Club Update: Additional COVID-19 measures and guidelines - 24 March 2020

Hi all,

Since our last statement on 14 March 2020, the club and the Tennis Academy coaching team have implemented several precautionary measures at the club.

Following the Federal Government’s announcement of additional restrictions on Sunday which included the closing of licensed clubs and indoor sporting venues, we made a decision to close the club yesterday while waiting for clarification from authorities as to whether we could keep the tennis courts themselves open for use.

Yesterday afternoon, we received confirmation that we can keep the courts open and were also provided guidelines on how we can ensure tennis can still be played in a responsible manner. While we’re back up and running today, we’ll be restricting court hire today to allow us to complete some of the things we’re doing behind the scene.

Combining the guidelines we’ve been giving with our own, listed below are some key things the club is doing:

Restrict court usage to 6 courts (coaching + court hire) at any one point in time unless approved by the committee
Reduction of number of courts available for hire – the online booking system will be reflected to show which courts are available
Permitting players to use courts only if they’ve been booked online or permission has been explicitly given by a committee member – this help us to monitor the number of people at the club at any given time
Supporting the Tennis Acad coaching team to ensure they are able to implement their own range of measures beyond ours and specific to coaching activities
Cancelled all club organised social play until further notice
Postponed Club Championships and Timed Round Robin Events
Closed clubhouse and bar facilities / access with the only exception being committee members and coaches for administrative purposes
Closed access to hit-up wall and playground area
Leaving a limited number of chairs in the outside area solely for those waiting for kids to finish their coaching

We also need your assistance to make them effective and we hope you can help us by doing the following:

If you feel unwell, please stay away from the club.
If you’ve been in contact with anyone who has or may have COVID-19, please stay away and isolate for at least 14 days.
Book a court online if you’re planning to have a hit and use the designated court you’ve booked so we can space players out – if you’re unsure how to do it or can’t remember what your membership code is, email us or contact Dwayne on 0422793941.
Arrive for your coaching / court booking just before your designated time and leave as soon as you’re finish
If you’re a parent or guardian bringing a child for coaching, we ask that there is only one person per child sitting around waiting for the lesson to finish.
We will leave the toilet around the back open but try to use it for emergencies only or if you have to wash your hands
Come to tennis with a full water bottle – the water cooler will still be available but the less you touch, the better
On-court, just remember no high-fives – racquet taps is the way to go

Some of these requests are contrary to our club’s usual nature of being very inviting but as you can imagine our focus right now is providing people the opportunity to play tennis in a responsible manner so we do apologise for these necessary requests but it’s what we need to do.

The committee recognises that during this time, some members may not be able to use our facilities for a variety of reasons whether it’s enforced or voluntary. We fully understand and support that.

Although we don’t believe missing out on being able to use your club membership as a factor in decision-making, we want to remove all possibility of that being the case thus the committee has decided to extend all current memberships by a month to 31 July 2020 so that even if you do choose to stay away, you don’t miss out.

These are uncertain times and for many unsettling as well. For some, the time on court offers a bit of a break and respite from it all so we’ll continue to work with authorities on how to deliver that safely.

However, it’s crucial that we need to remember that even though tennis by nature is a sport that can be played with no contact and in line with social distancing rules, it’s only possible if we follow the necessary guidelines and act responsibly.

As you all know, it is a rapidly evolving situation so as things change, we will advise accordingly. We are very conscious that we’re all getting many covid-19 email updates so rather than flood your email inbox, we encourage you to follow us on Facebook (either through our Group or Page) or check out our website for any updates.

If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for all your understanding and your cooperation.

MTC Committee