Applications for a lottery to be placed on the waiting list for membership are accepted by the Club every second year during a period that will be announced on the website.  

The Sycamore 2024 waitlist lottery is now closed. Thank to you to all who applied and we hope to hold the lottery at the mid March meeting. All those who applied will be informed of the results. Another lottery will be held in January 2026.  Check the website then for information about applications and open houses.  

The questionnaire must be completed on line and an application must be filled out and submitted to the Membership Secretary at the address listed on the form. Note that applicants are required to include the name of a sponsoring Club member on the form and the sponsor must sign the form. The completed form may be mailed, delivered by hand, or emailed as an attached pdf  to the Membership Secretary during the application period. The Membership Secretary will not "hold" an application submitted from any other date. If the total number of applications collected is greater than the number of membership vacancies for that year, the applications will be entered into a lottery process, on a date determined by the Membership Secretary, generally at the April meeting of the Club.

All applicants will be notified promptly as to the results of the lottery. Successful applicants will also be informed as to their position on the Club Waiting List, and be required to pay a one-time, non-refundable Waiting List Initiation Fee, due within 30 days of notification. Applicants who do not pay the Waiting List Initiation Fee will be removed from the Waiting List and the next applicant, as determined earlier by lot, will be added. In addition, applicants on the Waiting List will pay a Waiting List Annual Fee each subsequent year until becoming a member.

The Club’s monthly newsletter, The Sycamore Islander, is emailed to all members, including those on the Waiting List. While on the Waiting List, applicants have the opportunity to participate in Club meetings, work fests and special events, and may also purchase a Waiting List Pass. The Waiting List Pass entitles the holder, immediate family and up to 4 guests to use the Island on weekdays May through October (excluding national holidays), and 7 days a week November through April. An applicant on the Waiting List must have attended a Club Orientation to purchase a Waiting List Pass.

Prior to Club admission, Waiting List applicants must become “Qualified Applicants” by completing the following: (1) attend a supervised Orientation sponsored by the Club; and (2) procure two letters of recommendation from existing members who are not immediate family members nor the member who sponsored their application. Waiting List applicants who do not become Qualified Applicants by the time they are offered membership will be removed from the Waiting List. A Qualified Applicant who is offered Club membership and declines the offer will be removed from the Waiting List. A Qualified Applicant who is out of the DC metro area at the time membership is offered may begin Club membership as an Inactive Member. New members will pay an Initiation Fee and pro-rata Dues for the year of admission.