An all-male inner-city tennis club says women are welcome to join, even though it has not had any female members in living memory.
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Newcastle Tennis Club has been playing on the city's only public lawn tennis courts at Centennial Park, Cooks Hill, since 1909.
The club leases the two courts off Newcastle council, which has been exerting pressure on the male-only Adamstown Rosebud Tennis Club to admit female members since receiving a complaint from leading Newcastle player Emma Pollock.
Another female player, who spoke to the Newcastle Herald on the condition of anonymity, said Newcastle Tennis Club had been operating like a private club for "wealthy men".
She said it cost outsiders $215 an hour to play on the courts, which effectively meant the community was excluded from using them.
"I have been walking past there for the past nine years through that park on a daily basis. Whenever they're playing, there's not a woman in sight," she said.
If anyone would like to join us, they are more than welcome, whether they are male or female or any other gender.
- Club president Trevor Anderson
Club president Trevor Anderson said NTC's constitution was not gender-specific, did not forbid women from joining and mirrored "almost word for word" the model constitution on the NSW Fair Trading website.
He did not know if the club had ever had female members, but some had been invited to join, including one as recently as two weeks ago.
The club's members pay $100 a year and $20 to play on Wednesdays or Saturdays.
"We only play on them two afternoons a week, and if anyone would like to join us on those two afternoons, they are more than welcome, whether they are male or female or any other gender," Mr Anderson said.
He said the courts were prepared by a contractor who had to mow, roll and mark them and put up net posts, then remove the nets, posts and lines afterwards.
The contractor provided casual players with a quote for this work, which he said could be more than $215.
Mr Anderson said the club usually had no more than 30 members. It had vacancies after five members died last year. No women had applied to join the club in his 12 years as president.
"That's why I keep inviting them. Please, come and have a hit and put an application in," he said.
"So far we haven't had too many takers. Our facilities aren't wonderful.
"Yes, we do have male members. Most of them are pretty old, so the the younger girls aren't really attracted there.
"The older ones usually don't want to pay $20 to pay, and they may take that as feeling not welcome, but that's what everyone else who comes to the club is told.
"That's the problem that we have. If a lady comes along and she wants to join, at the moment she has to come and play with the men.
"The majority of women, when they get into the older generation, they just like to have a hit with the ladies."
The female player said she had complained to the council and the minister for local government six years ago about how difficult it was to access the courts.
She believed the courts should be converted to synthetic grass to make them more affordable.
"They should be available to everybody; not to an exclusive club. You never see anyone outside the club members that play on it.
"How could anyone, the general public, afford those [hiring] fees? That shouldn't be allowed by the council."
She said that, in practice, the club had not encouraged women to join.
"It's known as a club that is men only. I don't have a problem with men's-only clubs, but not when they're council-owned courts.
"It's just a group of wealthy men who play on that court."
The council is writing to clubs to make sure their rules do not discriminate.
"We are very happy to work with any clubs that have outdated constitutions and potentially discriminatory practices to assist them in amending their processes to ensure fairness and equality," lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.
"I personally haven't been approached about Centennial Park, however, our policy is clear and our approach will be consistent as these issues arise.