We need a sustainable path to keeping kids in the game

The headlines are familiar and frequent: Australian families are being priced out of junior sport. The narrative consistently points to rising fees as the villain, with a predictable chorus calling for clubs to lower costs and for the government to step in. It’s a narrative born from a noble desire – that every child, regardless of their background, should have the opportunity to play.

But what if this narrative, while well-intentioned, is masking a deeper problem? What if the relentless pressure to keep sport ‘cheap’ is the very thing undermining the future of our community clubs?

This is a sensitive conversation, but it’s one we must have if we are serious about creating a sustainable and genuinely inclusive future for grassroots sport in Australia.

The Unspoken Reality: What Does Sport Actually Cost?

Before we can discuss what families should pay, we must first understand what it costs to put a child on the field, court or in the pool. A common perception is that a grass field is just that – grass. But the reality is far more complex. A safe, durable soccer pitch requires a multi-layered substrate for drainage, sophisticated irrigation systems (and the water to feed them) and a constant cycle of aeration, top-dressing and fertilisation.

Similarly, a tennis court isn’t a simple patch of concrete. The construction of a professional-standard court with appropriate surfaces and lighting can easily exceed $100,000. These surfaces wear out, especially in harsh Australian conditions, and require expensive resurfacing every few years.

These are the hard, unavoidable costs of infrastructure. Add to this the ever-rising price of insurance, equipment and uniforms, plus council leasing fees, and a clearer picture begins to emerge. While councils often provide facilities at heavily subsidised rates, they are not free. The Australian Sports Foundation reports that the average club is paying $20,000 more in annual running costs compared to before the pandemic, with nearly one in five at risk of closing down. [*Reference 1]

When we demand lower fees without acknowledging these real-world expenses, who pays the difference?

The Volunteer Crisis: The Human Cost of ‘Cheap’ Sport

The answer, overwhelmingly, is our volunteers. For generations, community sport has been built on the goodwill of mums and dads. They mark the lines, run the canteen, manage the finances and coach the teams. But this precious resource is not infinite.

Australia is facing a significant decline in volunteerism. [*Reference 2] The Australian Bureau of Statistics has noted a marked drop in the number of people formally volunteering, a trend accelerated by the pandemic. People have less free time and the compliance and administrative burdens on club volunteers have become immense.

When we artificially suppress fees, we are not eliminating costs. We are merely transferring them. We ask our already stretched volunteers to work longer hours for free, to fundraise harder and to absorb the pressure of keeping the club afloat. Many parents miss their own children’s games because they are stuck in the canteen or managing administrative tasks. Is it fair to ask them to shoulder the entire financial and operational burden of community sport? What happens when they inevitably burn out and walk away?

A Question of Value: Why is Sport Treated Differently?

This is where the conversation needs what I think is a critical shift in perspective. Many families pay for a host of other activities for their children without the same expectation of them being nearly free. A child’s music lessons are a clear example.

No one expects a qualified oboe or piano teacher to provide their expertise for free. We understand they have invested years in honing their craft and are running a small business. We pay for tickets to watch our children perform in orchestras and dance recitals, understanding that venue hire and artistic direction cost money.

Our children attend commercial indoor playgrounds, go tenpin bowling or play laser tag, and we pay the market rate without a second thought. Sports like gymnastics, swimming and tennis have long operated on a user-pays model with professional coaches and parents willingly invest in these activities, because they see the value in the expertise of the coaches.

Why, then, do we treat community football, netball or cricket clubs so differently? Why do we expect the parents who volunteer as coaches to do for free what we pay a music teacher to do? This isn’t about devaluing volunteers. It’s about questioning a paradigm that expects an $18 billion industry to run on goodwill alone. [*Reference 3]

The Path Forward: Run Clubs as the Businesses They Are

The solution is not to demonise revenue or to treat sport as a charity. The most sustainable and equitable path forward is to run our clubs like the not-for-profit businesses they are.

‘Not-for-profit’ does not mean ‘no profit.’ It is a business model where any surplus is legally required to be reinvested back into the organisation’s purpose. For a sports club, that means better equipment, safer facilities, improved programs and, critically, the ability to pay for professional administration and coaching where needed.

When a club has a sustainable business model, it can move beyond a total reliance on volunteers for day-to-day operations. The strategic direction can still be set by a volunteer committee, but the crushing administrative load can be handled by paid staff. This allows volunteers to contribute in ways that are fulfilling and impactful, rather than overwhelming.

Additionally, a financially healthy club can diversify its revenue. When registration fees cover the core operational costs, a reasonable user-pays expectation, then all income from merchandise, canteen sales, grants and sponsorship becomes profit. This is the ‘cream’ that transforms a club from merely surviving to genuinely thriving.

A Virtuous Cycle: How Thriving Clubs Create True Access

This is where we solve the access and affordability problem in the most meaningful way. A club that is run as a successful business, one that generates a surplus, is a club that can afford to be benevolent.

Instead of being crippled by demands to lower fees for everyone, these clubs can establish their own internal ‘scholarship programs.’ They can identify families genuinely struggling and offer them subsidised or even free registration, funded by the club’s financial strength. They can do this without placing more strain on their volunteers or compromising the quality of the experience for all members.

This isn’t a radical new idea. We see it in education, where schools use their resources to offer scholarships to students based on need or merit.

The goal we all share is to see more children playing sport, reaping the immense physical, mental and social benefits it provides. But a broke club helps no one. The path to getting more kids in the game is not to demand that clubs charge less, but to empower them to become strong, sustainable businesses. Shifting our perspective to embrace a business mindset is the most effective way to build thriving clubs with the resources to open their gates more widely to the community than ever before.