Dear all 
 
As a result of the government announcement on Sunday evening we will begin the slow reopening of the club as from tomorrow Wednesday 13th May
 
In line with the both government and the specific LTA guidelines for tennis venuesthe use of the club and its facilities will be limited as outlines below: 

1. Who can play?
   1. You can play singles against a member of your own household OR a member of another household
   2. You can ONLY play doubles with members of your own household. 
   3. One to one coaching will also start from next Monday 18th May and Mark will be primarily using court 6 

Note: these guidelines are changing all the time

1. All courts need to be booked in advance and we will be updating Clubspark today to reflect the below.
   1. All courts must be booked online via Clubspark
   2. Court bookings to be maximum 1 hour to allow everyone to get a chance to play [this will be reviewed based on take up] 
   3. Please do not have more than 2 live bookings at any one time and ensure they are on separate days [this will also be reviewed] 
   4. Members can book courts 3 – 6 and use court 2 if not booked
   5. Court 2 will be made available as a Pay and Play court to the general public also in 1-hour slots. 
   6. All play to stop 5 minutes before the end of your time slot to give you time to sweep and leave the courts before the next players arrive for play. To sweep the courts please bring a pair of disposable gloves and throw them away after use. [the club is not providing disposable gloves]
   7. All existing group or private Bookings are considered cancelled 
2. Play guidelines:
   1. Thoroughly wash your hands before coming to the club
   2. Please use new balls only or balls you have played with before and marked previously – see below 
      1. If playing singles with, for example, 4 balls please mark 2 balls with each person initials. 
      2. Only serve with the balls with your mark
      3. Do not pick up the ball which does not have your mark but hit it to your playing partner. 
         1. If a ball from another court comes onto yours, please do NOT pick it up but kick it back. 
   3. Only use your own equipment and bring the minimum accessories / bags to the club. 
   4. Do not change ends once on court
   5. The first players on each court in the morning to check the court heights wearing disposable gloves. The court equipment should not be touched after this
   6. Social distancing must be followed at all times. If that means, for example, you will encroach on another court to hit a ball you should NOT try to get to the ball
   7. No shaking hands, high fives etc
3. Other non-play guidelines heath and safety guidelines to follow?
   1. Please walk or cycle to the club where possible 
   2. You are not permitted to use the club if you are displaying any of the COVID 19 symptoms, have been advised you are in a high risk category, have tested positive for COVID 19 or come into contact with anyone who has COVID 19 in the previous 14 days unless you have been signed off as cleared by your GP 
   3. Hand sanitizer is provided for members use in the Tennis Hut. Please use the this or preferably your own hand sanitiser before and after play. 
   4. Only 1 person at a time to access the Tennis Hut to follow the self-distancing guidelines. 
   5. To be clear all members, players and visitors to regularly wash their hands for 20 seconds with water and soap and dry properly with disposable towels before and after play
   6. I also remind everyone to catch coughs and sneezes in tissues – Follow Catch it, Bin it, Kill it and avoid touching face, eyes, nose or mouth with unclean hands. 
   7. Pete Bozier has arranged for the portaloos to be returned until the clubhouse rebuild is completed– thanks Pete. Please ensure you clean your hands as per the 20 second guidelines after use of this communal facility. 
   8. A big thank you to various members of the committee, head coach Mark and to Andy Kaminski for the work being done today and will be done in the coming weeks to get the courts and surrounding areas ready for play. This includes sanitising all common areas including tennis nets, the tennis hut and the portals when they arrive [today or tomorrow] 
   9. The Viewing Hut will remain closed and the club and Mark will not make rackets available for anyone to use. 
   10. Depending on our performance to these guidelines we will consider reopening the singles ladder. No other competitions at either club level or between clubs is currently permitted. 
4. Other club matters:
   1. For those who have held off paying their membership can I please ask for your fees to be paid or for monthly payments to start before the end of May?
   2. We are arranging for the courts to soon receive their regular maintenance as they have been affected by the recent severe winds. Members will be advised when this is scheduled and of course the courts will not be available for booking. If anyone has booked courts at that time, I’m afraid the booking will be cancelled, and we will advise you.
   3. The clubhouse rebuild work has just restarted this week and we are waiting on a revised schedule. We are then looking to schedule the start of the resurfacing for courts 1 and 2.

This email and a poster from the LTA [as below] will be on display at the club as of this evening. I will endeavour to update members as the guidelines change but I would encourage you all to update yourselves on the LTA guidelines for players using this link before any play.

We have today carried out and completed the LTA risk assessment and based on our work so far and planned this evening we comply. Now it is up to all members to also comply.
 
It is of course a huge relief for all of us that we are able to open up the club, even in this limited way, and we can expect this to be the status for some time especially while there is no vaccine against the virus. 
 
Please note, however, that as Chairman of the club I will be left with no choice to either close the club or prevent specific members from playing,  if these and any updated LTA / Government guidelines are not followed. 
 
Many thanks
 
 
Daniel Morris 
Chairman Thame Tennis Club
Daniel.morris16@btinternet.com
07970 146269