Club Rules and Etiquette:

RULES
R1 CLUBHOUSE

1 All Members must observe any displayed rules appertaining to the clubhouse which is shared with the Bowling Club. Members MUST   respect the facilities therein.

2 Details of the agreement for occupancy of the Pavilion are available on request.

 R2 COURTS

1 Every Member shall be responsible for ensuring that the courts are free of all debris before and after play.

2 Litter must be placed in the bins provided.

3 Gates must be locked on completion of play.

4 Code numbers of court locks must only be known to Club Members. Numbers must be kept scrambled during and after play.

5 The conditions of the Lease for the Courts should be known to the Committee and conditions observed.

6 The public may use courts 3 and 4 at all reasonable times at an agreed charge.

 R3 DRESS

1 Proper tennis footwear must be worn, which should be heelless and should have non marking soles.

2 Recognised sportswear associated with playing tennis must be worn on court.

 R4 HOURS OF PLAY

1 Seniors   - At all times from 8 a.m. each day, but with regard to R4.4.

2 Students - During vacations from 8 a.m., but with regard to R4.4.

3 Juniors - (a) Mondays shall be Junior evening from 4 p.m onwards;

(b)  Weekdays during school holidays from 8 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. on courts 1, 2, 3, & 4;

(c) Weekdays during school terms up to 5.00 p.m. on courts 1, 2, 3, & 4;

(d) Saturday/Sunday from 8 a.m. - 10.00 a.m. and from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.*;

* Preference will be given to Club matches, Tournaments and Competitions, when no Junior play shall be                permitted - see on-line booking system.

4 Hours of play may be varied at the discretion of the Committee.

5 The Committee shall have authority to provide extra court, including indoor court, facilities for its Members, Club and coaching activities.

6 The Committee may allow either court 3 or 4, when not in public hours, to be used for private coaching, by prior arrangement.

 R5 ORDER OF PLAY AT CLUB EVENINGS

1 The order of play shall be at the discretion of the Coach.

2 Doubles MUST take preference over singles at all times when court space is limited.

3 Play shall be restricted to ONE SHORT SET when Members are waiting to use the courts. Tie-break comes into operation at five games all. If 1 or more players are waiting to play, sudden death deuce will be played in each game.

 R6 BALLS

1 Balls shall be supplied for the use of Members at Club evenings and for matches. They remain the property of the Club and shall be  available from the green shed. All effort should be made to retrieve lost balls for use at junior coaching and for recycling.

 R7 MATCHES

1 Matches shall be arranged by the Fixtures Secretary and Club Captains and priority use of the courts shall be given for this purpose. A list of match fixtures shall be displayed on the Club notice board and Club website at the commencement of each season.

 R8 TEAMS

1 The Men's and Ladies' League teams to be selected by their respective Captains.

 R9 VISITORS

1 Visitors may be allowed to use the courts 1 and 2 and the floodlights on courts 3 and 4 at the discretion of the Committee, providing they are accompanied by a fully paid-up Member of the Club. Responsibility for payment of their fee to the Treasurer rests with the Member. There will be a maximum limit of three visits per season.

 R10 WIMBLEDON TICKET ALLOCATION

1 As a result of affiliation to Tennis Wales Ltd, all Club Members who are current British Tennis Junior Members (9 years of age and over) and Adult Members are eligible to apply for tickets. All tickets are distributed in pairs and are STRICTLY NON TRANSFERABLE.

 R11 CONSTITUTION

1 Members must have regard to the Club’s Constitution at all times. [A copy can be found on our website and on the Club notice-board in the Pavilion.]

Court Etiquette
We are all keen to enjoy our sport so we have just a simple Ground Rule to make the playing experience more enjoyable for all and that is “Keep it clean”.   The “it” being:

• the courts

• your language

• your play

Leave the courts free of litter, collect in tennis balls for other players to use and don’t let the frustrations of the game make you an unpleasant person to play with.

 

Social Play

In each four, you play one set with a tiebreak at 6-6, but if people are waiting, play a tiebreak at 5-5 then come off court. Unless there are good quality balls remaining from matches or previous club sessions, the club will provide 4 new tubes of balls for every Monday. At the end of social play, please return all balls to the green shed. In between sets the balls should be left near the centre of the court. If floodlights are required for these sessions they are provided free of charge, however if you are the last on court, please turn off the floodlights.

 

Court Etiquette

The following is an extract from British Tennis website on court etiquette which reflects our approach.

Please do not walk behind players whilst a game, a rally or coaching is in progress, this is to avoid distracting other members and most importantly to avoid any potential accidents on court.

If you are trying to cross a court please wait until you are invited and it is safe to do so.

If a stray ball comes onto your court don’t knock it back immediately, wait until the owners are ready and then hit it to the server’s end.

During play and particularly between games, keep the amount and volume of conversation down to a minimum necessary to play and enjoy your own games. Too much chatter can be disturbing to those playing nearby and, in between games, can hold up play for people waiting.

Line calls can be a problem and we recommend the use of what the Americans call the ‘honour system’.

Only call the lines on your side of the net.

Call clearly and firmly what you see and what you honestly believe to be correct.

If you are not absolutely certain or didn’t see the ball clearly, the ball was IN and must be given in the opponents favour.

If occasionally you have serious doubts as to your opponent’s eye-sight, ask politely if they are certain as to the accuracy of their call. If they say that they are, get on with the next point.

If you feel your opponents regularly have difficulties making correct calls, start looking for different opponents!

If in social friendly matches there is some doubt over a line call, offer to play the point again rather than cause undue aggravation and time wasting.

Do not criticise your partner or opponent, be positive and offer encouragement instead.

Overall, use your best judgement and we all want to be competitive but don’t let your emotions get on top of you.

Thanks for reading and enjoy playing at our club.

Respect and Behaviour

All Club members and Club officials must show tolerance, courtesy, good manners, fairness, honesty and integrity in their dealings with Club members, officials, Club members’ guests, playing and social visitors.

Equality

The Club is opposed to discrimination in any form. All Club members have a responsibility to make everyone feel welcome and to ensure that membership of the club is a positive experience.

Safety and Responsibility

All Club members will act responsibly and look to protect and ensure the safety of everyone at the Club at all times and particularly to consider the well-being and care of junior players and visitors.

Fair Play

All Club members will respect the rules of the sport of tennis and address disputes with dignity and appropriate language.

Club Reputation

All Club members should endeavour to protect and further the Club’s good reputation at all times. When representing the Club, all players and officials will observe the principles in this Code of Conduct.

Resolving Differences

All club members will endeavour to resolve differences in the following order:

1. Between the parties involved.

2. By reference to the appropriate Club Secretary, Junior Tennis Coordinator or the Club Child Welfare Officer who will determine the course of action to be followed.

3. By reference to the appropriate Section or Club Committee.

4. Where reference is made to a Section Committee and the difference remains unresolved further reference may be made to the Club’s General Committee

5. The Section or Junior Committees shall have the power to censure any of their section members or suspend any of their section or junior members’ playing or membership rights and may suspend such rights for up to four weeks. Suspension beyond four weeks or recommendations as to expulsion must be approved by the Club General Committee.

6. Removal of a Club or Section Officer or Committee Member shall require an EGM of the Club or Section as appropriate.

7. All disciplinary action pursuant to this code shall be subject to a right of appeal to an Appeals Committee. This Appeals Committee shall comprise of three individuals appointed by the General Committee. The majority verdict of the Appeals Committee shall be final and binding.