Letter from the Committee
Squash Club Refurbishment Fund
Dear Members,
For many years, our club has offered a tremendous value-for-money way to enjoy the sport. The annual membership fee is low, but when you add in that you don’t have to put money in a slot to turn on the lights it represents unbeatable value. Anyone who has put their children through Saturday-morning squash has benefited not only from the incredible generosity of our volunteer coaches who have given up their free-time each weekend, but also from the low, low fees for junior membership.
Members continue to volunteer to help with minor DIY tasks and regular decorating work parties, so the club has had sufficient funds to keep on top of ongoing maintenance, but the low membership fees mean that it has never built up financial reserves to modernise the facilities, and it’s really starting to show. People have an expectation of what a modern-day sports facility should look like and we fall some way short of that.
In the last two years, the club has developed a plan to completely modernise and refurbish the building so we will be able to leave it in excellent condition for the next generation of players at the club. We could enjoy playing our remaining years of squash and racketball in more pleasant surroundings, with a new social area with natural light, a glass back teaching court and improved changing facilities. The cost of this plan is in the region of £150k. Last year, we applied for £50k of grant funding to implement a first phase of this plan last year but narrowly missed out.
We are writing to you to ask you to consider supporting this plan with your own money. We are not asking for cash at this time, only a pledge that if the club can raise grant money you would be willing to put some money in to make the whole project fly. If we can reapply for grant money saying that the club community will front up a portion of the costs, then our next applications are much more likely to be successful.
Linked below are two documents the first gives details the ambitious refurbishment, and the second document has information on two different funding options on offer (a tax-deductible charitable donation or a repayable loan).
Refurbishment Plans for Squash Club (click to download)
Members’ Pledge Form (click to download)
Please take a look and give some real thought to how much you can pledge to your club – each according to their own circumstances. If we can get an average pledge of £1,500 per adult member split between loans and donations, that would mean an additional grant of £50k would get us to our target. Please fill out the Pledge Form and return it to the Club Treasurer.
Perhaps, like me, you will be thinking back on all the years of low, low fees and thinking about how much more I might have been willing to pay for all those years.
Let’s leave a great legacy for the next generation. Dig deep!
Stuart Elmes, Chair
On behalf of the Committee of Comberton Squash Club
