Play

Ball Machine

Lobster Elite 3 Ball Machine

Bidford Tennis Club now owns a Lobster Elite 3 Ball Machine;  an easy-to-use tennis ball launcher for use in dry weather.

You can adjust ball speed, inclination of trajectory, frequency of ball delivery and control side-to-side oscilation.  It's a simple to use machine that can help you practice your ground strokes as well as your volleys.

It can also give you a good physical work out!

Hit the courts to practice solo anytime.

Registration for Hourly Paid Use

Registration for use of the Ball Machine is available to all adult Members at a charge of £3 per hour.

- Junior Members can use the machine but must be directly supervised by a registered Parent/Guardian or by a coach.

Before registration, Members must attend a safety induction session or watch the induction video, and agree to the terms of use below.

Induction

Safety induction sessions are yet to be announced.

Watch the induction video here: BTC Tennis Ball Machine Induction v2

Agreement to Terms of Use

Before using the Ball Machine, or supervising your child doing so, please apply for registration by email to Maddie Golby at bidfordonavontennisclub@gmail.com by confirming that:

You will then be issued with the code to the padlock and wall safe.

Booking

It is mandatory to book the machine on ClubSpark, please book this as well as your court.
The Ball Machine is listed where a Court 3 would be, ie. to the right of Court 2, on the Court Booking page and the Booker App.
NB. The individual court booking allowance has been increased to two sessions per day, which includes any ball machine bookings.

The battery should last for 4 hours – but can take 22 hours to fully charge if depleted: please be mindful of others’ use when booking i.e. back to back bookings could run down the battery completely.

Safety

The machine launches balls at speed, so you must always stay clear of the launcher, especially while it is operating.

Please be aware of where the balls are going and try to ensure that the balls are not straying onto the adjacent court.

Please move the machine by wheeling it using the trolley handle, and avoid manhandling the machine, as it is heavy.  To minimise the weight, please carry the balls separately.

Please take care of yourself and the machine while moving it, especially into/out of the clubhouse using the sloped paving, and into/out of the courts.

You use the ball machine at your own risk, so please take care.

Set-Up

We recommend placing the machine on the Serving T point.

You are now ready to play - take the fob with you.

Operation

See the following video for further instructions on how to use the machine: the section from 00:42 to 03:06 is relevant to our ball machine:

Instruction Video: Lobster Tennis Ball Machines Explained

See also: Lobster Elite Quick Start Guide and Lobster Elite User Manual

Storage and Re-Charging

When you have finished using the Ball Machine, please remember to turn the Power Off on the Control Panel.

All balls should be put back in the bucket, and not left in the machine, as otherwise this could cause the machine to "trip out" for the next user.

Please clean the machine when you return it, particularly of ball fluff around the launcher and controls.

Please lock the ball machine and the bucket handle to the security ring in the wall using the bike lock, and lock the remote fob in the wall safe provided.

You should plug in the charger so that it is charged for the next person and set the timer for 10 hours.

 

Thank you

The Club would like to acknowledge their gratitude to The Perkins Educational Foundation for their generous donation to assist the club in the purchase of the Tennis Ball machine and tennis balls: see this news article.

 

This page was last updated on 4/8/2023