TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP

Definitions
In this agreement ‘St.George Martial Arts Academy’ may be referred to as ‘SGMA’ or ‘St.George Martial Arts’. ‘Written’ refers to an ‘Email’ sent to info@sgma.au. ‘Probationary Period’
refers to the limited status of a membership for the first 30 days. ‘Cancellation Period’ refers to the status a membership enters from the date SGMA receives a written request to cancel. ‘Membership Fees’ refers to ‘Fees’, ‘Billing’ or ‘Recurring Payments’. ‘Getting Started’ items refers to purchases made to get started and do not include recurring membership fees. ‘Location’ refers to SGMA ‘branches’, ‘venues’, ‘dojangs’, etc. ‘Sessions’ refers to ‘classes’, ‘tuition’, etc. ‘Uniform’ refers to ‘Dobok’, ‘T-Shirt’, ‘Belt’, etc. ‘Membership Hold’ refers to a membership that has the status of ‘pause’, ‘hold’ or is an ‘Inactive Member’ not actively billing for an agreed period of time. ‘Active Member’ refers to a membership that is not on hold, paused or in arrears with overdue fees. ‘AUSTKD Registration’ or ‘AUSTKD Reg. Fee’ refers to the annual national body affiliation registration fee and includes ‘Player Accident Insurance’ or ‘PA’.

Membership Fees
All membership packages require membership fees to be paid fortnightly in advance via direct debit from either debit card or credit card only (BSB/ACC is not accepted) and this provides members with unlimited class access to our timetable; depending on your membership package level and age group will determine which classes you are eligible to attend. Members can upgrade their membership level from the date their request is submitted in writing, once their request is received, the new package level will commence billing at their next billing cycle date. Members can downgrade their membership level at any time by providing their request in writing and observing the 30 days notice to downgrade period. The next billing cycle that falls on or after the 30 day notice period will be when the direct debit amount for fees will change.

AUSTKD Registration
SGMA requires all students to be registered with (AUSTKD) Australian Taekwondo, the official national body in Australia recognised by World Taekwondo (WT) and Kukkiwon World Taekwondo Headquarters in Seoul Korea and the only Taekwondo (NSO) National Sporting Organisation in Australia to be recognised by the (ASC) Australian Sports Commission. Annual registration with Australia’s peak Taekwondo body ensures SGMA maintains high standards for child protection and anti-bullying best practices and provides members with fully accredited (WWCC) ‘Working With Children Checked’ instructors, staff and coaches. Compulsory annual registration with AUSTKD includes a ‘Player Accident’ insurance policy for each and every student of SGMA and is required for class participation. AUSTKD provides a basic and limited level of ‘Player Accident’ insurance cover, designed to assist members with potential out-of-pocket expenses that may be incurred in the event of sustaining an injury whilst participating in Martial Arts and Fitness training at SGMA that may not be covered by Medicare. AUSTKD registration is billed annually.

Direct Debit Request (DDR)
Membership Fees are received by SGMA via direct debit request (DDR) agreed to by the member when joining SGMA and are paid fortnightly via Mastercard or Visa, Credit or Debit
cards only and are paid via our secure and encrypted automatic billing system. Payment processing is handled via Stripe and paid to SGMA directly. Failed payments due to insufficient
or unavailable funds, expired or blocked cards, will cause the direct debit to fail and cause a membership to fall into arrears. SGMA reserve the right to recover the full amount of overdue fees at any time and without consideration to upcoming fees due. It is the sole responsibility for the member to ensure their card is valid and funds are available to avoid failed direct debit attempts and/or lump sum direct debits for arrears amounts. Please consider the most suitable fortnightly direct debit date when joining SGMA.

Probationary Period
When joining SGMA, your membership enters a ‘Probationary Period’ for the first 30 days and during this time your membership privileges are limited. Probationary memberships cannot be placed on hold or cancelled for any reason whatsoever. Upon expiry of your probationary period, your membership automatically becomes eligible for all privileges without limitation.

Cancellation Period
Members must submit their request to cancel in writing to info@sgma.au and allow up to 7 days for SGMA to respond and process your cancellation request. Members must observe a 30 day notice to cancel period from the date a written request is received by SGMA. In the event a membership was on hold and 2x fortnights fees were paid as a hold deposit, these funds held in credit will be applied as cancellation fees with no further fees due. Only memberships that are outside of their 30 day probationary period are eligible for cancellation. Cancelling a membership with SGMA verbally, via SMS, Social Media or in any other form other than in writing will be rejected and the membership will continue to bill accordingly until such time the cancellation request is communicated in writing to our official customer service email info@sgma.au; students can continue to attend classes during their 30 day cancellation period.

Membership Hold Requests
Membership hold requests will only be accepted if an exact ‘leave’ and ‘return’ date are provided with at least 7 days prior written notice. All membership hold requests must be accompanied with a direct debit authorisation allowing SGMA to debit 2x fortnights fees as a holding deposit. A hold deposit held in credit will be applied to the membership on the approved return date and once credit is exhausted, regular direct debit for fees will resume. Hold requests received later than 7 days prior to a leave date may be rejected. Hold requests received verbally, via SMS, Social Media or in any other form other than in writing will be rejected. Memberships that are in their 30 day probationary period cannot be placed on hold for any reason. Memberships outside of their 30 day probationary period can be placed on hold for up to a maximum of 90 days per calendar year. After the 90 day maximum hold period expires, the membership will automatically reactivate and billing will resume on the agreed and approved return date. No refunds will be issued to members that do not return to classes on the approved return date. If you wish to change your return date you must provide at least 7 days prior written notice of the change and in special cases a hold extension may be granted (supporting documentation required). Memberships cannot be placed on hold for a period less than 14 days and no longer than 90 days per calendar year and not more than twice in that same calendar year. Failing to meet our membership hold process guidelines will result in a membership hold request being rejected and the membership continuing to bill without refund.

Missed Classes and Attendance
No refunds will be issued for missed or non-attendance of classes. Attendance remains the sole responsibility of the member and memberships will continue to automatically bill on their fortnightly billing cycle, regardless of whether or not classes were attended. SGMA is not obligated to contact a member concerning their attendance or lack thereof and refund requests for retrospective student absence from classes will be rejected. SGMA memberships include the flexibility to attend any and as many classes on our timetable at any branch available at that time and relevant to your membership package, age group and belt level, providing students a chance to make up for any missed classes year round.

Branch Closure and Public Holidays
SGMA operate classes most days of the calendar year including official NSW School Holidays. SGMA does not run classes on Sundays and official NSW Public Holidays. SGMA is closed each year on Easter Saturday, Easter Monday, Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. All other days of the calendar year SGMA branches remain open for members to enjoy and make the most of their membership as we encourage students to make the most of their ‘Unlimited Classes’ membership access available across all SGMA branches during our open times.

Gradings and Belt Promotions
SGMA provides students a quarterly opportunity to progress to their next belt rank via belt promotion examinations also known as ‘Gradings’. Students are encouraged to attend each grading they are eligible for in an attempt to reach the goal of Black Belt and Beyond, instilling the ‘Black Belt Mindset for Life’ to all SGMA students. Students are required to attend a minimum of 80% of classes per quarter to be eligible and invited to gradings. Our Taekwondo and Muay Thai programs offer quarterly gradings with examination, certificate and Belt fees, applicable for eligible grading candidates. Instructors observe and screen all students prior to inviting them to gradings as we aim to set our students up for success.

Termination of Membership by SGMA
SGMA reserves the right to terminate a membership if a student is in breach of our club rules, code of conduct and membership terms and conditions. SGMA reserves the right to terminate any membership without prior notice or reason. SGMA does not consent to its members in the Taekwondo, Black Belt Elite or Muay Thai programs training under another club or Master without the express consent and approval from the SGMA Master. Failing to seek consent and approval to train at a competing club will result in immediate membership termination. A membership may be cancelled immediately if fees fall into arrears beyond 30 days and/or is abandoned; fees and legal costs will accrue and debt pursued by SGMA legal representation.

Collection of Children
We require all children in our Samurai (3-4 years), Ninja (5-7 years) and Shinobi (8-9 years) age groups to be dropped off and picked up from the doors of the dojang by an authorised parent or guardian only. We will not dismiss students in these age groups without parental supervision. A parent or guardian must drop-off and collect the child personally to and from our dojang doors and sign-off at front desk. This strict condition applies to all SGMA branches. Children in our Juniors program (10-12 years) are exempt from this rule, however they must not be left in the school grounds outside of SGMA class times and parents must provide written authority for Juniors to make their own way home by sending an SMS to 0404 778 330. Students traveling to and from SGMA branches remains the sole responsibility of the parent/guardian and failing to adhere to this important condition may result in membership termination.

Digital Content of Children
SGMA do not permit cameras of any type to be used inside the club by anyone other than authorised SGMA Staff. Strictly no unauthorised image or video capture is permitted to take place in any areas of the dojang and in connection with SGMA facilities. When using digital content of a child for promotional purposes, SGMA will not name or identify the child or publish personal information and we will only use digital content of children that is relevant to the club’s activities. Please advise us in writing if you do not consent for your child to be included in our content.

Indemnity Waiver
I hereby assume all of the risks of participating in this activity offered by SGMA, including by way of example and not limitation, any risks that may arise from negligence or carelessness
on the part of the persons or entities being released, from dangerous or defective equipment or property owned, maintained or controlled by the club or because of their possible liability without fault. I certify that I am physically fit and/or have not been advised to not participate by a qualified medical professional. I certify that there are no health-related reasons or problems which preclude my participation in this activity or event. I acknowledge that this Accident Waiver and Release of Liability Form will be used by the event holders, sponsors, and organisers of SGMA and that it will govern my actions and responsibilities at said activity or event. In consideration of my application and permitting me to participate in this event, I hereby take action for myself, my executors, administrators, heirs, next of kin, successors, and assigns as follows: (a) I WAIVE, RELEASE, AND DISCHARGE from any and all liability, including but not limited to, liability arising from the negligence or fault of the entities or persons released, for my death, disability, personal injury, property damage, property theft or actions of any kind which may hereafter occur to me including my traveling to and from this activity or event, (b) I INDEMNIFY, HOLD HARMLESS AND WILL NOT SUE the entity and/or persons organising this activity or event and waive them from any and all liabilities or claims made as a result of participation in this activity or event, whether caused by the negligence of release or otherwise.

Communication
I understand and acknowledge that by joining SGMA, I will receive communication via Social media, Email, SMS, Phone, Post and any other form of communication not stated herein. I hereby understand and accept the terms and conditions of joining (SGMA) St.George Martial Arts Academy and agree to abide by them when and understand the terms and conditions herein are subject to change at the discretion of SGMA.

 

Declaration

I understand and accept the terms and conditions of joining St.George Martial Arts Academy (SGMA) and understand they may be subject to change at the discretion of SGMA.​
 

Copyright © 2016-2025 St.George Martial Arts Academy. All Rights Reserved. Last updated 22-05-25.

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