Safe Tennis Guidelines at Abbeydale Tennis Club - 12th May 2020
The Lawn Tennis Association ( LTA ) have now issued further Safe guidelines for Venues and Tennis Players which we will share with you, our members.
The LTA “Guidance For Tennis Players” has now been published and we urge ALL members to read this document before playing tennis at The Club, along with our venue conditions below. This can be found can be found at
https://www.lta.org.uk/globalassets/news/2020/lta-guidance-for-tennis-players---covid-19.pdf
As an LTA Registered Venue we are excited to welcome members back to The Club, but we have been given our own “ Safe Tennis Return to Restricted Play Guidelines” by The LTA and are required to make all members aware of conditions under which we can reopen the outdoor courts.
Most importantly, is that we want to provide a safe exercise environment for our members to play tennis and have therefore made the following rule changes and conditions.
Facilities
- Initially, only Outdoor Courts 6, 7 and 8 will open and bookable during daylight hours. ( Court 5 to follow soon after further advice. )
- Venues have been instructed to keep Clubhouses closed, but we are allowed to keep the toilet facilities open during manned reception hours from 9am and close ( tbc ) for use if absolutely necessary, but it’s strongly recommended, if you can avoid using them, then it greatly reduces the risk of transmission.
- Currently Indoor Courts and Bubbles can’t be used and Clubhouse areas closed until further notice.
- The Club has implemented a “One Way “ system for players entering and vacating the courts to avoid any unnecessary contact.
GOING ON COURT - Players should enter the top courts via the main steps behind Court 7 and wait behind the floor barrier marking out 2m spacing until the court they have booked is free.
LEAVING THE COURT - Players should leave the courts ( turning right ) and via the smaller set of steps next to the office / reception.
This is clearly signed both on the floor and on laminated notices on the netting, as a reminder and it is important all members adhere to these instructions.
Health & Safety
a) Players should arrive at The Club ( or remain in their car ) no earlier than 5 to 10 minutes before their time of scheduled playing time.
b) Players are required to maintain the Government’s guidelines for Social Distancing at all times while at The Club and remain over 2m apart while playing tennis or waiting for their court.
c) Time keeping will be paramount, as players will be required to finish precisely on time and vacate their court immediately, without being asked to leave by players arriving at The Club for their booking.
d) Players arriving are required to wait outside the court perimeters, until the previous players have vacated the court. ( areas to wait have been clearly marked )
e) The Club will ensure that all touchpoint surfaces ( such as handles gate locks and gates ) are cleaned very regularly.
f) We strongly recommend members bring their own personal Hand Sanitsier, but The Club will also provide a hand sanitsier, which will be left by the gate of Courts 6, 7 and 8 and we have ordered a Court Mounting Device.
Tennis Activity
-Members can only play singles ( 2 people per court ) UNLESS players are all from the same family, in which case doubles can be played.
-No Social Tennis or Group Tennis Coaching allowed currently.
Coaching
-Individual Tennis lessons are allowed to return for both 1:1 ratio and 1:2 ratios only at Clubs.
-No Group Coaching or Social Groups allowed currently ( No Club Progarmme Coaching allowed as yet )
-Coaching restrictions to be decided by Tennis Coaching Director ( Josh Gledden ) as The Club recognises that the limited courts currently available, need to be prioritised for member use at this time. ( This may mean that not all the coaching team of 6 coaches are able to return immediately ) but we will ensure enough coaches are here to meet the demand for lessons.
Court Access
-Where possible, members are requested to park considerably to minimise encounters between members in the car park and entrances. Leave a pace between cars if at all possible )
-Wherever safe and possible Gates / doors will be wedged open during playing hours.
-Separate Entrance and Exit routes ( via different steps ) have been clearly signed and marked at The Club.
Two Metre markings have been made
Equipment
-Players should bring their own equipment and Club’s are not allowed to give / hire members balls or rackets.
Bookings & Payments
-Clubs to operate online booking system wherever possible ( Abbeydale has this in place for members )
-Abbeydale Members are encouraged to book courts online wherever possible through ClubSpark
-Court Booking Requests are available by e-mail and phone on Playtennis@btconnect.com or 0114 236 1838
Spectating
Although with a lot of people off work, it maybe temping to bring a family member to watch you play tennis, please can we request that members don’t bring anybody to the venue who isn’t playing, so we can successfully limit the people at The Club to just the players.
Communication
-The Government and LTA will obviously keep updating their advice, which we will publish in the NEWS section of our ClubWebsite at https://www.abbeydaletennisclub.com/news
If you need anything clarifying, please contact us ideally through e-mail on Playtennis@btconnect.com at any time, or ring 0114 236 1938 during office hours and we will be pleased to help.