COVID-19 Daily Update

June 10, 2020 - 3 years ago

We are diligently following the advice of Department of Health (Australian Government) and Health NSW and Public Health Orders as to new we should take.  

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Updated Wed 10 June, 2020 at 3:40pm

WED 10 JUNE  (LEAGUE RE-START DATE ANNOUNCED): Today’s good news delivered by our acting Minister of Sport Dr, Geoffrey Lee is that senior community sport can begin on July 1, 2020. Phew. What a relief. 

The Public Health Order needs to be updated, and our venues need time to re-open. With the lead time considered, we anticipate most of our leagues will recommence from July 1 onwards. 

Our staff will be in touch over the coming weeks to confirm the schedule for our Summer leagues and again update the start dates for our Comeback Seasons. Our Sports Training Events will continue to run for the remainder of June. More to come. 

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WED 3 JUNE – 30 JUNE (LEAGUES CONTINUOUSLY PAUSED): Yesterday we welcomed the information that gyms, pools, saunas, studios and the like can open on June 15. We also welcomed the timeline announcing that junior sport can begin, but disappointingly, we as adults of NSW who play sport, were left without any information. We currently have no timeline, but it looks like we will not be able to schedule leagues this month. 

Although this is not Urban Rec's fault, we can't help but feel bad for not being able to provide a service you wanted back in March. So we have added eLeagues and FreePlay Sports Training events for a way to keep you active and social for the remainder of this month. 

Our Managing Director has also written a letter to the members, you can read that here. We are fighting to get a timeline, a date, some direction for our members. 

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Updated Thu 14 April, 2020 at 12noon

THU 14 MAY –  MON 25 MAY (LEAGUES CONTINUOSLY PAUSED): Urban Rec continues to pause all leagues and events at this time.Recent goverment announcements have started to lift restrictions. In NSW we are moving to  stage 1 from Friday May 15, 2020. Stage 1 still restricts community sport from operating, though sports training for groups of under 10 in outdoor areas is permitted. The goverment is set to review the progress of Stage 1 in 3 weeks. At that time, if we do move to stage 2, we will be able to commence leagues with obvious restictions and updates to our policies, including the introduction of a new Covid Clean Policy.

We are also following the Australian Institute of Sport Framework for Rebooting Sport which follow stages A. B and C as a guildine for individual sporting codes. 

Our Comeback seasonal start dates have been adjusted with these time frames in mind, with most of this season starting in July to allow enough time for our currently paused seasons to commence and finish. If you have any questions about your teams situation, please send us an email. 

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Updated Wed 1 April, 2020 at 7am

WED 1 APRIL – THU 14 MAY (LEAGUES CONTINUOSLY PAUSED): Todays announcement should come as no suprise that leagues continue to be paused at Urban Rec. We want to assure all teams that our plan is to continue to run leagues, once the government feels it is safe to do so. Our next update will be at the beginning of May. We have tentatively announced our next season start dates to happen in June, with the hopes to complete our Summer season as soon as possible. We have also updated our refund policy to help explain our position in this horrible time. Our members support during this period means everything. 

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Updated Tue 17 Mar, 2020 at 1pm. 

TUESDAY 17TH MARCH – SUNDAY 5TH APRIL (LEAGUES PAUSED): Today, we had to make the devastating decision to pause all leagues and events for Urban Rec in Sydney, Canberra and Newcastle.  This decision comes in light of the current situation with the coronavirus COVID-19, and our deepest desire to do what is morally correct for our members and the community. We will be sending out communication to all our members on Wednesday, 01 April updating everyone of the situation at that time. 

It goes without saying that our HQ team here in Sydney - Mads, Linds, Danny and Raj - are deeply saddened by the news that we will not be seeing your smiling, cheerful faces at our leagues over the next few weeks.  We will be working diligently in head office (or from a home office) think-tanking and brainstorming how to make your experience absolutely exceptional when we are able to welcome you back and start social sport again!

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Updated Mon 16 Mar, 2020 at 1pm. 

MONDAY 16TH MARCH (LEAGUES GOING AHEAD): If you have been travelling overseas as of midnight last night, you should be self quarantining for 14 days and and we ask you to not attend any of our leagues. At this stage, government has not closed schools or universities, but is asking all non-essential organised sporting events above 500 people to be cancelled. As our leagues and events have on average, about 30 people in attendance, we do not feel it is necessary to cancel these leagues or events. 

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Updated Fri 13 Mar, 2020 at 5pm. 

FRIDAY 13TH MARCH (LEAGUES GOING AHEAD): Today our Government announced advice to cancel gatherings above 500 people (this is not a ban). At this stage, they have not advised the general public to stop their usual activities like going to work, grocery shopping and attending recreational activities. With precautionary measures in place, Urban Rec activities will go ahead as scheduled and all Urban Rec policies will remain in effect including the default and refund policy.

UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES WILL LEAGUES BE PLACED ON HOLD?

1. If the situation becomes extreme, and small gatherings are banned (or advised to cancel) by our government.
2. If our venues decide to close 
3. If we are seeing a mass amount of forfeiting games, we may decide to pause leagues. 

In any case, if we do decide to pause leagues, we will ensure your games are played when it is safe and appropriate to do so. We will reschedule (not cancel) your games. 

WHAT IF YOU DON’T WANT TO PLAY AT THE MOMENT?

That’s completely your choice, and completely acceptable. Please work with your team Captain and let them know. If your team does not have enough players, and wishes to forfeit your game, please contact us ASAP [email protected] (Forfeiting a game, means telling us with enough time to notify the opposition, please don’t leave it to the last minute and leave your opposition hanging – a default. 

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A Note From Our Managing Director

June 3, 2020 - 3 years ago

Dear Members,

Yesterday we welcomed the information that gyms, pools, saunas, studios and the like can open on June 15. We also welcomed the timeline announcing that junior sport can begin, but disappointingly, we as adults of NSW who play sport, were left without any information. We currently have no timeline, no plan, no idea.

I am so disappointed. I am so sorry. We are ready to start, our staff are trained, our policies are completed, our equipment is clean, and our systems for monitoring attendance are better than many.

I am so sorry that we don't have more clear information from the NSW Government. I know over the next month you are going to become agitated as you start to notice your life going back to normal, but realise your sport registration remains tied up.

Our business is supporting our full time staff best we can - with and without government support - and I am nervous. I am nervous that we will be delayed till it's too late. I also want to get our Event Hosts back, they need us too.

Although this is not Urban Rec's fault, I can't help but feel bad for not being able to provide a service you wanted back in March. So I invite you to join our eLeagues and FreePlay Sports Training events for a way to keep you active and social.

I have contacted Dr Geoff Lee (Acting Minister for Sport Twitter, Facebook, Email), and Brad Buzzard (Brad Hazzard NSW Minister for Health Twitter, Email) who were in charge of making this decision. If your weekly community sport means enough to you, please send them an email, let them know you want information. Maybe they will change their mind, or maybe they will give us a date too. 

Regards,

Madeleine

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Urban Rec Sports Challenge Bingo

March 31, 2020 - 4 years ago

Well, looks like there is no sport for the next 30 days, but that doesnt mean you should stop living the Urban Rec life. We have created a FUN, challenging, and sometimes stupid, Bingo game to help you stay (slightly) fit, challenge yourself, and beat our HQ staff. 

You have a month to knock off as many of the Bingo numbers as you can. Tag us @urbanrecaus or #urbanrecbingo and we will repost your best work. It’s not easy folks, so it could take you a while to harness some of these skills. First to finish wins FREE rego for you and a friend in our Comeback Season!

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A Message From UR HQ

March 31, 2020 - 4 years ago

Covid-19 has rocked our team and we've been missing you over the past few weeks. We asked the HQ team about what Urban Rec means to them, how they started with Urban Rec, how they’re feeling about our current situation and their hopes for the future.

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How Urban Rec Is Keeping You Healthy: COVID-19 - Sports Club

March 13, 2020 - 4 years ago

We completely understand that the COVID-19 (coronavirus) is causing concern and uncertainty among everyone. We are diligently following the advice of Department of Health (Australian Government) and Health NSW and as to new measures we should take.

Today our Government announced advice to cancel gatherings above 500 people (this is not a ban). At this stage, they have not advised the general public to stop their usual activities like going to work, grocery shopping and attending recreational activities. 

With precautionary measures in place, Urban Rec activities will go ahead as scheduled and all Urban Rec policies will remain in effect including the default and refund policy. If the situation becomes extreme, and small gatherings are banned (or advised to cancel) by our government, we will ensure your games are played when it is safe and appropriate to do so. 

The decision to advise against mass public gatherings is one we understand, as those event attract thousands of people who are often required to travel to attend. 

Urban Rec would like to advise the steps we are taking to ensure our members remain as healthy as possible. 

• It goes without saying, if you are sick, stay at home and get better - especially if you have been travelling.
• If you don't want to shake hands at the end of the game, we understand - a fun and friendly toe-tap is a great way to show your thanks - or a virtual high-five. 
• We will be making sure work with our venues and keep everything hygienic and clean.
• Any bibs or equipment will be cleaned weekly
• We will be supplying hand sanitizer to each of our event hosts and in each of our kits 

Most of all, the best thing you can do to protect yourself from illness, is remain active and remain healthy. 

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Urban Rec Netball Etiquette

March 11, 2020 - 4 years ago

Urban Rec’s point of difference from almost all other sport providers, is that we care about the experience had by absolutely everyone involved within our leagues, including our staff.

As with all Urban Rec leagues, we do not tolerate dickheads. We are inclusive, and welcome all levels of ability, and as a consequence – we are pretty tough on any team or player who goes against our culture. 

To make things super clear, we have compiled a list of Urban Rec Netball player etiquette. Keep these points in mind, when playing in any of our competitions. It’s the Urban Rec way… 

DON’T

• Defend your opposing player face to face outside the goal circle, it's an old school netball tactic an it's way too intense for social netball.
• When defending a shot, if you lose balance, don’t use this as an opportunity to intimidate the shot. 
• Go for a pass like it's an AFL catch, if there is contact on a pass/catch like this, our Event Hosts will always award posession to the attacking team.
• If you are the team who hit the ball out of play, be the team to collect it. Doesn’t matter if it’s not your throw in. 
• Trash talk the opposition or your own team! Goes without saying. Don’t be a dick.  
• Make calls or question a call of one of our hosts – This creates a shitty atmosphere and ruins our staff members evening and other players evenings. Wait till quarter time and have an adult conversation about your concerns. 
• Don’t make passive aggressive calls under your breath, talk to your host at quarter time. 
• Be way too competitive that it could be mistaken as aggression.

DO’s 

• Always put the enjoyment and respect of your opponents, ahead of your desire to win.
• Remember your Event Host is not a referee.  
• Socialise with other teams, they are not the enemy.
• Be honest – if you stepped, or contacted a player by accident, step out of play and let the opponent take a pass.
• Support and coach players that seem to be struggling.
• Play to the ability of your opposition, give beginner players and extra second, but compete when you see a player who knows the game/rules well. 
• Win and lose graciously – its fine to be good and its fine to win, but don’t enjoy dominating a team so bad that it spoils their game (points for and against is NEVER used in our standings). Same goes when you are on the losing side, its fine to lose and it really doesn’t matter if you’ve lost so do so with a smile on your face, you can still have a good time surrounded by mates.
• Cheer for the opposition if they pull off something spectacular.
• Always shake your oppositions hands

Do you play in our Netball leagues? Do you think we have missed something? Is there any behaviour or bad etiquette you would like to see abolished? Send us a message. [email protected] or contact your League Manager.

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Price Increase 2020

March 10, 2020 - 4 years ago

Urban Rec has increased our prices this season, and we would like to take this opportunity to explain. 

As a club we have not increased our team fees after almost 9 years of being in business. In that time every over-head associated with running our leagues and sports club have inflated beyond what is sustainable with the current registration fee rate. Although the fee increase to our members happened from one season to the next, the costs incurred to us as a club has been rising for years.

On average the fee increase is $100 for the entire 10 (or 12) game season, in other words $10 per team per game. On average teams have a roster of 9 players per team, which means the passed down cost incurred by the average member it $1.10 per week. 

The three most obvious overhead increases are court hire, staffing and insurances.

• Court hire – Very simply the prices of fields and courts in Sydney have increased. Venue hire is a competitive market, and these venue’s have a monopoly. We do our best to provide the best venues for you guys, but field and court hire has increased annually.. What’s more we are one of the few clubs that will guarentee rained out, forfeited, or missed games are replayed. This is a cost we cost. 
• Staffing – Our event hosts are paid fairly, and are a valued part of the team. We believe we have the best staff in the business, and we will always continue to reward them for their time and investment. 
• Insurance  – Without insurance we are legally not allowed to operate, as the leagues grow, the member base grows, so do our insurance premiums. 

Although we are not technically a not-for-profit, our business model is run as such, with all profits re-invested in the club. We rely on volume and return customers - not high profits. 

We are really competitive when it comes to registration fees compared to the vast majority of our Industry. Our mission is to make sport accessible for everyone. 

The other stuff we do as part of your fees? Urban Rec likes to offer all kinds of free or discounted opportunities for our members, things like; UR Awesome, Pub Nights, discounts at clubhouses, free jugs seasonally, Pri-Rego Promo’s, FreePlay nights, and social events (which run without profit also). 

The bottom line is, we truly believe what we deliver to our members exceeds any of our competitors in the sport and fitness industry – and we will always continue to offer value for money for our members. 

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Urban Rec launches in The Shire

March 5, 2020 - 4 years ago

The problem with organised sport is that it’s full of douche bags and it’s normally not organised (the irony). Just because you were not destined to play for Australia, doesn’t mean you should have stopped playing. 

Urban Rec is a judgement free, beginner friendly, fun-first-no-dickheads sports club. Now we are coming to The Shire. An exciting collaboration with The Rec Club in Miranda, an influx of niche sports, and a sprinkle of crazy. 

These leagues are especially for the mother-funners out there that want to get fit, but not take themselves too seriously. Do not apply if you think winning at the expense of your oppositions enjoyment is cool. 

What is cool, is the new sports on offer;

• Wednesdays – Mixed Multisport (A potluck and a new sport every week)
• Thursdays – Mixed Dodgeball
• Thursdays – Mixed Hockey
• Thursdays – Mixed Euro Handball
• Thursday – Mixed Volleyball

The end result here is a enviable amount of incidential fitness, an affordable alternative to running on a treadmill, the opportunity to make new mates as an adult – yes that can happen – *gasp*. Oh, and you will remember why you secretly used to love chasing balls around – even though you have two left feet. 

Options glaore. You can pay a $150 deposit and lock in your team – or you can join as an individual and be matched with new friends, or you can bring a friend (for free*), and join a team together. 

Sport, for fun. 

*yes, for free. This season we are offering a ‘bring-a-friend-for-free’ deal to help make the decision easy. Pick a league and team, register – email us, and we’ll add your friend for free. TA-DA. 

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How to win a $1,000 Bar Tab

February 27, 2020 - 4 years ago

The problem is Captains never get the credit they deserve. They are always hustling to get everyone to pay, they have to do all kinds of horrific maths, and quite often they can end up short changed. WHATS WORSE, if you captain is disorganised they can miss out on rego, and you can be shunted from the league. 

Pri-rego is how we guarentee your spot. It’s ONLY for teams that play already and it’s a chance to lock in their spot ahead of the general public. It’s a good thing – but to make it better, we always try and reward the Captains that make the effort to be organised. 

THIS SEASON (AUTUMN 2020) WE WENT CRAY. We approached 10 of our clubhouses across Sydney and got you a $1,000 BAR TAB. There is only ONE, and last season we had only 66 teams using pri-rego, so your odds are good. 

How to enter

1. Use Pri-Rego, by accessing the link provided to you and your team mates in week 7, 8, 9 (no excuses for missing it)
2. Pay in full – sorry not for new teams or deposits
3. We will be collating your team name in a bucket, and on April 30*, we will draw and announce the winners. 

Can you enter late, if you miss the pri-rego deadline? No, that would be silly. 

Can you change into another league using pri-rego? Not techincally, but email us within your pri-rego period and we will see what we can do. 

This story is going to end very well for a lucky group of friends who will experience either a) the biggest day/night ever, or b) the most distance covered in a pub crawl. 

GOOD LUCK. 

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Urban Rec launches in The Hills

January 24, 2020 - 4 years ago

Big news for little ole’ Urban Rec. This year we have announced new sports and new leagues in The Hills. Based off our current members interests we have decided to launch with just a few sports. 

But even better than that – we have gone all out, and make our team rego fee’s HALF PRICE. Crazy. We are that sure you are going to love it. THAT SURE that you will be back next season, that we are doing this one-time offer. 

LEAGUES ON OFFER

• Mixed Indoor Soccer – 5 aside – $497 for 10 games
• Mixed Indoor Volleyball – 5 aside – $497 for 10 games

FREEPLAY EVENTS

• Volleyball FreePlay – Wed 29th Jan
• Soccer FreePlay – Wed 29th Jan

INDIVIDUAL REGO

As usual, we will be offering individual teams for both our leagues. This is also priced at a lower cost of $89 for the first season. AMAZING, RIGHT? Our indie teams usually fill pretty quick, so make sure you don’t miss out. You can read more about individual registration here. 

The rest, is still unwritten. 

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