In 2010-11, the Two Wells Tennis Club was in financial crisis and the council was threatening to close the club down if they didn’t attract some income quick smart. Like most clubs would know, fundraising usually requires a lot of ground work to raise significant dollars. Otherwise it’s usually something simple like a raffle or quiz night or sausage sizzle but results in smaller increases to the bank balance.
Marie Tapscott, Junior Coordinator of the Two Wells Tennis Club, described the moment she came up with a new fundraising idea, “I thought it was a pretty crazy idea and assumed everyone would dismiss it, but I was wrong!! They loved it!! It has been such a success we are now running it for the third time later this year. We call it ‘Running of the Balls’.”
The fundraising name is based on the famous Spanish festival ‘Running of the Bulls’ but has nothing to do with people running down the street in front of raging bulls. This fundraising event is far less manic and dangerous, and simply involves a truck and some tennis balls.
“We purchased 500 very cheap tennis balls from Cheap as Chips, got the tennis kids to number them from 1 to 500, then people from the club and community were able to purchase the numbered balls for $5 each. We had no trouble selling the tickets because it was very novel and intrigued people” explain Marie.
On the day of the ‘raffle’ draw, all the balls were loaded into the back of a small truck and then tipped out down a hill. At the bottom of the hill there was a finish line marked on the road and the first ball to cross the line won $500, 2nd won $200 and 3rd won $100.
Two Wells will be organising the ‘Running of the Balls’ on Saturday 15 October as part of their Australian Open Celebration Party. This party is part of their winning prize in relation to being aligned with the 2016 Australian Open Women Singles winner Angelique Kerber. They will also have the Australian Open trophies visit for the occasion along with a number fun tennis activities for everyone to enjoy.
Make sure you check it out and visit their Facebook event page.
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