the trip, dates and generic descriptions can be published without specific details about the location of the site. Societies are encouraged to promote the fact that they offer field trips, so after an EFTA trip, reports without detailed information about the location of the site as well as pictures without metadata. Websites, newsletters posted on websites, Facebook pages, Twitter, Instagram, and all other social media must be carefully managed in this matter. This is to prevent the general public from visiting a trip site before, during, or after the trip. When in doubt, please contact the EFTA Committee.
- The field trip location should be large enough to accommodate at least one person per EFTA Member Society. It should have adequate parking for a large group of collectors and enough potential material for a large group. If such a location is not possible, the club may limit attendance to no less than one person per EFTA member society and require pre-trip registration. Attendees should provide the Host Society with their name and the name of the EFTA Society of which they are a member. In this situation, the Host Society must provide a registration contact phone number and/or e-mail addresses on the EFTA field trip form.
Trip Submission
- The EFTA field trip must be used for the trip details. The trip form is available for download by clicking here and is also available on the main EFTA page here. The form provides a consistent format for all trip details and has useful instructions for filling out the form including suggestions as well as the rules for choosing an acceptable field trip location. The completed form must be emailed as an attachment to the EFTA Coordinator at EFTA@EFMLS.org in Microsoft Word format. Please do not convert the form to pdf or any other format.
- The Host Society is required to submit its field trip form before the first of the month prior to the month of their hosted trip, e.g. the April hosting society must e-mail the completed field trip form to the EFTA Coordinator before the first of March.
- IMPORTANT!!! If the field trip form is not received by the 10th of the month prior to the Hosting Society’s EFTA field trip, the trip will be cancelled and the offending society will be dropped immediately from the EFTA field trip sharing program and will not be allowed to attend EFTA field trips. For example, a Society hosting an April EFTA trip must submit their field trip form by March 10th. If a society is dropped for not providing a scheduled trip, it may re-apply for EFTA membership only after at least 1 year and must meet all current membership requirements to be accepted.
- The EFTA Coordinator will evaluate the submitted trip to ensure that the location and date for the trip are acceptable. If a proposed trip is rejected, the hosting Society must provide an alternate proposal (or proposals) until an acceptable date and location are agreed upon. This is to ensure that EFTA field trips adhere to the EFTA field trip rules.