Become a member

What to do if I want to become a member?

• If you like the training and you think it would be fun to play handball, register online via this link.

How much does it cost?

Contribution fee

• Each member plays in a specific category. The age on December 31st of the year in which the membership year begins determines the category in which the member plays.
• The total membership fee varies by category. These categories are established by the Dutch Handball Association (NHV).
• It can happen that a youth member plays in a different category than their age indicates. The membership fee is determined based on age and is therefore independent of whether a member plays in a different category.

• Recreational members who also train with the seniors pay an additional fee of € 50.00.
• Members who join during the season pay on a pro-rata basis. This means that the membership fee is recalculated for the remainder of the season.
• The handball season runs from August 1st to July 31st. The field season starts in August, the indoor season starts after the autumn break, and the second half of the field season begins in March/April. Usually, the field season ends around early June, followed by several tournaments.
• At the beginning of the season, many members join late or postpone registration until the indoor competition starts. For these members, we still need to pay the NHV costs just like we do for members who are registered for the entire year. For this reason, members who join before November 1st, pay the full annual membership fee. From November 1st, the prorated fee applies as it does currently.

Hall fee

• For the teams that structurally train in the hall two or more times per week throughout the season, there is a hall surcharge of €50.00 per season. This surcharge is used to provide the respective teams with the best possible training.

How do I pay?

• Before the new season starts, or as soon as you have been registered, the membership administration will send you an email containing the invoice as well as the dates at which your account will be charged by the ING bank.
• In case you chose for us to automatically charge your account, and this fails for some reason, we may include a penalty of € 5,00 the next time we try.

Ooievaarspas

• If you have access to the Ooievaarpas, the reduction pass offered by the city of The Hague, please make sure you explicitly mention this on the registration form. You will receive a discount on the contribution fee. You can find more information about this pass in English here.
• When a child has received the Ooievaarspas, it’s possible to request materials through Stichting Leergeld Den Haag. Please check their site for more information.

Membership obligations

Hercules is an association and not a company. This means that all tasks at Hercules are done by volunteers. We expect every member and/or parent (of children until B) to contribute to this. The standard is that everyone works a bar service a few times a year. However, much more needs to be done to keep the association going. You can think of training, coaching, becoming a member of a committee, etc. For all vacancies you can look at: I become voluntaryer. If you are interested, please contact the volunteer committee: volunteers@hercules-handbal.nl

Certificate of Conduct (VOG)

• For every volunteer that works with juvenile members, Hercules will request an official Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent Gedrag, or VOG, in Dutch). Next to the Golden Rules of Hercules, this VOG serves as one of the measures we take to ensure our club provides a socially safe environment for practicing sports, in particular for minors.

How do I cancel my membership?

• Your membership continues until you formally request a cancellation.
• The handball season runs from August 1^st until July 31^st, so the membership administration needs to receive your cancellation before May 31^st. You can do that by email through ledenadministratie@hercules-handbal.nl.
• As of June 1^st, the membership administration will sign up all members at the handball federation and determine the budget for renting the sports hall at Boswijk that season. This budget is then used to build a training schedule that provides sufficient room for all teams to practice. Because of this, cancelling your subscription after May 31^st means you will need to pay for the entire season.

I am injured. Now what?

• Make sure you report this injury to the membership administration as soon as possible.
• When you’re injured, the first three months are at your own risk. After that, we can change your status to a non-playing member, which will reduce the contribution fee significantly.
• As soon as you have recovered and want to play again, let the membership administration know about it.

The High Five of Hercules