The government has issued guidance document to clarify specific details about the changes to rules for exercise in public spaces.  Subsequently, the LTA have sought confirmation about how these rules should be applied to tennis in clubs across England.

The club now understands that “only singles can be played, unless all players are from the same household in which case doubles is allowed”. The government say, “these measures may come with some risk and it is important that everyone continues to act responsibly”. For this reason, the club must ensure that all the necessary procedures and systems are in place before opening the outdoor tennis courts to members.  

Full details about the new arrangements will be issued as soon as possible but in the interim we can give a summary of system that will be established to ensure that the risk for members is managed in line with government and LTA guidance.

A summary of the system and procedures agreed by Club Council are listed below:

• All playing members (including both tennis & squash) will be able play tennis on the outdoor courts until further notice.
  
  
• All members will need to book a court before playing – bookings for outdoor tennis courts will be free of charge. Members must not come to the club without a court booking. More specific and detailed explanation about the new booking system will follow soon and we are planning to have this ready from Saturday for bookings from Sunday onwards. In the meantime we will be operating an interim manual system for bookings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. More details on this will be communicated later today.
  
  
• When playing singles with someone outside of their own household, players must remain aware of the requirement for social distancing throughout their time at the club. Specific guidance about social distancing on and off court will be issued soon.
  
  
• When playing with members of their household, they can play doubles (up to 4 players on court). The requirement for distancing is different in this case but players should always remain aware of the need maintain 2 metres from players using adjacent courts.
  
  
• The club will suspend the normal arrangements for introducing guests (including family members) until there is confidence that the demand for courts from existing members can be satisfied. The club is still open for new members who wish to join.
  
  
• Demand for courts is expected to be high and so initially the club will be limiting advanced bookings by an individual member to 4 one-hour sessions per weeks. Members are asked to be considerate to fellow members by cancelling booking if they are unable to fulfil their booking for any reason.
  
  
• A limit on the number of times a member can play has been introduced to ensure that all members have an opportunity to play a reasonable number of times. Still at the same time the club wants to ensure that the usage of courts is maximised. To help achieve this, the club is implementing a late booking system whereby members who have already played 4 sessions in that week can utilise sessions that remain available at short notice.
  
  
• The clubhouse will remain closed and so there will be no toilet or shower facilities available for players at this time. Seating on the patio will be removed and players should not remain on court or around the general areas for too long after their playing session has finished.

Please understand that the club still has not received full guidance from the LTA and, until this is received and the club have had time to review it properly, it is difficult to be certain that we are in full complaince with all of their recommendations. In this respect, we are providing this information now in good faith to keep members appriased of the situation.

The club is asking that members remain patient whilst it reacts to the newly issued guidelines. Members can rest assured that it is the club’s aim to get the outdoor tennis courts back in action as soon as they can comply fully with the guidance given by government and the LTA.

Kind regards,

The Club Council