[Un]reasonably outraged by unpaid Ballkids (Australian Open)
From the AO Ballkids social media. My son is on the right.
A little-known fact … The Australian Open Ballkids are not paid.
I tossed around whether I should write this but given the AO has just wrapped up, I think it is timely. Also, it’s not the first time it’s been raised as an issue.
First, let’s get a couple of things out of the way.
1/ The AO is a much-loved tournament. Not just tennis-tragics but Melburnians, interstate- and international-travellers love the atmosphere and the buzz that the tournament brings to our city. It signals summer. It has something for everyone and there are events, bands, kid-friendly entertainment, and activities all around the grounds. The ground passes are affordable and offer a fabulous family day out.
2/ I am very aware that tennis players working their way up the circuit invest huge amounts of time, commitment, and money to try their luck at this sport. And like many sports, the wealth comes at the top end, not in the bottom layers.
Now that we have those disclaimers covered, let’s get stuck into the outrage.
My eldest child participated in the program for two years running.
“How cool!” so many people said when he proudly told them he’d been accepted into the ‘squad’. It’s no mean feat passing the tryouts with their strict assessment criteria then attending gruelling monthly training sessions (which are graded) from March to October the year prior to the tournament. These are held at the tennis centre.
According to this article, “around 2500 kids apply to be Ballkids every year, with less than one in five of them actually successful.”
We were thrilled for him but a little shocked by the commitment, expectation, long hours and pretty stern coaching, particularly for the youngest in the cohort (12 year olds)!
My son hanging with Rodger. Yes, very cool.
Some kids (namely my second-born) wonder why anyone would choose to stand in the sun and roll balls all day for free. Well, the lure, aside from getting to be part of the program, is those show courts, where kids may be able to get the very special role as chief ball roller.
I say may because there are many more Ballkids than spots on those courts. My son did this program for two years running and he did have a chance to be on court with Rodger Federer. Pretty cool. However, they are not allowed to ask for signatures. They are not even allowed to talk to the players.
From the AO team themselves: “We do endeavour to give all of the kids opportunities beyond the tennis court, but we do have policies and procedures in place that all staff need to adhere to and that is the one concerning autographs.”
I’ve been told that this year, there are special iced water pumps that the Ballkids use to fill up the player’s drink bottles for them. The Ballkids are not allowed to use these same pumps for their own drinks. Are you getting the gist?
Here’s what the Ballkids received when my son did it a few years back:
Uniform, including shoes, bag and water bottle.
Ground passes and a double pass for Round 1, Tuesday night game in Rod Laver Arena. Note, you are not allowed to sell these tickets . If you are found to be doing this, your child will be dismissed from the program.
Daily meal allowance (it was $25 a day, now up to $27). This does not change if your child gets stuck on a long game and is there over more than one mealtime. When a salad wrap and a drink cost $18, it doesn’t leave a whole lot to fuel young bodies. They are expected to be sharp, focused and on-task for hours. The Ballkid area does have fruit and water, and sometimes other snacks (in my son’s years, there were Vegemite scrolls because Vegemite was a sponsor!) but if you were on an afternoon shift, most of that was gone.
A Coles/Myer voucher (was $80, now $150 MasterCard) to thank families for their commitment. This was helpful but we live an hour from the tennis centre, so petrol was a significant cost. We carpooled when we could but the likelihood of two kids in our area starting and finishing at the same time, was pretty rare. In the second year, my son used public transport a bit more as he was older and had some friends he could travel in with. Still, the AO does not provide Mykis or even negotiate “free public transport” for the two weeks of the tournament. Also, what about regional kids? If they’re selected, do their families pay to stay in Melbourne for the duration?
A ‘thank you gift’. At the end of the tournament the Ballkids are all thanked in a ceremony and given gifts. One year was an Adairs towel (a sponsor of the tournament) and a pair of Bollé sunglasses. The next year was a UE Boombox. Both decent gifts but surely these sports-loving kids would love a $500 Rebel voucher to spend as they wish?
The tricky part is families have to put their lives on hold for the entire tournament. Kids don’t get their shifts until the evening before so scurrying around to get your kid there on time, and then waiting around at home for open-ended shifts at the later part of the day all mean it is not just the child committing to this program, but the whole family. Sometimes pick up extended past midnight.
I realise this is a big deal in tennis circles, and I acknowledge that it teaches kids many skills such as punctuality and responsibility, reliability and work ethic. I’ve had people respond with “kids want to be paid for everything these days” when I voice my opposition and I’d like to clarify, I’d be as happy as Larry if they worked for free for a non-profit. For a competition that offers a record $86.5 million prize pool, I find it disappointing (actually infuriating) that offering Ballkids a nominal daily rate is not something that would be considered. There is also the issue of “child labour” and the laws and conditions surrounding employing children, which are all pretty much avoided by reclassifying them as “volunteers”.
Emphasis on the “opportunity” silences people. Speaking out is seen as extreme negativity. I didn’t want to upset my child or his chances to participate by questioning some of these policies, which is why it has taken me years to air my public objection. I concede that no one made my son do this, but such commentary is unhelpful. This is a huge, wealthy corporation and framing the role as a “privilege” these kids have been offered, loading them up with high expectations and not demonstrating a whole lot of appreciation is corporate abuse of power.
Interestingly, overseas Ballkids get paid.
Wimbledon in the UK, Ballkids are paid a fixed stipend of £200 a week for the tournament, totalling to approximately AUD$355.
US Open, Ballkids are paid USD$11 (AUD$15.90) an hour.
But as it is such a popular gig, the AO rely on an unspoken attitude of “if you don’t like it, there’ll be someone waiting in the wings to wipe the sweat of a b-grade celebrity, so suck it up, sunshine”. Maybe I’m so angered by this because it mirrors what happens in the creative world. Working for the exposure, or the “opportunity” rather than being paid appropriately for the value we bring.
Roll on.
What do you think? Should they be paid?
Kx
