1. Donations
Thank you to all members who kindly responded to our suggestion that they might feel able to donate to Club funds, the amount that we reduced the annual fee to take account of the impact of Covid 19. So far members have donated over £1000. We look forward with confidence to your continuing financial support. Now that we are a charity we are able to claim gift aid which enhances the donations that you make. We are open to receive funds all year round!

2. Toilets
I am acutely aware that members have been unhappy with the decision that we had to make to protect you during the crisis caused by the pandemic. When we did so it was with your best interests in mind. I am therefore delighted to be able to inform you that we now feel able to partially reopen the club house to enable you to use the toilets. Provided that we are able to get all the hygiene measures in place we aim to reopen them from 6 July. This will also mean that we will need to enhance our cleaning schedule and we would be grateful for all offers of help, especially financial to enable this to be achieved.

In order to continue to ensure that we do everything to keep you safe you will need to ensure that you take full account of the following:

a).Members, please do not enter the clubhouse except to use the toilets or access the first aid kit/defibrillator in an emergency.
b)When using the toilets, please follow a strict ‘one in, one out’ policy.
c)No more than two people should be in the clubhouse at any one time.
d)Use the hand sanitiser provided upon entering and leaving the building.
e)After using the toilets, wash your hands thoroughly, using soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
f)Before leaving the toilets wipe down all surfaces you have touched, using the antibacterial spray and paper towels provided. Discard used paper towels in the pedal bin.
g)Do not use the kitchen or any other areas in the clubhouse, including seating areas and showers. Please do not touch any other surfaces except for those which are necessary when using the toilets.
h)Maintain a two metre distance from others at all times.

3. Entry & Exiting of clubhouse
The code for the front door has been sent by email. When you leave the building you MUST relock it. This is done by pressing the small moon shape on the automation key pad to the right of the door(see instructions in the building if you’re not sure) and pressing the F button on the keypad on the outside of the door.

Check that you have locked it please.

The above list will be posted in the toilets together with the hand washing posters in line with Government guidelines. I am confident that with your help and support we will be able to maintain this progress but if we feel that at any time members are not keeping to these rules we will have to think again.

4. Visitors
Sadly it has come to my attention that some members, whilst encouraging friends/family members or guests/other non members to try tennis, they have not been paying visitors fees. It is your responsibility as a member to ensure that this is no longer the case. Please make sure that you complete the visitors book and put the £3 fee in one of the envelopes provided and place it in the treasurers box. Thank you for your help.

Also the upgraded ClubSpark booking system enables you to make a group booking , you will need to select ‘advanced options ‘ and you can give the details of who will be on court with you. Please use it if you would prefer  to pay on line.

5. Tennis Balls
As a gesture from the club, for July only, we are having a Special Offer on tennis balls and will be selling them for £3 per can, which is less than cost price. Initially the offer will be restricted to 1 can per member, to make them available for everyone, but this will be reviewed later in the month. They will be on sale at the club at the following times:
Wed July 1st – 10am -11am
Thurs July 2nd – 10am – 11am
Sat July 4th – 10am – 11am
Tues July 7th – 6pm – 7pm
If you have problems getting to the club at these times send Celia a message (07772723207).

In conclusion, all the Committee have been faced with an extremely challenging set of circumstances over the last few months. I would like to thank Celia, Dan and Amanda in particular who have put in several additional hours to help us address the issues around reopening the toilets. Celia has also undertaken a full spring clean of the clubhouse.

During this Covid period we have been offered some degree of support and advice from the LTA but at the end of the day the committee have had to make its decisions on what it see’s is in the best interest of the club and all its members.

We thank you for your support and understanding as we continue to strive to make your tennis experience at Southbourne of the highest quality.

Susie Grainger

Southbourne Tennis Club

Hi tennis players,

On July 6th, we are launching a new internal singles box league competition at Southbourne Tennis club.

This new league will be available and managed by a new mobile app called ‘Scala Sports’. This will allow members to easily contact opponents and record results via their phones. The league is open to members of all levels and is a perfect way to meet other members of a similar standard to play friendly competitive matches.

How does it work?

• The round runs Jul 6th – Aug 30th (8 weeks)
• You are organised into a group with 4 opponents of a similar standard
• You play 1 match against each opponent in your group
• You determine when matches are played (in consultation with your opponents)
• How do I join?
• Download the free Scala Sports app (iOS or Android)
• Go to Leagues
• Search and join the league: Southbourne – Mixed Singles

On the start date of the round (July 6), you will receive a notification/email and your opponents will be visible in the app. Let us know if you have any questions/concerns, for specific questions related to the Scala app please reach out to service@scalasports.com.

If you have any questions please let Dave know on 07812 676761 or davesanger@gmail.com

‘Return to restricted play’ 31 May 2020

Following the further easing of lockdown restrictions announced on Thursday the LTA have published updated guidelines which we received today.

This includes the resumption of doubles for players from different households and small group coaching being allowed as long as social distancing continues to be adhered to.

It is also expected that measures to maintain hygiene and minimise interaction with others remain in place.

Club Committees are enabled to take local factors into account when advising members of these changes. So we would like to advise you of the following:

• all courts are now open for booking
• where possible aim to play in fixed fours i.e. the same people each time
• continue to use your own racquet and balls
• the coaches will continue to offer one to one coaching at the moment
• no group or open club sessions will resume
• we will inform you should this alter
• when you leave and enter the court maintain the two metre distance wherever possible
• avoid passing too close to other players when, if , you change ends
• the club house will remain closed
• use hand sanitiser before and after play
• leave the court on time to allow time for the next players to arrive
• please read guidelines on LTA website

We are grateful to all of you for your co-operation and understanding during these ongoing challenging times. We hope very much that you will take advantage of these new opportunities to play tennis.Thank you for your ongoing support.

Southbourne Tennis Club

Coronavirus

Following on from the PM’s address on Sunday we have received several queries about when the club and courts will be re-open. The LTA press releases state the following: 

we are continuing to work with the Government on the relevant clarifications required to ensure further advice is provided to the tennis community as soon as possible and in advance of Wednesday May 13 when tennis will be playable between members of the same household’ 10 May 2020

‘tennis activity in England will be able to take place outdoors from Wednesday 12 May with singles play only, other than where players are from the same household in which case they can play doubles’ 11 May 2020

So if you want to start playing again you will need to:

• book a court using the Clubspark system
• this enables you to book for one hour a week
• the system records the name of the member booking the court
• courts 1,3,4 and 6 only will be available
• make sure that you wipe down the net handle after use
• observe the 2 metre social distancing rules where possible
• All players must read the LTA guidance on safe tennis by following this link or copy and pasting into google

CONGRATULATIONS

Our Head Coach, Dave Sanger was awarded the County LTA Award in November for his extraordinary contribution to Disability Tennis opening the sport up to enable more people to take part.
We are delighted to announce that he has also now won the Regional LTA Award in recogntion of his continuing commitment to, not only running our major weekly programme of specialist provision, but also successfully and almost single handedly, raising the necessary funds to do so.

He will now go through to the National Final with the winners being presented with their prize during Wimbledon. Sadly though , as you will all be aware, this has been cancelled this year due to Covid19.

THANK YOU

Firstly to you, our members, for supporting our decision to close the courts. We considered this very carefully and took advice from the LTA prior to deciding to do so . We felt that it was essential that we contributed to the national effort to stem the flow of the virus.

We fully appreciate the frustration that this has caused us all, especially given the almost perfect weather conditions following those weeks of downpours and flooded courts.

Please be assured that just as soon as we are advised that we can reopen we will keep you informed but in the meantime please continue to keep your distance, your racquet in its cover and your balls dry!

Secondly I want to publicly thank the Committee members, past and present, for their ongoing commitment and energy in ensuring that apart from playing tennis we keep the ball rolling………

A big shout out to:

Peter Richardson for mowing the grass
Celia Barron for regularly visiting the site to check that everything is ok
Colin Gilbey for chasing potential suppliers and installers of floodlighting
Dan Light for making a successful application to BPC for a Hospitality and Leisure Business Grant along with thoroughly reviewing our insurance policy

COMMITTEE NEWS

We are about to experience our first virtual Committee meeting via Zoom on Monday. Amongst the issues we expect to discuss will be:

– membership fees for the coming year
– how to raise enough money to replace the floodlights
– should we pay someone to undertake the role of Club and Grounds Maintainence Co-ordinator.
– replacement of our current cleaner
– identifying a volunteer to take on the role of Social Secretary