New Membership Applications

There are currently circa 600 members.  If you are a resident in Bearsted & Thurnham Parish you are eligible to join immediately, but non-residents may have to be placed on a waiting list until a place becomes available. A huge benefit at our Club is that once you have paid the initial joining fee of £25 per adult  for Playing Memberships (no Joining Fee for Juniors), plus the Annual Subscription Fee (see below), there are no further costs - not even any court fees!

THE MEMBERSHIP YEAR RUNS FROM 1ST MARCH TO 28/29TH FEBRUARY.
New members must pay the Joining Fee plus the full Annual Subscription Fee if joining between 1st March and 30th September.
If joining after 30th September, a proportion of the Annual Subscription Fee according to the number of months left in the renewal year, will be requested, plus the Joining Fee.
If joining after 1st January you will be expected to pay the Joining Fee and the Annual Subscription Fee for 1 or 2 months and also for the full year following. 

You have the option of applying for either a Playing or Non-Playing Membership, as described in more detail further down this page. Once decided, simply download the application form.

If you have any questions before committing to joining, please email our Membership Secretary.

Download Membership Application Form

PLEASE NOTE: This editable PDF application form must be downloaded and saved to your computer before you can complete it and re-save it, otherwise it will save as blank.

Membership Renewals

To renew your Annual Subscription you should receive an email notification from the Membership Secretary at the end of January each year requesting that you login to your profile on the website and follow the online payment process.  Please note you can also update your contact details when logged in. 

ALL ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FEES MUST BE PAID BY 1ST MARCH.

If the Annual Subscription Fee has still not been paid by 31st March that Member will cease to be a Member of the Club. If that person wishes to re-join the Club, they may do so by paying the full membership fee plus a Joining Fee of £25 per adult, if a vacancy exists.

If you wish to transfer your membership to a different type, please see the 'Transfer of Membership' section further down this page.

Membership categories & subscription fees

There are two basic categories of Membership: Playing and Non-Playing. Under the current Club Constitution and Rules, a maximum of 600 places are available for Playing Membership. The Parish Council approved this on condition that the Club guaranteed that Bearsted & Thurnham residents will have priority, and that there would always be places available for such residents. Places not taken up by Bearsted & Thurnham residents can be offered to persons residing outside the parishes. If there are no places available, non-resident applicants will be placed on a waiting list. Social members are not included in the limit of 600.

Playing Memberships:

FAMILY – £300pa (Plus £25 Joining Fee per adult)
A Playing Membership for husband and wife, partnerships and single parents and as many of their children under the age of 18* years, or those in full time attendance at a recognised educational establishment under the age of 25* years, as they wish to include.  On reaching the age of 18* or 25* years of age, as applicable, a child must take up Senior Membership in their own right. 

SENIOR – £150pa (Plus £25 Joining Fee)
An individual Playing Membership for persons aged 18* years or over.

JUNIOR – £40pa (No Joining Fee)
An individual Playing Membership for persons under the age of 18* years, or under the age of 25* years if in full-time attendance at a recognised educational establishment.
Please note:  The Management Committee reserves the right to ask for proof of full-time attendance at a recognised educational establishment, if aged between 18 and 24.

COUNTRY – One third of the appropriate subscriptions 
A Playing Membership for existing Members with full membership, who have had to move to a new home outside the Kent county boundary. The number of places available shall be limited to ten and will not be included in the total number of persons registered as Playing Members. Country Members may attend and speak at General Meetings of the Club but do not have a vote and are not eligible to represent the Club in league matches. 

* Age on 1st March of the membership year.

Non-Playing Membership

SOCIAL – £25pa
A Membership for persons who shall be entitled to use and enjoy the entire Club facilities and activities except the playing of tennis.

Honorary Membership

Honorary Life and Annual (Playing) Memberships are awarded at the discretion of the Management Committee and such Members have full voting rights.

Transfer of Membership

Playing Members may transfer at any time to any other type of membership, except Honorary, providing there are vacancies.  Members who transfer from a Senior or Junior Membership to a Family Membership, shall be liable to pay the difference between the respective Annual Subscriptions.  This does not apply, however, to individual Junior Members or to children in a Family Membership, who are required to transfer to a Senior Membership on reaching 18 or 25 years of age (as applicable).

Social Members wishing to transfer to a Playing Membership must apply in the same way as new members.

Waiting List

Residents of Bearsted and Thurnham are eligable to join the Tennis Club at any time.   Our Membership numbers are currently close to the recommended maximum number of  playing members per court, but at present, we are accepting  new Members who reside outside of the Parish.

When there are no vacancies available for non-residents at the time of application, the applicant may apply to be placed on the Waiting List on receipt of a, "Holding fee", of £25.00  This will then be designated as the, "Joining fee", when the applicant joins the club.  In the event that the applicant subsequently declines to join the club or requests to be removed from the Waiting List, this, "Holding fee", will be returned.

When vacancies become available, applicants will be invited to apply for membership, in strict order according to the date that they were placed on the Waiting List.  

When invited to join the Club, an applicant may opt to defer joining the Club for up to 12 months and will remain ‘On Hold’ at the top of the Waiting List. However, if the second invitation is declined, the applicants’ name will be placed at the bottom of the Waiting List.

Gate Keys

New members are issued with a gate key on joining.  Replacement front gate keys may be purchased from the Membership Secretary.  If you do not renew your membership or leave the tennis Club for some other reason, please return the gate key to the Membership Secretary.

Last updated: January 2024