Hong Kong Football Club Netball

Membership

NETBALL DSA MEMBERSHIP

Netball is just one of the many sports that take place within the HKFC and last season we had more than 60 members playing in 6 teams. As part of our commitment to the HKFC, members are required to give a minimum of four full years of commitment from the time of HKFC approval, (this means if your membership is approved in the December after playing for three months, your commitment period starts from the December and will not be completed until half way through your fifth playing season) which includes a minimum attendance rate of 80% at all training sessions and games. Attendance during the season is continually monitored and proposal for your continued membership is at the discretion of your team captains and the HKFC Committee. If you have not met the minimum attendance requirements, your membership will be reviewed and may be revoked. We do, however, understand that there are occasional times when you cannot make either games or training; in these instances please inform your team captain in advance when you cannot attend and the reason why. If it is going to be for an extended period of time, then please submit a letter to the Netball Committee.

Process for membership review:

If your attendance falls below what is required in the first instance, the attendance officer will ask your captain (or in the case of a captain's poor attendance the attendance officer will do so) to give you a verbal reminder of attendance commitment and explain that your attendance will be closely monitored for one month.
If no improvement a written warning from the HKFC Netball DSA attendance officer will be sent. If there is still no improvement the committee will vote on whether they will continue to support your membership. If not, they will inform the HKFC administration and they will take necessary steps to cancel your membership.

INJURIES

During a period of injury the player is expected to continue to fulfill their commitment expectations. Injured players must provide medical documents supporting their case, along with details of your intended return. If you become injured before or during the season inform your coach and team captain and continue to attend your team's games and trainings in order to support them, help with scoring and, if possible, umpiring. If an injury lasts three or more months, in addition to discussing with your coach and team captain the extent of the injury and other opportunities for supporting your team, you need to contact the committee directly to be advised on the appropriate methods of supporting the Netball DSA. As a Netball DSA member you have the opportunity to receive medical treatment from our netball physiotherapist, who will be in attendance at training sessions every Wednesday. During an extended injury there is a high likelihood that time will be added to your four year commitment. Continued membership is at the discretion of the HKFC committee.

Guidelines are detailed below:

For injuries (both long/short term) - you are expected to attend both games and trainings, but in the capacity of support/helping coaches/team.

PREGNANCY

During a period of pregnancy the player is expected to continue to fulfill their commitment requirements. This includes attending your teams’ games and social events and contacting the Committee directly to be advised as to the appropriate methods of supporting the section (e.g. helping to convene, helping with Junior programs). Failure to do so will result in an extension of the four year membership period. Continued membership is at the discretion of the HKFC committee.

Guidelines are detailed below:

Pre-birth your attendance is monitored based on attendance at games and trainings (depending on when in the season you get pregnant) - the individual should attend one session a week minimum.
Post-birth the individual has a three-month grace period with no expectation to attend games or training. If you choose to attend it will be recorded and contribute towards your attendance figures.
After the three-month grace period, the individual's attendance is required to be a minimum 80% across games and training sessions, in a playing capacity.

HONG KONG NETBALL ASSOCIATION UMPIRE REQUIREMENTS

As part of your commitment to both the HKFC & HKNA, you are required to attend an umpiring course and then complete a theory exam to become a badged umpire. This will not only help with the running of the League, but also, help improve the level of play achieved as you become more aware of the rules. You will not be able to umpire if you do not attend and pass the course, this in turn may affect your place in your team.

SOCIALS

There are two mandatory social events each year. The Christmas Party in December and the Netball DSA Annual General Meeting in May.

There are also multiple other smaller social events held throughout the year which you can choose to attend. It is expected that you will come along to at least two other social events in addition to the mandatory social events.

COMMUNITY HOURS

To enhance the community spirit within the Netball DSA, all players (including social players) are required to volunteer a minimum three hours throughout the season as part of meeting your commitment to the Netball DSA and maintaining your 80% attendance. The purpose of the community hours is to spread the tasks of running the Netball DSA across all players, and to encourage greater interaction between members of the Netball DSA. Members can fulfil these hours by supporting the Junior Program by way of coaching, umpiring, writing articles, photographing events, organising team socials and/or supporting our committee in running the section.

FEES

Monthly Levy:

Each member of the Netball DSA will be charged a monthly levy of $50*. This cost will cover your individual HKNA registration fees, your team registration and kit. This levy is direct debited each month from your HKFC account. The total cost has been pro-rated on a yearly basis so is charged throughout the entire year, not just the netball season.

Coaching Fees:

At present we have paid netball coaches to coach each of the Netball DSA teams. The coaching fees will be $250* per person per month. This amount will be directly debited from your HKFC account. This fee is only charged during the netball season (September – April/May depending when the coaching finishes).

A $100* administration fee will be charged to players who are not currently playing due to pregnancy or injury or who are playing for the social team. This covers the costs of the DSA which include physio, subsidies for certain social events and tours. If you are pregnant OR injured and thus unable to play for 1 month or more please notify the membership officer, Suzie Keady (membership@hkfcnetball.com) directly as soon as possible, and she will notify HKFC to alter the coaching fees to your account. Please note fees cannot be refunded once charged.

*Subject to change

HKNA OPEN LEAGUE

All games take place on a Monday night at either 7, 8 or 9 pm, and last for one hour. It is suggested that you are ready and warmed up 30 minutes prior to the start of the game with all jewelry off and nails cut short. A league handbook detailing the times of all games will be distributed to each player at the beginning of the season.

The league starts at the end of September and runs through until April. Dates for your team’s game schedule and holidays will be confirmed via email and TeamSnap app. For further details, please check the HKFC and HKNA (Hong Kong Netball Association) websites: www.hkfcnetball.com, www.facebook.com/hkfcnetball and www.netball.org.hk.

There are three main venues that we use: the Hong Kong Football Club, Aberdeen Outdoor Courts, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Sports Centre and a number of other venues.

COMMITMENT EXPECTATIONS

Commitment means, in addition to the regular fees and obligations of membership:

A minimum total attendance rate of 80% at all preseason training sessions, in-season training sessions AND games is required. This is attendance in a playing capacity.
A minimum games attendance, in a playing capacity, of 50% for the entire season. This does not penalize players who are available to play, but are not selected by the coach to play. Likewise, the amount of quarters played per game is not relevant, as long as you are available to play. If you have concerns that you will be unable to fulfill this requirement, due to injury or pregnancy, you need to contact the committee directly.

In this regard, when your team captain emails you each week to ask for availability, it is your obligation to reply promptly. Please don't expect the convener to have to keep chasing up. If you don't reply, then you are not available and it will be recorded as such.

Also it is your responsibility to make sure that your email address and telephone numbers are correct. If you are not hearing anything then get in touch with your captain to find out why.

PROCESS FOR MEMBERSHIP REVIEW

Club Management requires us to closely monitor commitment, and a review and report of all members during their commitment is undertaken every six to 12 months.

The outcome of these reports are discussed by the Netball Committee and a decision will be taken as to what action (if any) is necessary.

If your attendance falls below 80%, you will receive a warning letter by email, which is also sent to the HKFC administration. This letter will inform you of your actual attendance figures and provide you with a time frame within which you will need to improve your attendance. If you fail to meet the required attendance, the Netball Committee may withdraw its support for your membership and your membership will be cancelled.

The Netball Committee can extend your commitment period at their discretion if they feel you have not actively committed to your team or the Club or met the expected commitment hours. Ultimately, if the commitment requirements are not met despite reminders, then the Netball DSA will withdraw its support to free up the place for someone on the waiting list.

This means that your membership will be terminated by the General Committee of the HK Football Club (if you are currently under commitment with the HKFC). We want to emphasize that there is no intention to adopt a heavy-handed approach, and every opportunity is taken to encourage all members to be active participants.

On that note, if your workload or social life means that you simply cannot honour the commitment, this is not a valid excuse for not participating (unless it is for a short period of time). The point here is that you cannot make the commitment to the Netball DSA and a Team, and then not turn up because of other commitments elsewhere. This is a choice that you would need to make as it impacts other members of your team.

MEMBERSHIP FEES

All players representing the HKFC Netball DSA must become members of the HKFC. In order to retain your membership you must continue to play netball for the HKFC for four consecutive seasons and meet attendance requirements. You will also be expected to utilise the food and beverage outlets (restaurant, coffee shop etc) at the Club.

The following are the HKFC non-refundable/non-transferable fees that apply for membership:

Adult Sports Preferred Membership (28Y and over) - $25,000 joining fee - $12,500 is paid when you first join and the second half is paid when and if the HKFC approve your permanent membership approximately one year later. In addition to this there is a monthly subscription fee of $1450 which is directly debited from your account.
Junior Associate Membership (under 21Y) - $1000 joining fee - this full amount is paid when you first join. In addition there is a monthly subscription fee of $100 which is directly debited from your account.
Junior Associate Membership (under 28Y) - $1000 joining fee - this full amount is paid when you first join. In addition there is a monthly subscription fee of $580 which is directly debited from your account. **NOTE: If a member is on a junior membership and they turn 28, the HKFC will then request the remaining $24,000 entrance fee to convert to an Adult Membership as above.

CONTACT LIST

A contact list is maintained by the Netball DSA for use by the Committee, the team captains and other members of the Netball DSA who have registered their own contact details. Please note the following rules relating to the Contact List:

• The contact list is only for netball related matters and should not be used for any other purposes.

• It cannot be distributed to any third parties without permission from the Netball Committee.

• All members will have their details added to the contact list.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact any of the Netball Committee members.