Case Study · Roller Sports
Eltham, Victoria, Australia
40 years of speed skating. One platform to run it all.
How a volunteer-run club in suburban Melbourne manages the journey from first-time skaters to World Championship gold — without losing a single record when the committee changes hands.
The club
Speed Skaterz was founded in 1982 as the Eltham Roller Skating Club. For over 40 years, they've been teaching people to inline speed skate out of the Skaterz Roller Skate & Blade Rink in Eltham, Victoria — about 25 kilometres northeast of Melbourne's CBD.
The club describes itself as family-oriented, and the range proves it. On any given Monday night, absolute beginners are learning to stay upright at 5:30pm while advanced athletes drill race simulations at 7:30pm. Wednesday sessions combine junior and senior intermediate skaters. Tuesday outdoor sessions run distance work on large concrete circuits.
Their pitch — “you can train as a hobby or train to represent Australia in the next World Championships” — isn't marketing language. It's a literal description of the pathway. Club member Daniel Greig won Australia's first Gold Medal and set a new 100m World Record at the 2019 World Roller Games in Barcelona. Head coach Andy Finster has accumulated 36 national titles and represented Australia at five World Championships.
Speed Skaterz is affiliated with Skate Victoria — the state governing body for roller sports, which provides TidyHQ Pro to all 53 of its affiliated clubs across seven Australian states and territories.
“Instead of juggling multiple roles, spreadsheets, and software tools, we now manage everything — events, merchandise, memberships, finances, meetings, communicating and reporting — from one easy-to-use, web-based platform.”
The challenge
Running a speed skating club sounds like it's mostly about skating. It isn't. It's about memberships — 22 tiers of them, spanning junior beginners, senior intermediates, family packages, non-skating members, and competitive athletes. It's about scheduling weekly indoor sessions across three skill levels, outdoor training on a different day, and competition nominations throughout the August-to-April season.
Before TidyHQ, the committee managed this across spreadsheets, disconnected tools, and institutional memory. The secretary tracked memberships. The treasurer reconciled payments. Events lived in a different system. Merchandise orders were handled separately. Meeting minutes existed in someone's email.
The real risk wasn't inefficiency — it was continuity. Community sports clubs lose committee members constantly. A secretary finishes a two-year term. A treasurer moves interstate. Each departure takes operational knowledge with it. The next volunteer inherits a folder of someone else's spreadsheets, half-remembered passwords, and no context for why things were set up the way they were.
For a 40-year-old club that has produced World Champions, losing years of membership records and operational history with every committee turnover wasn't a minor inconvenience. It was an existential risk to the way the club ran.
Five apps. One platform. Zero spreadsheets.
Speed Skaterz uses five TidyHQ apps to run every aspect of club operations.
Memberships
22 tiers — from $11 non-skater memberships to $104 family packages. Automated renewals through Stripe. Members join, renew, and update their details online.
Events
Weekly indoor sessions (Monday and Wednesday), outdoor training (Tuesday), competition nominations, and the full Skate Victoria season calendar.
Meetings
Committee meetings, AGMs, and governance records — all tracked and accessible to every current and future committee member.
Shop
Club uniforms and merchandise sold online. Members browse, order, and pay without the committee chasing anyone.
Storage
Club documents — constitution, code of conduct, policies, and records spanning the club's 40-year history.
The outcome
Speed Skaterz has been on TidyHQ since March 2020. In that time, they've processed memberships across 22 tiers and connected Stripe for automated payment processing.
The committee no longer loses information when volunteers rotate. Every membership record, every meeting minute, every financial transaction, and every club document lives in one place — accessible to whoever holds the role next. The club constitution, code of conduct, and policies are stored alongside operational data. A new secretary doesn't start from scratch. They start with a working system.
The broader context matters too. As one of Skate Victoria's 53 affiliated clubs, Speed Skaterz is part of a network where every club — from a 6-member regional group to a 186-member roller derby league — runs on TidyHQ Pro. The state body gets visibility across the sport. The club gets a professional platform without having to research, budget, or configure one independently.
“It has allowed us to eliminate the risk of losing information with the change of committees — TidyHQ has truly streamlined the way we operate.”
Why club admin matters for athlete development
From beginner to Barcelona
The pathway from Monday beginner class to World Championship podium only works if the club behind it runs well. Good admin isn't glamorous, but it's what lets a volunteer committee focus on coaching, not chasing unpaid renewals.
Family memberships that actually work
A $104 family membership covers the primary adult and their children. TidyHQ manages the pricing logic, Stripe handles the payment, and the committee doesn't spend Sundays reconciling who owes what.
Committee turnover without data loss
The average tenure of a volunteer committee member is two to three years. When they leave, the club's operational history stays in TidyHQ — not in their personal email or laptop.
Part of a bigger network
As a Skate Victoria affiliate, Speed Skaterz is connected to 52 other clubs across seven states. The state body provides TidyHQ Pro — the club didn't have to choose, configure, or pay for a platform independently.
Running a sports club on spreadsheets and good intentions?
Your members deserve a system that survives committee changeovers. See what 22 membership tiers looks like when it's all in one place.