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Racquet Network Host Clubs

Oakridge Community Association, Calgary

In 2004, when the Oakridge Community Association first became a Racquet Network Host Club, they had four under-utilized outdoor tennis courts and one deserted squash court that was badly in need of repair.

Total income from revenues derived from racquet sports equalled exactly zero.

Everything has changed since becoming a Racquet Network Host Club.

Current plans for 2009 include the construction of six new lighted outdoor tennis courts, six new glass squash courts and dressing rooms.

By joining forces with Racquet Network, the Oakridge Community Association was able to develop a racquet sports community and add a second large membership group to an existing membership base that was focused primarily on hockey.

Tennis and squash volunteers now work side by side with hockey volunteers at fundraisers and other events that help bring the community together.

Racquet Network does not own racquet sports facilities. Instead, we refer our players to clubs and facilities who have joined our network as Host Clubs. Our players then use these Host Clubs in the same way that other people use them. They are subject to the same fees, rules and conditions as anyone else. Racquet Network does not ask Host Clubs for discounts.

Racquet Network Host Clubs

Not every club or facility can become a Racquet Network Host Club. We examine potential Host Clubs carefully before recommending them to our members.

Who May Become a Racquet Network Host Club?

Racquet Network Host Clubs come in many shapes and sizes. Some host clubs are large organizations that operate their own facilities. Others are small clubs that operate out of rented facilities such as church basements or school gyms. We accept both of these and (almost) everything in between, provided they meet our minimum requirements.

Minimum Requirements

The minimum requirements for Host Clubs in 2008 are:

  1. Host Clubs must be genuinely open to the public and affordable to the average person. We do not accept expensive private clubs. We do not accept clubs with discriminatory quotas. We do not accept clubs whose sole purpose is to develop high performance athletes.

  2. Host Clubs must offer at least one of the following each year:

    • courts that can be rented by the public
    • a racquet sports program for adults that includes beginners
    • a fitness program for adult racquet sports players
    • two hours of instructional racquet sports clinics

Any club that meets these minimum requirements may be considered for Host Club status. However, meeting these minimum requirements is not a guarantee that Host Club status will be granted. Racquet Network also considers whether or not each applicant will be a "good fit" with our existing mix of members and Host Clubs.

Who Fits Best?

Not every club or facility is a good fit with Racquet Network. For example, if your club has full membership roles and packed programs, you would not be a good fit with our network.

The clubs and facilities that fit best with our network have at least one of the following characteristics.

Court Space for Rent -- Racquet Network players are looking for affordable court space to rent. If your facility has surplus court time to rent, you may be an excellent fit for our network.

Drop-in Programs -- Many Racquet Network members are infrequent recreational players seeking drop-in programs. If your club has drop-in spots to fill in your programs, you may be an excellent fit for our network.

Players Needed for Clinics -- Many Racquet Network members are beginners and rusty intermediates badly in need of instruction. However, our players are typically busy with new careers and young families. Therefore they are more interested in 60-minute clinics than in full sets of lessons. If your club or facility offers instruction in the clinic format, you may be an excellent fit for our network.

Seeking New Members -- Racquet Network players tend to be younger than the industry average. Many are also recent arrivals from other cities and countries. If your club is open to new members from these demographic groups, you may be an excellent fit for our network.

Benefits

Once you have been accepted as a Racquet Network Host Club:

  1. we will begin referring our members to your club or facility
  2. we will list you as a recommended Host Club on this website
  3. we will add a link from our club pages to your online court booking software
  4. we will create a new section in our online CLUBHOUSE just for you
  5. we will invite you to open your own Pro Shop in our CLUBHOUSE
  6. we will begin advertising some of your programs and services on Facebook and other popular websites

As a Racquet Network Host Club you will be entitled to advertise your products, services and rates to every member of our network via the CLUBHOUSE. In exchange, we ask that Racquet Network be allowed to advertise our add-on social networking services to your members by putting a poster up on your clubhouse bulletin board and cross-linking your website with ours.

Please note that we are not interested in seeing your membership list or in stealing members from your club. We benefit by adding new members to your club, not by taking members away from you.

Host Club Fees

There are no fees associated with becoming a Racquet Network Host Club. We are happy to refer our members to any club or facility that is a good fit with our social networking services.

Current List of Recommended Host Clubs & Services

Contact

If you wish to discuss the possibility of becoming a Racquet Network Host Club, please contact our Executive Director, Brent Johner at brentjohner@racquetnetwork.com for more information. We can provide excellent references upon request.