January 2022
Dear Members,
As the Australian Open winds up and the weather cools, I hope you have all been inspired by Ash Barty’s win, to pick up your racquet and get back on the courts. With the recent rains the courts are playing beautifully and the long warm evenings make it a perfect time to get out there and play.
As we are coming to the end of the 2020/21 financial year, you will shortly be receiving your renewal notices from the club. Whilst 2020 and 2021 weren’t the greatest of years, it would appear that we are now learning to live with the virus and progressing without the need to close again.
Whilst we put a hold on increases to your membership fees last year, the club does rely heavily on your continued support. We have reduced costs wherever we can, including relying on volunteers for the upkeep, maintenance, and cleaning of the courts and clubhouse, and the finance committee have developed a financial plan for the long term viability of the club.
Our objective is to continue to improve the facilities for all members, whilst maintaining a cash reserve in case of future impacts of COVID, to ensure we are able to maintain our facilities into the future.
We hope that you understand the need for the increase, and we look forward to not only receiving your membership payment but seeing you enjoying the facilities the club has to offer.
Once you have received your invoice, please forward your payment to the clubs' Bendigo Bank account by Sunday the 13th of February as the gate code will change and access to the booking system will only be available to financial members after that date.
Naturally, we are always keen to assist any members experiencing any financial hardship as a result of the pandemic and in line with previous offers we are open to applications for those requiring financial support.
Caring For Your Club and Fellow Members:
At St. Anthony's we have taken measures to ensure the safety of our members, by requiring all members to be fully vaccinated and establishing contact tracing through both the booking system and QR code at the club. We pride ourselves on not having had to shut down, and undergo a deep clean, due to a COVID outbreak, and we would like to continue this excellent record.
Therefore we kindly ask all members:
- to refrain from attending the club if they or a close contact are feeling unwell.
- to please record the name and contact details of those they are playing with, in the title of their booking, in the booking system
- to ensure they register via the QR code upon arrival at the club
- to provide the club with the vaccination certificates of their guests before attending the club
- ensure they have paid the $10 per person, guests fee, into the club bank account prior to attending the club
- to please ensure you lock the gate upon leaving
As you are all aware, the clubhouse is accessible to all members for use of the toilets, kitchen and table tennis table, however it is the responsibility of all members to clean up after themselves and ensure all clubhouse lights are turned off prior to leaving. These are your facilities and we expect you to look after them.
Social continues to run on a Tuesday night from 7:30pm, and competition play on a Thursday night. For further details on either night please contact Anthony Straford on 0419 530 159. The Court Lights are always available for use by all members upon request when making your court booking and the fee of $15 per hour is paid into the club bank account prior to play.
On behalf of the St. Anthony’s Tennis Club committee, I would like to thank all of our members for their continued support and understanding as we strive to provide the best facilities we possibly can.
Regards,
Anthony Straford
President STATC
On behalf of the STATC Committee
