For many of you, this news is not new, but for those that don't know, here it is.
Goulburn Tennis Club - who we host our Pickelball through, has reviewed our operation and have changed the costs to align more with their expectations, and the use of facilities and consumables on the site.
Our new arrangement sees our club being charged by the hour, instead of the session we have. So now, we pay $20 per hour, for each court (tennis court) we use. This is because we use the facilities - toilets, consumbles - toilet paper and electricity when we play under lights.
This is not unexpected, but has made us reconsider how we operate going forward.
In addition to the new costs, Goulburn Tennis Club has asked that ALL players need to register with either Goulburn Tennis Club as a member, or the associated State organisation of Pickleball (NSW Pickleball or ACT Pickleball) to ensure that each player has an appropriate level of insurance coverage on the off chance that you break your spirit on the court and need to sue.
The choice of who to join is yours. Goulburn Tennis Club is a set fee (unsure of the amount) and it's just a fee to ensure you are covered as a member.
Pickleball NSW has a National fee as follows:
Adult - $60
Senior - $45 (65+ years)
Your membership is valid for 12 months from the date you join, and allows you to enter sanctioned tournaments, discounts on equipment and various fees.
Our request is that you join and notify us of your membership number - either with Goulburn Tennis Club or Pickleball NSW as we are obliged to report who our players are, as Goulburn Tennis is undergoing a membership audit with Tennis Australia, relating to memberships, engagement and future funding.
We ask that you complete this membership by the end of the year, it's a compulsory requirement that we have been asked to complete to maintain our time on the Pickleball courts.
Pickleball NSW has also told us that we can't continue as a Playing Group, we HAVE to become an association, or they will remove us from their places to play. We have decided to defy them and continue as we are - saving you the cost of paying a local membership as well as a State Membership, and so when you join, if Goulburn is not listed, just join under Pickleball NSW as your club.
We never got any money from people who joined under our 'Banner' and we are a just here to play Pickleball and enjoy ourselves, it's not a money making machine as many think we are, so we will continue as we are and 'Fight the good fight' making Pickleball greater again.
Finally, the last and biggest change coming is a rise in the fees to play. Given we have just asked you all to shell out for a membership, we will hold the rise over until January 2027.
The new cost to play will be $15. We are still working with Goulburn Tennis to secure more times and days, as we have done since we began, and will keep you up to date on the outcomes.
