Why is there a waiting list?
The View Ridge Swim and Tennis Club Articles of Incorporation limit the membership at 480 families. (A special membership meeting in January of 2001 resulted in a change in membership rules. The club does not plan on reaching the maximum; it does give us some flexibility.) For most of its history, VRSTC was under the limit and new members joined easily. About 20 years ago these summer facilities became increasingly popular and there were more wishing to join than there were members wishing to sell. The club decided that it would be only fair to establish a wait list so that those showing interest earliest would get the first chances to join.
How is the waiting list maintained?
First, a quick explanation. VRSTC is a membership club; that is, it is owned by its members. They hire a manager and other staff, but many of the functions are taken on by volunteers who are elected to the Board of Directors with various duties. The Membership Chairperson serves a two year term and puts in many hours without compensation - usually after putting in many hours at his or her "day" job. When the list was small it was kept on a word processor. For the past eight years it has been kept on a database which documents not only names, addresses, and phone numbers, but the date the family joined the waiting list.
What changes in procedures have there been over the years?
As the waiting list increased in size, changes had to be made. The Membership Chairperson was becoming swamped with calls. People on the list were becoming increasingly nervous about their status. It was becoming difficult to varify when families joined the list. Finally, the list was becoming fairly "uncertain." Many on the list had moved or no longer cared about membership. When it came time to make a call extending an invitation to join, it took days and weeks to work up the list. Occassionally it would take until the middle of July before the turnover was completed.
The Board of Directors instituted a new policy. Postcards were sent out to everyone on the waiting list asking that a wait list varification card and payment be returned. The "waiting list" fee was prorated depending on years on the list and $25 fee was established for new applicants. The fee serves several purposes. It allows for a "paper trail." A canceled check will become proof of being on the list. It helps insure that those on the list are serious. And it provides some funding for yearly mailings of postcards giving the waiting list status. It also provides mailings of the club newsletter, the Pool Cues, to the first 50 (or so) on the waiting list. We find this really helps both the club and new members when they finally get in. (By the way, the original postcard project involved up to three attempts to get ahold of those on the original list. The list was upgraded based on response, but the original names were kept just in case. We knew that some people just wouldn't get the word.)
In late 1999 the wait list fee was increased to $50 in hopes of reducing its growth.
How come our wait list number goes up?
This can happen, but it will be rare. As we state in the previous answer, our intention was never to "trick" people into a smaller list. The original postcard project would miss some people for a number of reasons. A change of address was the most common. Remember, we have a record of when they originally joined the list. We have had calls from some who say they remember getting on the list and we don't have record. We are clear in these cases. Show us the canceled check and we'll take action.
Fortunately, most of these changes have affected few of those on the list. Anticipating that there would be situations in which families didn't receive the original postcard, we had inserted some "spacer" names. These were removed this summer so most of you should have seen some "abnormal movement." People from the early waiting list might still resurface, but we anticipate very few. Again, if they aren't on the database, they must show a canceled check to prove their case.
How long will I be on the list?
We really don't know. Every year is different. We average around 20-25 new members each season. We can go beyond these numbers up the waiting list to get families who are still interested in joining. (Before the postcard project, we would have more rejections than acceptances. The trend seems to be towards a more stable waiting list.)
OK. I remember economics. We have a case of too much demand for too little supply. The answer is easy, right? Increase the cost to join until there is a much smaller list.
This would be an easy solution and make the club a lot of money. However, it would also change the basic nature of this institution. VRSTC is a family club which takes pride in a wide variety of definitions of a family. Rationing VRSTC memberships to those who have the abillity to pay whould change the essence of our club.
Please let us know if you have any other questions. We will add the Q and its A on this page.