IRTPA

New Trainee Professional role at Ballarat Tennis Club – Invitation to apply

The management committee at the Ballarat Tennis Club (BTC), is seeking to recruit an interim (6-month) Trainee Tennis Professional, to join the team and play a key role in all aspects of real tennis activity at the club. The role is an integral part of a multi-year growth strategy being initiated at BTC, to help the club achieve its full potential as a thriving regional real tennis club.

Ballarat is a large regional city in Victoria, Australia. The city has a vibrant arts and cultural life, pleasant garden-city streetscapes and some of Australia’s finest heritage architecture, thanks to being at the center of Victoria’s 19th century gold rush. Ballarat is only a little over 1 hour’s journey from the state’s capital city Melbourne via a fast train service, and less than two hours drive. The Ballarat Tennis Club building was built just over 40 years ago, and the real tennis court and clubrooms are in good condition. They are well located in Ballarat itself, a short drive from the CBD and in pleasant surroundings adjacent to a hotel and convention centre and the Canadian Creek nature reserve. The club enjoys a strong relationship with the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club (RMTC) and Australia’s other real tennis clubs, with an existing calendar of many inter-club visits and tournaments.

Working in concert with the member-run BTC management committee, the successful applicant will be involved in key aspects of running the club and must ensure that every member or guest has a great experience every time they visit BTC. Alongside the requirement to coach players, mark matches, make balls and repair and maintain racquets, they will need to be actively involved in promoting the game and club, working with the BTC Committee. Key attributes will be a strong work ethic, enthusiasm, integrity, flexibility and drive to work both independently and as part of a team to achieve shared goals. While the role is focused on the tennis component of the club, working in concert with the relevant BTC Committees to ensure a well-presented, effectively administered club with enjoyable social events are also important aspects.

The remuneration package will include an incentive-driven component, rewarding high levels of court utilisation. The precise details will depend upon experience, qualifications and skills. For the initial months of this role, mentoring from former real tennis world champion and highly esteemed Professional Chris Ronaldson will be available, remotely from Sydney. Considerable court practice time will be made available to improve your own real tennis game. For non-local applicants, billeting can be arranged for an initial period in the role.

For talented amateur real tennis players who believe they may be a good fit for this role – BTC encourages you to apply, as we have already established with ARTA there is a process for amateur players to undertake this role as an interim position, then return to amateur status after a 6-month period should you not continue as a tennis professional.

Please register interest by contacting the BTC President, Patrick Sunter, on committee@ballarattennisclub.com.au to receive a more detailed job description. Applications to the same email address must be received by email by 6pm AEDT on Fri the 28th of February 2025. Interviews will be in person or online via Google Meet, ASAP after that date.