Dear member
You will be aware that the government has revised the regulations and guidance on dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. The LTA has been working with the government for the last few days and they have issued revised guidance for venues, coaches and players. These can be found through this link: https://www.lta.org.uk/coronavirus
We have looked at these guidelines and we have reviewed the arangements at Congleton Lawn Tennis Club to take them into account. The club has been advised to:
limit activities to court rental and coaching activity for groups of no more than six people
encourage players not to congregate on or around the court before and after play.
There will be no club organised activities yet and all courts must be booked in advance for the use of members through the web site.
We will put the nets back on courts 2 and 8 and they will go on to the court booking system.
We will keep the clubhouse closed as we cannot guarantee to keep toilets and other areas Coroanvirus free.
We will not put the tables back on the patio and we remind members to keep social distance at all times.
We would ask you to arrange to play in groups of no more than 6, to keep socially distant at all times, and not to congregate in groups before or after playing for any longer than is necessary.
Players are advised that:
both singles play and doubles play is now permitted with people from outside of your household, as long as you remain 2 metres apart as far as possible – meaning that four people from different households can now play doubles.
you should stay at least two metres away from other players (including during play, when taking breaks and before and after play)
you should not make physical contact with other players (such as shaking hands or high five)
you should avoid chasing the ball down to another court if other players are using it
for doubles, consider agreeing in advance which player will take the shot if a ball travels to the centre of the court
players do not now need to use their own clearly marked tennis balls – however, if you choose to use shared balls then extra care must be taken to ensure you do not touch your face during play, and you should clean your hands before play and immediately after finishing (use alcohol gel if required)
players should still avoid using their hands to pick up tennis balls from other courts where possible - use your racquet/foot to return them.
We are pleased that so many members are now using the courts and we thank you for observing the guidelines when you come to the club. We are very grateful to the LTA for being proactive in negotiating these revised guidelines with the government to allow tennis to take one more step back to normality. We would stress that the intention is for the health benefits of tennis to be gained, not the social benefits. We would ask you to continue to be aware of this and not to give anybody any grounds to lobby the government to withdraw its agreement for tennis to be played by being seen to flout the guidelines.
Enjoy your tennis and stay safe.
John Doe (Club Chairman)