An Australian sporting club has come under fire for their response to a woman requesting membership and access to its facilities.
“They told me, ‘If your husband joins, then you can play’,” the woman told News Corp, about The Sandringham Club in Bayside Melbourne, where only men are allowed to become members.
“They said he would then need to be there when we played and that we wouldn’t be allowed on court without a male presence basically.”
“My husband doesn’t even play tennis,” she added. “I think it’s ridiculous that someone who doesn’t even play the sport would be allowed to join, just based on sex, but the person who actually does play, couldn’t join.”
The Sandringham Club features tennis courts, a cricket pitch, lawn bowls facilities, squash courts, bars and access to some of Victoria’s best golf courses.
Their website says “partners and families of members are welcome at the Club” and that “members can use the sporting facilities with their partners and families whenever they are available.”
On The Sandringham Club Instagram page, women and girls are regularly shown in the photographs, using the sporting facilities.
It’s been reported that many of the locals aren’t aware that the Club is classified as a private men’s sporting club, as the public persona is that the facilities are open to everyone.
Another local spoke to News Corp, saying “I honestly couldn’t believe it when I saw it online, on their website, I was so taken aback.”
“I think if the broader Bayside community knew about this, there would be an uproar,” the person said.
Sandringham Club president Dr Ian Irvine defended the club’s practices, saying: “The Sandringham Club has a long history as a men-only members’ sporting club established in 1912 with a strong focus on tennis and squash.”
“While this tradition has been a defining feature of the club for over a century, we are committed to evolving to better serve the broader community,” said Dr Irvine.
Private clubs in Victoria are permanently exempt from the Equal Opportunity Act, with The Sandringham Club incident sparking debate over whether men-only clubs should be allowed.
Two months ago, a men-only club in Tasmania voted that women should be allowed in the club as long as their male partner accompanies them. There was much debate surrounding the incident, as men do need designated spaces to connect, however the “conditional aspect of allowing women” into that space can work to perpetuate inequality.
Responding to the Sandringham Club, the Victorian Minister for Women, Natalie Hutchins has said men’s only organisations are a “relic of the past” and “from a time when women were confined to the home and excluded from participating fully in society”.
“In 2025, this is a world that should stay in the past,” she said.