As we gear up for another exciting hockey season at Waverley in 2019 it is this time of year the Executive Committee undertakes a review the membership fees across the Club.
After a thorough review by our new Finance sub-committee, the review has resulted in increases across senior playing fees of between 8% and 14% and a simplification of the volunteer levy system to a canteen opt-out levy after consideration of the following factors:
- Current financial position of the Club and the impact of the Volunteer Levy since its introduction in 2016
- Impact of significant cost increases from Hockey Victoria across 2018 and 2019 and other expected cost increases in 2019
- Equity and fairness across both our membership base and wider Victorian hockey players
The Club needs to increase annual revenue to appropriately support the current and future ambitions of the Club and our members
Financial position:
The Club did not increase fees for the 2018 season.
But 2018 saw the Club have a financial result that was close to break-even in a year with minimal capital outlays. This is below the financial result required to build up excess capacity to fund projects like the new lights that are currently being installed and re-surfacing of the current pitch.
And while the Club continues to try and obtain additional external revenue from various sources including ground hire and sponsorship, the reality of club hockey as an amateur sport in Australia is that the majority of the sport’s revenue comes from membership fees.
Therefore, along with the target of increasing sponsorship and ground hire by 50% in 2019, the Executive Committee have also decided to increase fees by 8% to 11% for players in seniors and 14% for masters. Given no fee increase occurred in 2018, this equates to an average of 4% to 5% per year over the last 2 seasons.
Hockey Victoria fees for affiliation, team fees, officiating and insurance have increased by 15% since 2017 and other general costs continue to rise
There has been an increase in Hockey Victoria fees across all facets of the sport since 2017. Waverley’s affiliation and winter team fees will be well over $5,000 higher in 2019 than 2017 and umpiring costs will be up $1,500. We appreciate this is at the same time your individual membership fee has increased by 50% but unfortunately these cost rises are out of our control.
As is the case with life away from hockey, costs also continue to rise, including electricity, gas, other consumables and services we purchase.
We always look to maintain equity across our membership base, provide opportunities to reduce fees and consider parity with other hockey clubs
We have looked to fairly distribute the cost increases in 2019 considering the impact on all types of members within the club. We also have opportunities to reduce fees including:
- Junior coaching opportunities which can offset fees (contact juniors@waverleyhc.org.au or a junior committee member for further information)
- Player sponsorship – all players have the opportunity to gain a sponsor for a small cost that will contribute some money to the club and some money to offset playing fees (further details to be provided – contact Drew Ashton at drewashton18@gmail.com if you would like information earlier)
- State Representative Discount – Vipers / Vikings players receive a full discount and under 18 & under 21 players receive a half discount where the player makes themselves available for some volunteer activities such as junior coaching
We have also reviewed the proposed fees below against comparable clubs to ensure our fee structure remains appropriate.
2019 fee structure
The table below outlines the comparison of 2018 to 2019 rates without the Canteen Opt-Out fee or Hockey Victoria/Hockey Australia fees included:
* The Canteen Opt Out levy for 2019 is $100 but will be fully refunded where you provide volunteer effort in a canteen shift of 4 hours. Further information on the Canteen Opt-out levy is available on the website.
* Hockey Victoria & Hockey Australia also levy a separate fee that is not paid onto Waverley to cover costs such as insurance.
How to Register
The process for registering is different this year. For renewing members, you should have received an email from Hockey Victoria with instructions. The information in this email is available for download below.
Download Registration Process Information