The membership fees are fixed by the majority voting of the club members. Every member of the club has the right to vote during the yearly held club conventions, to which every member is invited.

But please keep in mind that we do not have any sponsors yet, such as a Bundesliga club, and therefore all money spent by the club must be covered by the sum of the collected membership fees. If the income is insufficient, expenses would have to be cut, for example by reducing training or not spending funds to buy shuttlecocks/birdies.

Membership fees for the badminton department*

- € 18 per month (normal badminton fee) for: all self-earners from the age of 18.

- € 13 per month (reduced badminton fee) for: students, interns, pensioners from 65 years of age, ALG or ALG-2 beneficiaries, people without own income, as well as all members who are already members of another Sportclub of Berlin or Brandenburg.

- € 10 per month for: all people who have not yet reached the age of 18.

When joining the club, an admission fee of € 20 is due (exception: under 18 no admission fee).

* This information is subject to change without prior notice. Only the published fee regulations are binding.

The membership fees are collected every 3 months by direct SEPA debit, on January 10th, April 10th, July 10th and October 10th. That means, every quarter we collect 54 € or 39 € or 30 €, depending on your personal discount status.

The largest item in our spending is made up of shuttlecocks, at around € 30,000 per year.

Other larger expenditure items are the compulsory contributions to the umbrella sport organisations such as the LSB Berlin or the Badminton Association Berlin-Brandenburg BVBB, of which our association is a member. Depending on the number of members and the number of registered club members, this costs around 10,000 € each year.

Other regular payments:

- for the office organization and the trainers working in the club: approx. € 25,000 per year.

- for insurance, website, club administration and tax programs, appointment management software: approx. 1000 € per year.

- for nets, posts, duplicate keys, disinfectants, cleaning brooms and other material: approx. 1000 € per year.

In addition, there are other "smaller" expenses for notary fees, registry court fees, etc.

The total budget of the club has reached almost € 80,000 per year. This money has to be provided by all club members in order to keep the VfB Kiefholz running in this form.

A reduction of the fees would only be possible if, for example, the shuttlecock costs were no longer covered and each member had to take care of the shuttles themselves (which is the case in almost all other badminton clubs in Berlin, as a reference for a comparison!). Or by cutting possibilities to get coaching.

A comparison with the costs to play Badminton at a commercial sports center: 3 hours of play with 4 participants will cost around € 72 each time (!). In addition, the shuttles must be brought. A group of four will destroy at least one tube of 12 shuttles in 3 hours, so another 15 - 24 €, depending on the quality of the shuttles. 90 € for 4 - 5 people, corresponds to approx. 20 € for just one evening for every participant. If you would play just once a week, you would have to spend € 80 per month in this way.

So you see, it's a lot cheaper at our club (if you play of course and don't stay at home on the sofa).

This is due to the fact that we have a sports promotion law in Berlin, which entitles all registered clubs (e.V.), attested non-profit status plus attested sports promotion worthiness the right to apply for gym times free of charge. Our club complies to these conditions and has therefore been allocated various gym times free of charge. If we had to pay rent for the halls, we would have to pay a further € 150,000 per year! Only thanks to this sports promotion Act, and thanks to that club members who help voluntarily without getting paid (in administration, opening / closing the halls, organization, sports management and association work) it is possible to maintain such an advantageous offer to play Badminton.

This explanation is addressed to people who complain about "membership fees to high". It cannot be offered cheaper. Please compare our offer with other clubs, or with the cost to play at commercial sports centres, before such criticism is expressed.