Welcome one and all! If you like walking and other non-competitive sporting events for people of all ages and athletic abilities, you are in the right place. The Asheville Amblers Walking Club, AVA 46, is an active club with a lot of events this year. All of our events and activities are open to everyone of all ages. We invite you to attend as many as you like. Be sure to check our Calendar!

If you would like to come on a walk, help with one of the upcoming events, or join the club and you don't find everything you need here, just contact, John and Susan Young, 828-687-2777, and they will be more than happy to provide additional information.

TYPES OF EVENTS

REGULAR EVENTS

... are actual special! Most clubs host two or three regular events per year. These are usually held on weekends. Walkers can start out between, say, the hours of 8 a.m. and noon, and must be back by 3 p.m. or 4 p.m.. Food is usually available at family prices. There's almost always music playing. Sometimes the event is part of an annual festival. A brochure is made available several months ahead so you can see where and when the walk is, what the trail is like, and whether an award is being offered. Clubs usually offer a discount on the award if you use the brochure to pre-register before a certain date. See our Calendar for our current listing of events. Remember, even if you are not a club member, come and join us! We welcome everyone!

CLUB WALKS

We used to call these "group walks," but since not all walkers have the same pace, we don't truly walk as a group. We do, however, start out together often a Year Round Event or YRE or Seasonal location, and more often than not, we end up together somewhere for lunch! Our scheduled club walks are listed on our Calendar. These are not just for club members, you are invited to these walks also. Basically the difference is that the walk is done as a group and there are usually fewer participants. Won't you come join us and get to know the club members?

YEAR ROUND EVENTS YREs or SEASONAL EVENTS

A "year-round" event is one in which you go to a start/finish location, often a Visitor Center, hotel, library, or some other public place which is open most days of the week. You ask at the desk or counter for the "volkswalk box," and are handed a portable file box. This box has in it everything that you need, or need to know, about this walk.

You take the box aside - usually there's a bench or chair or windowsill nearby - and you register by filling in your name and address on the log. Your "start number" is in the column to the left of your name and address. Check the box indicating whether you are walking for the award if there is one, for credit only, or for free. Some clubs do not allow free walkers, but the Asheville Amblers do! But we LOVE any donations we receive!!! Take a start card sometimes it's printed right on the map and put your start number on it.

Take the map and, if you haven't got one, a pencil. Give the box back to the person behind the counter, and head out on your walk.

There are usually two or three checkpoints on the route for which you must write an answer on your start card.

ENJOY A GREAT WALK!

When you return to the start/finish location, ask for the box again, and follow the instructions to finish up. If you're walking "for credit," stamp your record books. NOTE: You may only stamp your Event Record Book twice in a calendar year for the same YRE, once before July 1st, once after. But you may stamp your Distance Record Book as many times as you walked the route.

A seasonal event is one that is available only part of the year usually due to weather conditions. Other than that, it operates exactly like a YRE. We have included the latest information on our YRE's on this web site for your reference. If you would like to know about the YRE's around the country, you can purchase a complete list from the American Volkssport Association in a publication called Starting Point. Starting Point may be available at a regular or club event if any are for sale. There are currently over 1,000 walks in the U.S. The AVA is also the source of information of International Walks such as those in Canada and England.

Also, you can download an Application only if you have Acrobat Reader.