As a valued affiliate of Tennis Queensland (TQ), the TQ Regional Members and TQ Board are seeking your feedback by Sunday 20 October 2024.
For background, the TQ Regional Members are your representatives, and they are currently reviewing the TQ governance model, specifically the structure of Company meeting representation (e.g. at AGMs and any other official Company meetings) and the voting structure used to elect Board members at AGMs.
TQ is a member organisation, governed by a Board. The majority of the Board (6 of 9 positions) is elected by Regional Members representing affiliates from seven regions across Queensland. These regions are listed below, along with the number of affiliates within each region:
Far North - 19 affiliates
North - 21 affiliates
Central - 30 affiliates
South - 29 affiliates
Sunshine Coast - 46 affiliates
Gold Coast - 28 affiliates
Metro - 60 affiliates
The intent of the review and any subsequent change(s) is to achieve a more robust governance and decision-making framework, ensuring TQ continues to align with best practice across the Australian sporting landscape.
It is important to note that any recommendations coming out of this member-led review will require Constitutional change, which is only possible through the voting support of your Constitutional representatives, the Regional Members.
This review is looking at a range of different alternatives to the present voting process. These options are listed further down this page. For comparison and to inform feedback, the following provides you with the current structure in Queensland, as well as the methods used in all other state tennis associations across Australia.
Queensland
Regional members vote at AGMs. Voting is weighted based on the proportion of the Queensland population residing in each region, as follows.
Votes are not distributed based on tennis membership or participation.
| Region | No. of regional members | No. of votes |
|---|---|---|
| Far North | 1 | 61 |
| North | 2 | 87 |
| Central | 2 | 101 |
| Sunshine Coast | 2 | 128 |
| Gold Coast | 2 | 157 |
| South | 1 | 66 |
| Metro | 4 | 400 |
| Total | 14 | 1,000 |
New South Wales
Affiliated clubs and life members vote at AGMs. Club voting is weighted based on each club’s number of registered tennis players, plus its number of tennis courts. Life members also hold 1 vote each.
| 1-250 players | 1 vote |
| 251-1,000 players | 2 votes |
| 1,001 or more players | 3 votes |
| PLUS | |
| 0-4 courts | 1 additional vote |
| 5-8 courts | 2 additional votes |
| 9 or more courts | 3 additional votes |
Australian Capital Territory
Affiliated clubs and affiliated bodies vote at AGMs. Affiliated club voting is weighted based on each club’s number of registered tennis players. Each affiliated body holds 1 vote.
Affiliated clubs and affiliated bodies vote at AGMs. Affiliated club voting is weighted based on each club’s number of registered tennis players, as below:
| Affiliated club with 100 or less registered tennis players | 1 vote |
| Affiliated club with more than 100 registered tennis players | 2 votes |
| Affiliated body | 1 vote |
Tasmania
Affiliated clubs vote at AGMs. Voting is weighted based on each club’s geographical location (country or metropolitan) and its number of tennis courts.
Affiliated clubs vote at AGMs.
Affiliated club voting is weighted based on each club’s geographical location and its number of tennis courts, as below.
| 0-3 tennis courts | 1 vote |
| 4-7 tennis courts in a country area | 2 votes |
| 4-7 tennis courts in a metropolitan area | 4 votes |
| 8 or more tennis courts in a country area | 3 votes |
| 8 or more tennis courts in a metropolitan area | 5 votes |
Western Australia
Affiliated clubs and associate bodies in WA vote at AGMs. Affiliated club voting is weighted based on each affiliate’s number of registered tennis players. Each associate body in WA holds 1 vote.
Affiliated clubs and associate bodies in WA vote at AGMs. Affiliated club voting is weighted based on each affiliate’s number of registered tennis players, as below.
| Affiliated club | 1 vote, plus 1 additional vote per 50 registered tennis players |
| Associate body | 1 vote |
Northern Territory
Affiliated clubs vote at AGMs. Voting is weighted based on each club’s number of registered tennis players.
Affiliated clubs vote at AGMs. Voting is weighted based on each club’s number of registered tennis players, as below.
| 100 or less registered tennis players | 1 vote |
| 101 - 250 registered tennis players | 2 votes |
| 251 or more registered tennis players | 3 votes |
To inform future discussions and deliberations, we kindly request each affiliate to select its preferred voting method in order from most preferred to least preferred, from the list below.
1. Weighted voting by regional members - maintain current structure
a. This option represents no change from the current structure.
b. Voting at TQ company meetings would continue to be exercised by regional members with 1,000 votes in total, divided amongst 14 regional members, representing 7 regions.
c. Votes would continue to be distributed amongst regions based on the proportion of the Queensland population residing in each region.
2. Weighted voting by regional members - reduced representation for Metro region
a. Under this option, Metro region’s voting percentage at TQ company meetings would be reduced from 40% to a lower percentage.
b. The total number of votes could remain at 1,000, with the redistribution of votes resulting in each other region receiving a higher percentage of the total number of votes.
3. Equal voting by regional members - equal number of votes per region
a. Under this option, all 7 regions would exercise equal voting rights at TQ company meetings.
b. For example, each region could be represented by 2 regional members, each of whom could exercise 1 vote (2 votes per region, 14 votes in total).
c. This option would achieve equal distribution of voting rights for each region.
4. Affiliate voting - weighted voting
a. Under this option, all TQ affiliates (currently 236) would be afforded voting rights at TQ company meetings.
b. The number of votes held by each affiliate could be weighted based on each affiliate’s number of registered tennis players, its number of tennis courts, or both.
c. This option would empower affiliates to participate in the decision making process at TQ company meetings, which includes election of TQ’s elected directors.
d. The determination of voting rights of each affiliate would require accurate and honest reporting of registered tennis players.
e. Practical solutions for managing voting by a large number of affiliates could include online voting and the use of technology during meetings.
5. Affiliate voting - 1 vote per affiliate
a. Under this option, all TQ affiliates (currently 236) would be afforded equal voting rights at TQ company meetings.
b. All affiliates would be permitted to exercise 1 vote each.
c. This option would empower affiliates to participate in the decision making process at TQ company meetings, which includes election of TQ’s elected directors.
d. This option would achieve equal representation of all TQ affiliates, regardless of their size.
e. Practical solutions for managing voting by a large number of affiliates could include online voting and the use of technology during meetings.
If you have any questions regarding this review or survey, please contact Darren Stoddart (darren.stoddart@tennis.com.au) or contact your Regional member from the list below.
| Region | First | |
|---|---|---|
| Central | Murray Whitbread | murray.whitbread@gmail.com |
| Central | Glenn Vickery | kimandglenn32@hotmail.com |
| Far North | Wayne Fielder | baselinetennis@gmail.com |
| Gold Coast | Leanne Evans | Leanne@possumbility.com |
| Gold Coast | Anastasiia Artamonova | anrom.a@mail.ru |
| Metro | Tim Low | baysidetenniscoaching@gmail.com |
| Metro | Ben Cooper | b.cooper@clubcoops.com.au |
| Metro | Steve Miller | Steve@ghrc.com.au |
| Metro | Adam Farley | Adam.Farley16@gmail.com |
| North | Phil Warburton | philwarburton74@gmail.com |
| North | Steve Merker | samerker@gmail.com |
| South | Carmen Rafter | carmyrafter@gmail.com |
| Sunshine Coast | Jason Reynolds | ttcsecretary8@gmail.com |
| Sunshine Coast | Adon Kronk | adon@ktacademy.com.au |
