Club/Facility Membership with Squash BC:

Why be a Member of Squash BC?

There are many Clubs who question why they should be members of Squash BC. They all want to know, “What do we get out of it?” There are many reasons to join, some have tangible benefits to Clubs, and others are of a more philosophical in nature.

Full Club Membership
The Full Club Membership is designed for clubs who wish to involve themselves with programs for the benefit of their business and clients. For example, a club wishing to host a sanctioned tournament or wanting to participate in an inter-club league must be a full member of Squash BC.

Full Club Members will be able to;

• Host Sanctioned Tournaments and Leagues. With this comes liability insurance for your pro or volunteers who organize these events.
• Host Sanctioned Officiating Clinics.
• Host Sanctioned Coaching Clinics.
• Take part in Sanctioned Junior Development Programs.
• Use the Squash Skill Awards Program.
• Take part in The Instant Squash Program.
• Use Squash BC’s online registration for tournaments. (Squash BC will process credit cards for a nominal fee.
• Post information on Squash BC’s web site at no cost. (Squash BC’s web site receives about 10,000 hits a month during the season.)
• Send out information to Squash BC’s online mailing list through the weekly Newsletter.
• Have a free internet link from Squash BC web site to members site.
• Have Squash BC direct new players to the Full Facility Members in their area.
• Have a Club/Facility listing on Squash BC web site and annual handbook.
• Bid on hosting, (when they are held in the region,) National & Provincial Tournaments, B.C. and Canada Winter Games.
• Receive all mail from the Squash B.C. office including, entry forms for B.C. & out of province tournaments and events, Magazines, Posters, Notices and Tournament Schedules.
• Be eligible for lower rates on Squash BC Individual Memberships for their members.
• Be able to use the Squash BC display booth at their promotional events.
• Have full voting rights at Squash BC AGM.

Full Club Members will have liability insurance to cover all Squash BC sanctioned events for the organizing pro or volunteers of those events.

Other reasons that are a little harder to pin down, but are equally important are the philosophical ones. Ask yourself this question. If Squash BC, Squash Canada and the WSF were not active and viable organizations, would squash be where it is today and would it stay there? Once the organization of a sport is gone, that sport is likely to disappear as a credible competitive unit in a few years. Would your Club/Facility survive?

Squash BC and its affiliate organizations have spent years and countless amounts of money to develop and maintain programs including Coaching, Officiating courses and the Skill Awards program to name a few. You may think, “I don’t want to hold a Coaching Course,” but your members are going to have to learn the game from someone! Have you ever been asked by one of your members about the rules of squash. Just think if everyone played by their own rules!! Shouldn’t we have Provincial Squash teams? All the programs Squash BC runs will probably affect your club/facility in some way and they cost money.

Squash BC relies on three main sources of income, Government Grants, Gaming Money, and Memberships. The government/gaming money we receive has been fairly steady through the years but has not kept up with inflation. We have very little control over how much we receive from government and it usually comes with strings attached.

Individual and Club memberships are our most reliable source of income. People who play squash do it for many reasons, but we think it’s safe to say that people do become “Hooked on Squash.” Once you have a player join your Club/Facility and play squash for a year, you will probably have that member for a long time. Squash players are a very steady form of cash flow.

It would be great if all participants in the squash world supported their sport not only in a monetary way, but in a voluntary role as well. We at Squash BC encourage all members to participate fully in areas of interest, and are very thankful to those individuals who volunteer their time and money to keep the sport healthy. If not for all the hours of volunteer time, Squash BC memberships would probably cost around $500.00 per court.

Full Club Membership Costs are based on the number of courts and the area in which the club is located. All clubs in Vancouver, the Lower Mainland and Victoria & District are based on $150.00 plus GST per court for the first four courts plus $50 per court for each additional court. All other areas are based on the same but receive a 40% discount due to grants and accessibility. Members will be invoiced on May 1, due on June 15.

Thank you for supporting Squash in B.C. If you have any questions about any aspect of the Club membership program, please contact me at the Squash BC office.

Kevin Kydd
Executive Director of Squash BC
4867 Ontario Street
Vancouver, B.C. V5V-3H4
Ph: 604-737-3084 Fax: 604-736-3527