For club sessions to run smoothly it is important that all player are of a similar ability. This is why we invite New and Intro Members to attend a Wednesday Evening Session so your ability can be assessed and we can advise you about membership and coaching. Juniors can attend Club Sessions by invitation.

• Intermediate players, as per the ‘Player Standard’ and Ability Assessment, classed as a transitioning player, may be invited to attend a Sunday Session) and Accomplished players be invited into full club membership to take advantage of additional club sessions on a Friday evening and Sunday morning.
• Those who wish to apply for Country Membership need to have attended a Wednesday Introductory Session to establish their Ability Standard if wanting to attend Club Sessions.

GENERAL GUIDELINES – These have been collated as general advice from past suggestions and may be added to or adjusted as appropriate…

Who plays when? In general, you should feel comfortable in one of the general weekly sessions…

• Tuesdays Walking tennis See detail for info.
• Wednesdays are for introductory, Intermediate and above players
• Mondays are for Ladies who are Full members & regular team players by invitation.
• Tuesdays are for Men who are Full members & regular team players, by invitation. 
•  Fridays are for Full Members / advanced players.
• Saturdays are for ladies' intermediate and advanced players, by arrangement.
• Sundays are for Full members and intermediate (transitioning) players as per the Ability Guide.
• Sunday 4 to 6 pm session set up for Intros linked to Whats App. Subject to numbers/availability.

Please note: It is perfectly acceptable for an intermediate/Advanced Player to attend a Wednesday session as long as they tone down their game so as not to spoil the experience of the other players… …it is not acceptable for a beginner or introductory member to attend on Fridays or Sundays until they can play at a standard that would not affect the quality of play for the other players.

If you think you are in between Introductory and intermediate standards, it depends on whether your game is on an upward or downward trajectory. If upward, you will probably improve by playing with better players and we will invite you to try out the Sunday morning session. If downward, it will probably not and you will only be spoiling the experience of the other players; you should consider moving to the general Wednesday club sessions. If you’re not sure, please ask a committee member. Club sessions are run by a committee member and take the form of mixed doubles. Player mixup takes place approximately every 20 mins. If the session is overbooked PLEASE be prepared to sit out for a 20 min mix-up, a player turnaround will be arranged by the organiser, but volunteers to take their turn to sit out is much appreciated.

Starter / Beginner: The player is in the early stages of tennis skills development and is primarily learning simple tennis coordination tasks/exercises. Currently, they are not quite ready for club session tennis but would be welcomed to Thursday Adult coaching to improve their skills. Their coach will advise them when they are ready to join in Wednesday club sessions. 

Introductory Membership is available for those who have not attained a suitable standard and are having coaching so they can still book a court and play with another Member (playing with a Non-Member is chargeable) or you can use the Pay & Play System

Introductory Member: This player might be starting to play competitively, to varying degrees, this player is fairly consistent when hitting medium-paced shots, and can carry out a consistent rally. They have dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both groundstrokes and on moderate shots. They are further developing their on-court experience and ability to use lobs, overheads, approach shots, and volleys

Intermediate Member: (Transition) This player has dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both groundstrokes and moderate shots. They can use lobs, overheads, approach shots, and volleys and serve with consistent success. 

Full/Advanced Member: This player has good shot anticipation, consistently produces winning shots, and play variation. They can regularly hit winning shots and force errors off the opponent's short balls. They should be competent enough to represent the club in league matches or representing the club in one of the top-level teams and can show a variety of serves, match play, and shot anticipation.

Player Progression and Assessment

The following assessment guidelines have been provided as general advice and may be adjusted as appropriate by the Committee.

A beginner/introductory or Intermediate member can make a request or be recommended by a committee member or coach to progress.

If possible,  observations should occur during 2 consecutive Wednesday Or Sunday (If Intermediate) sessions for both consistency and speed of decision-making. They should also occur during normal social rotation of between 20-30mins.

Once observations have taken place then the observing members and/or coaches will confer and make a recommendation, possibly using previously accepted members as a baseline.

If successful, the player being assessed will be informed and their member status amended accordingly, along with any subscription fees to be paid.

If unsuccessful, then the player should be notified of the areas that need to be improved upon during future Wednesday or Sunday (If Intermediate) sessions or via adult coaching.

The committee should also be informed of the decision either way, for this to be captured during the minutes.