A male-only only tennis club is resisting pressure to allow female members, arguing Newcastle council is being "unfair and possibly discriminatory" in threatening to evict it from its courts.
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Adamstown Rosebud Tennis Club has attracted national media attention this week after the Newcastle Herald reported that leading Newcastle women's player Emma Pollock had complained to the council about the club's membership rules.
Tennis Australia and lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes have joined the fight to change what Newcastle District Tennis Association president Ellen Gordon labelled the club's "sexist" policy.
But club secretary Phil Baker has written to the council suggesting other "gender-specific" sports clubs are "not all that uncommon in the Newcastle region and beyond".
"ARTC would be interested to know if NC is aware of any other gender-specific sporting clubs in the Newcastle region, and in particular, those that manage sporting facilities on behalf of NC," he writes in response to a council warning letter last week.
"ARTC believes that NC's position on this issue could be seen as unfair and possibly discriminatory if NC is only singling out ARTC."
It is understood the council is writing to all licensees of council facilities seeking confirmation their membership rules do not discriminate on any grounds.
Ms Pollock said on Monday that she had found out the club's members received "heavily discounted" court hire which "females would never be able to access".
The club, under pressure from the council, started offering the discounted rate to everyone early this year.
But Mr Baker's letter reveals members are entitled under the club constitution to free use of the Adamstown courts when they are not booked.
This suggests male members continue to enjoy a financial benefit not available to women, something the council believes breaches the Anti-Discrimination Act.
The club's letter asks for a meeting with the council "to discuss and clarify the issues set out in the dot points below before formally responding to your letter".
The council says it has agreed to meet with the club president, but only to reiterate its position.
Mr Baker writes in the letter that the club has managed the courts for about 50 years and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars maintaining and improving them.
"ARTC has constructed new courts, a new club house, resurfaced courts and in the last few months installed LED lighting at a cost of approximately $50,000," the letter says.
"ARTC has been a social tennis club for males for the whole of its 50-year history."
The council's June 21 warning letter gave the club's executive 14 days to agree to "take a proposal to an EGM to amend the club's constitution" or it will not have its lease renewed.
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Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
