The Drysdale Clifton Springs Pickleball Club (the Club) is a community-based pickleball club located in the heart of the Bellarine Peninsula at Drysdale / Clifton Springs.
The Club was officially formed in November 2022 and has grown significantly in the ensuing 2 years to now be one of the largest pickleball clubs in Victoria with almost 200 members. The Club’s values centre on providing an inclusive environment that, through participation, enriches our direct and indirect communities and provides for an individual’s physical, social and mental health wellbeing.
The Club is committed to:
The Club plays pickleball indoors at the Drysdale Primary School Hall in Stonehouse Place Drysdale and outdoors at its own outdoor facility next to the Clifton Springs Bowling Club in Springs Street Clifton Springs.
The Club has had some expressions of interest from potential junior players to join a Junior Program and is now looking to gauge whether that initial interest can translate into the formation of a full junior program based at the Clifton Springs Outdoor Courts.
The Club is therefore conducting two Come and Try Days on Sunday 16th March 2025 and Sunday 23rd March 2025 with a program for children aged 7 to 15 between 9:00AM and 10:30AM on both days. Parents and guardians are encouraged to be present for any Come and Try Day session that their child attends.
Young persons who are 16-17 years of age may come along and participate in the Come and Try Days but if the 16-17 year old wants to continue playing pickleball beyond the Come and Try Days then they will be required to join and play in the adult section of the Club at a current annual membership fee of $75.
If the Come and Try Days are successful then it is proposed that the Club will move into a regular Sunday morning program for juniors based on similar timeframes to the Come and Try Days. That is, between 9:00AM and 10:30AM each Sunday. It is anticipated that a future Sunday program will be structured in a way that provides for skill development as its core. Play will generally only be with, and/or against, similar aged and/or skilled children. The Junior Program will be conducted in accordance with the guidelines set down by VicSport for the participation of children and young people in sport. The Club has developed a Code of Practice for the conduct of the Junior Program.
All convenors, coaches and volunteers associated with the program will be a current member of the Club, have a current Working With Children Check and will have completed the VicSport Child Safe Training Program. The Junior Program will operate under a ‘No Photography’ policy. If a child wishes to continue in the Junior Program beyond the Come and Try Days then they will be required to join the Club as a Junior Member.
A Junior membership will be set at $50 annually and will be subject to an annual adjustment consistent with Club and Pickleball Victoria guidelines. This membership covers the junior members affiliation with the Club’s governing body, Pickleball Victoria, and provides for insurance coverage during play. Affiliation also means that the Junior Member can play in tournaments or events beyond the Drysdale Clifton Springs Pickleball Club. Pickleball Victoria and Pickleball Australia currently run junior tournaments, in conjunction with adult tournaments, generally in specific age levels. The Club will from time to time also organise open junior tournaments where it will encourage its junior members participation. Parents, grandparents, carers and guardians are welcome and encouraged to come to the regular Sunday morning sessions and to attend as convenors if they have or are prepared to get a Working With Children Check.The Club currently uses an App called Spond to facilitate its regular weekly play. The Junior Program will be no different. Children and young persons who take up membership will be required to download the App to their mobile phone or the mobile phone of their parents or guardians. The cost of each session responded to via Spond is $5.00. Further information on the Club and its programs and sessions can be accessed through the Club’s website at https://dcspickleball.org
If you have any direct enquiries related to the Come and Try Days or the future Junior Program and/or would like to come to the Come and Try Days, please email juniors@dcspickleball.org