Dear Member
As many of you are probably aware the Government has given the green light to re-open tennis venues this week and we plan to have a restricted opening from 8am on Saturday 16th May 2020.
As a registered LTA Centre we as you can appreciate have to comply with their requirements at all times and of course in particular now endeavouring to make our venue Covid Safe for all our members.
Outlined below is a summary of our re opening conditions as stipulated by the LTA and we appreciate these are somewhat restrictive. We are also unable to offer all our usual facilities at this time. However, they are in place to give us the opportunity to start playing again in line with Government advice whilst helping to prevent the spread of Covid -19. They also allow for to commence coaching again in one to one sessions which is great news.
Current Restart Requirements (Subject to LTA/Government/Club Updates)
- COURT BOOKING.
Members must pre book a court on Clubspark before turning up at the club.
If there are no bookings available please do not turn up at the club on the off chance.
Initial maximum booking time 1hr per session per day per member and all bookings are to be started on the hour.
Juniors from 11-18 ages are also able to book the courts on line as per guidance above.
Juniors u11 can only book courts at certain times by contacting Malcolm Roberts by e mail on
For those members who are ‘not registered’ and cannot book courts follow this procedure;
In order to access the court booking system you need to be registered with both the LTA and ClubSpark.
Registering with the LTA is easy (and free) - go to the LTA home page, follow the Join Now instructions, and opt for the free Tennis Lite membership.
Registering with ClubSpark - go to the RLTC home page, top right you should see
"Sign In" and "Register", hit Register, fill in the form, Submit and avoid using the LTA and Facebook logins.
Alternatively try accepting the invitation to join ClubSpark that will be sent to you by email from the Club.
The committee reserve the right to amend or cancel any booking if the procedures & rules above aren’t followed.
- PLAYING
Only singles can be played with either 2 players from different or the same household. The only exception to this is that doubles can be played but only with 4 members from the same household. Please adhere to social distancing with a 2m gap to all. No changing of ends allowed. No tennis balls will be provided by the club during this time and members must bring their own balls that are marked in a way that is readily identifiable.
Should an errant ball come across from another court, players are advised to return to the originating court using their racquet only or by kicking the ball along the floor – this saves handling.
- COACHING
One to one coaching sessions are available to book all through the week now through Dave, Ed & Sean of Boom Tennis.
https://boomtennis.co.uk/ or by phone Dave on 07904/347917
- ARRIVING AT THE CLUB, WAITING TO GO ON AND OFF COURT.
Please adhere to social distancing at all times. Please wait at a 2m safe distance going to the courts from the car park, on the footpaths and at changeover times.
On courts 1,2 & 3 subject to social distancing leave the court by the gate immediately leading to the car park.
Once your session is over please leave the premises asap to avoid any overcrowding.
- COURT FURNITURE/ ARTIFICIAL CLAY COURT BRUSHING ETC
All benches, net measuring poles, net handles & court brushes will be removed from each court. Brushing of the courts will be done by the coaches at the end of each day.
Each court will have a sanitiser station to wash your hands before and after play.
There will also be a sanitizer station outside the clubhouse.
- CLUBHOUSE.
Initially from the 16th May the clubhouse will be closed and there will be no wc areas available for use.
The first Aid Box and Defibrillator will be temporarily housed in the coach’s office until clubhouse is reopened.
We will re-open the clubhouse wc facilities shortly only once signage and barriers are installed plus safety checks undertaken and advice members accordingly.
Initially there will be no access to floodlight meters other than by the coaches.
No social gatherings are permitted in the clubhouse or externally in the grounds.
- MEMBERSHIP
As per our previous notice of the 30th March we will shortly be sending out your membership renewals. There will be options to pay by direct debit on line if required.
We will also be offering free 1 month’s membership to any junior members parents (who aren’t currently members limited to one per family) in order that they can play with their child during the current restrictions. Please reply to this e mail if you require further details.
We would greatly appreciate if all members can comply with all the requirements no matter how restricting they seem but it is for the safety of all.
We would also please ask not to turn up at the club before our re opening on Saturday.
Please click on this link to the LTA Guidance for Tennis Players -Return to Play which we strongly suggest that you read before returning to play.
https://www.lta.org.uk/globalassets/news/2020/lta-guidance-for-tennis-players---covid-19.pdf
It also goes without saying that if you have any symptoms of the virus please do not come to the club until your self confinement period is over.
If you have any queries or questions on the above please reply to this e mail or speak to any committee member.
Finally again we would like to express our sincere thanks to all our NHS and key workers including those who are members of our club during this horrific time.
Stay safe.
The Committee