We are extremely proud to be a not for profit membership organisation that puts every single penny back into our beloved game. Sadly, like so many businesses across the country, the financial strain caused by the pandemic stands to place considerable pressure on the sport we all love.
Right now, netball needs our collective support
As we look ahead to the 2020/21 season and the beginning of a new membership year, we are asking for support in sharing a united message – that with the help of our members, netball will #RiseAgain.
Introducing #RiseAgain
The #RiseAgain campaign is set to launch in early August to generate a movement of support for our sport. This movement is about rallying people together, enabling each and every one of us to celebrate netball’s anticipated return, and encouraging the Netball Family to renew their membership.
This year, when the 2020/21 renewal window opens for our members on the 3 August, and the #RiseAgain campaign launches, we are planning to do things a little differently. To simplify the process of renewing (for both club volunteers and players) we will email all members* directly on the 3 August to invite them to join the #RiseAgain movement and renew their membership for 2020/21. The email will include a payment link that they can simply click on to pay, without signing into ENgage.
The payment link that will be enclosed in the email will include fees for England Netball, as well as the region and county that they were a member of in 2019/20 (but will account for any category adjustments based on the age of the member in 2020/21 and will reflect any changes that the region and/or county may have made to membership fees). It won’t include any club fees. The email will explain all of this.
Additionally, if any members are planning to play in a different county or region in 2020/21 they will be able to flag this so that we can adjust their order accordingly. The details will be enclosed in the email.
Members can later top up their membership with a club, if a club chooses to collect club fees in ENgage.
Discounted membership
Many members of our Netball Family will suffer financial hardship this year and we want to play our part in ensuring everyone who wants to, can return to the sport. Therefore, in recognition of this, and to thank members for taking a leap of faith and committing to their 2020/21 membership to support our sport’s rise during such uncertain times, for a limited-time-only, England Netball will be offering a 30% discount** payable against the national element of membership to help ensure the whole Netball Family can get back to court. The email that members receive will include a code that they can use to claim this at checkout.
The membership discount is entirely optional, and where members are able to pledge the full fee to support the campaign and the #RiseAgain movement, this will go a long way in supporting the sport through this difficult period.
How regions, counties, leagues and clubs (and their committee members) can support #RiseAgain
Your help spreading the word will ensure that the key messaging behind the #RiseAgain campaign reaches as many people and rallies up as much support as possible.
Email, although a great digital tool, isn’t without its limitations and we just can’t reach everyone – therefore we ask that from 3 August you talk to people, share the campaign video, tell compelling stories about how netball has positively impacted your life and create a movement that we can all be immensely proud of. We will share campaign assets with you on 31 July that you are welcome to share as part of this on your channels.
Additionally, we ask that all membership organisations continue to talk positively about membership. The volunteer groups that work alongside our not-for-profit organisation (such as yours), work diligently to support, develop and protect the game, with our grassroots players at the very heart of all our endeavours. By working together in this united way, we really can make a difference to not only the game, but to the people who make and enjoy the game.
We often talk about “membership benefits”, but membership really does bring netballers closer to the sport, closer to their heroes, and closer to fulfilling their dreams – whether this is through the experiences they have in their club, or via our new Virtual Netball Club (which was introduced during lockdown to make sure members were able to take netball home during a period of suspension), the articles they read in the magazine, or the pathways they have access to. It unlocks access to so many experiences and opportunities that mould and shape people’s lives – whether that be as a player, a coach, an official or a volunteer. These experiences are designed to excite, elevate, educate and inspire. They help people become the teammate, the leader, the tactical thinker, the coach, the mentor, and the person they are today or want to be tomorrow, with increased confidence, skills, connections and character. We hope this resonates with you.
More information about membership benefits can be found here.
Next steps for clubs
We ask that, where possible, clubs check that members’ details are recorded correctly in ENgage, and when the campaign goes live in early August, that you ask your members to look out for the email.
Clubs can still create membership packages in ENgage if they want to, and these can include club fees. For clarity the #RiseAgain payment request that will be sent by England Netball to all 2019/20 members will not include club fees and we recommend that you collect these separately this year.
The #RiseAgain payment request will include the national fee, and the fee for any region and county that the member had a membership with in 2019/20. The system will only collect national, region and county fees once (so if a club does opt to create membership packages, don’t worry, a member won’t be charged the same fee twice).
You can find out how to create membership packages and how to allocate these to members, or make them available for your members to buy, by completing the questions below†.
#RiseAgain Care Package
Remember, the campaign is about netball’s rise, which requires each of us to work together to bring netball back, safely. You play such a huge role in this and we are here to support you.
With this in mind, the #RiseAgain Care Package has been designed to provide our amazing network of volunteers with all the tools and resources required to navigate back to court in these unusual times, from templates and guidance to test and trace procedures that you need to follow. Click here to see it.
Questions
If you have any questions, please contact us using this direct support form. We expect that our customer services team may be under increased load as we head into August, but we will always do everything we can to come back to you in good time.
*in the case of junior members, the parent or adult who purchased their 2019/20 membership
**Excluding Social & Supporting membership and all group memberships, including region, county, secondary school and college / university membership. Discount expires 30 September 2020 and cannot be applied retrospectively.
†If you wish to pay for your athlete’s memberships before we distribute the membership emails on 03/08/20, please follow this guide for adult athletes and this guide for junior athletes.