Hello again. I hope you are all well. It's been a long seven weeks now since we had to take the unprecedented step to close the Club. At last we have some changes to the Lockdown rules that explicitly allow us to partially re-open from tomorrow, 13th May. Understandably, this needs to come with many 'strings attached' to ensure that we conform with Government's new rules and protect ourselves and each other from virus transmission.

We have had very little time between the Sunday and Monday announcements to digest the changes and translate this into what this means for those who want to, or are allowed to, get back on court. Fortunately, the Management and Tennis Committees had made a head start on what measures were likely to be needed for re-opening but as you can appreciate, there was still some last-minute 'tweaking', debate, and decision-making required. I thank them on your behalf for their efforts.

Kent League matches are cancelled for the summer. Other leagues are under review for this period but are very unlikely to go ahead. After consultation with the members we sadly have to cancel our Club Tournament. There will be no Social Tennis until further notice. Of course, we would love to organise some kinds of event as soon as changes in restrictions allow.

Below is a set of rules that we believe to be appropriate and necessary to minimise risk of virus transmission. We trust each member to respect these as a condition of playing, to self-police and politely remind others who may be seen to be not adhering. We also recognise and respect that there may be some members who do not wish to play yet, either due to perceived personal risk or risk of unknowingly passing the virus to others. For our more senior members, or those classified as vulnerable, we believe that it should be a personal choice as whether to play or not.

1. The clubhouse lounge, bar and kitchen remain closed. Toilets and handwashing will remain open, but not for changing or showering. You must not congregate in the foyer. If you prefer not to enter this area that is fine. If you do, please wipe down surfaces afterwards.

2. Singles play, (either with a family member OR NOT) and doubles for MEMBERS OF SAME HOUSEHOLD ONLY is/are allowed. Please decide your own groups according to age and risk preference.

3. All play must be booked online via the Clubspark system. If you are registered, just choose your slot and click. Your name will be entered automatically. Kim and Carole have worked on a sensible set of booking rules and agreed with Committee. These are:-

1. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TURN UP AND PLAY. YOU MUST BOOK A COURT. This is to prevent overcrowding and allow for social distancing.
2. There will be no "social court". It will be available to be booked out.
3. You can book a court for a maximum of 2 hours and bookings must start and finish on the hour.
4. You can book no more than 1 court in a week.
5. You can book no more than 2 weeks in advance.
6. Once you have played, you must vacate the premises within 10minutes.
7. Courts can now be booked out on a Wednesday evening and Sunday morning as social tennis is temporarily postponed.
8. Coaches will be allowed to book out 1 court by the hour per day for individuals or family groups of up to 4, subject to demand.
9. The booking of courts will be monitored and members will be challenged by committee members if there is any suggestion that these rules are being broken.
10. Floodlit play is temporarily suspended due to handling issues with keys and tokens. We will monitor court pressure and may review this at a later date if demand is there.
11. Bringing guests to play is not allowed for the moment.

4. Cleanliness. The Government and its medical advisors believe that virus transmission is generally low through the air in outdoor settings. Transmission via surfaces is perceived as a higher risk and therefore we must take steps to reduce this. In a tennis environment, this could be through either facility fixtures or tennis balls.

5. Regarding transmission via (for example) door or gate handles, entry pad, etc., please ensure that your hands are clean before and after touching by washing and/or the use of hand sanitizer. Also wipe down with a cloth these surfaces after touching. For now you must bring and use your own hand sanitizer, but we will look into providing at the club.

6. Transmission via tennis balls is also a concern. We would like you to consider a range of options and will allow you to decide what is best for you.
a. We recommend that you purchase and use only your personal balls.
b. If you are concerned about a non-household tennis partner asymptomatically spreading the virus to your balls you should use two sets of personalised balls, returning them via racquet (tip) and not your hands.
c. If you choose to use club balls, then you (and your partner) must:-
       i. Wash your hands before handling them
       ii. Douse them with a disinfectant spray before and after use
       iii. Wash your hands after play and returning the balls

We all have different levels of what counts as acceptable risk and we trust you to decide for yourself on this one.

7. Solo Practice. We recognise that some members may not wish to play singles or be able to find singles partners. We have dedicated Court 1 as being available for 1hr of practice using either the rebound wall or the ball machine.

8. The ball machine has very recently been repaired and refurbished and is an excellent way to practice and improve your strokes alone. To use it you must be trained in its use and have been issued with a key to access it in the store cupboard. If not already authorised you may ask Mervyn Leroy who has agreed to train people.
a. If you are in the fortunate position of providing your own (eg 50) balls for the machine, and taking them home with you, that's great. No virus risk.
b. If you wish to use the club balls then you must comply with 6(c) above plus in addition wipe down the machine handle, controls, charger and store room door handles after use.
c. We are running a trial to see how long the battery needs to re-charge between sessions and will inform.

I apologise for this long list of rules and conditions, but if we want to play tennis responsibly then perhaps it is a part of the price we must pay for our safety and defeating the virus. These have not been easy decisions for your Committees, and this may not be perfect, but hopefully we have found a balance point for a lot of our members, with their many different attitudes to acceptable risk.

We will review these arrangements as the Govt announces changes either positive or negative and will keep you informed. Thanks for bearing with your Club in these difficult times.

Stay Alert

David Burton
Chairman