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KNUTSFORD TENNIS CLUB NEWSLETTER
11th JUNE 2020 In this newsletter... covid -19 update... trial membership... court bookings... singles leagues... COVID-19 UPDATE As you all know, we are now able to play doubles and it is great to see the courts fully in use. And everyone respecting social distancing and following LTA and our guidelines. The toilets accessed by the squash door are now open for use – but only for emergencies! With the recent windy weather and the wind in the wrong direction is blowing leaves over the courts plus the recent dry weather has meant there is a lot of dust/dirt on the surface. We are now going to put out the drag nets on each court. Please use them if the courts need brushing before you play – use hand sanitiser and gloves as protection. TRIAL MEMBERSHIP So far, we have had over 30 members joining under this scheme which is great. Please pass on the details of the scheme to anyone you know /meet up with. We will be doing more publicity to promote this and full membership within and outside the club. If you haven’t seen it, please watch Mark’s latest video - it is brilliant and funny! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6RCPlDnS2Y COURT BOOKINGS The ClubSpark court booking system is up and running and seems to be working really well. Just a couple of points – we have extended the last booking time to 21:30 to make the most of the lighter evenings; and please remember to cancel your booking if for any reason you can’t make it. Courts are now in demand, especially in the mornings. If you haven't booked a court yet - it's simple... Use the ClubSpark Booker App on your phone (works with iOS 11 or Android 4.4 and above) or go online to https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/knutsfordtennisclub/Booking Sign in using the same account details that you use for ClubSpark Membership. Select “Make a Booking”. Select "Knutsford Tennis Club" and our booking sheet will appear, showing available slots. SINGLES LEAGUES Good number of entries for both women and men and quite a few games have been completed already. The results will be shown on the noticeboard.
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As a club we recognise the importance of being flexible during lockdown when the important thing is to encourage playing of sport and the potential for encouraging new members.
From June we are introducing a 3-month Trial Membership offer to the existing Knutsford Sports Club members from the other sections and to potential new tennis club members. We will be sending this offer to existing members of the main club and we would really appreciate your help in sharing this trial membership with your friends and anyone you think might be a potential new member. The Trial Membership offer is subject to the following conditions. 1 New tennis club members only and only during the trial period. 2 The trial period is currently for June, July, and August 2020 – dependant on actual start date. 3 Classes of Trial Membership – Family, Adult, Under 25 years. 4 The Trial Membership will include the ability to book the courts for any sessions from 1pm Monday to Friday. At weekends there will be no restrictions on booking. 5 Trial Members will not be allowed to introduce guests. 6 Trial Members MUST make themselves aware of the current LTA Guidelines and Knutsford Tennis Club instructions which will be part of the introductory e-mail. 7 If during the 3-month trial, the government and LTA Guidelines allow doubles and social tennis e.g. Club Nights, Junior Nights then the Trial Members will be able to take part in these events. 8 The tennis committee will keep all activities under review and will be receptive to any issues that may arise that may require changes to the conditions. Any queries please speak to the coach Mark Airey who will be at the club most afternoons or membership@knutsfordtennisclub.org.uk If you know of anyone who would like to join as a Trial Member, please ask them to email membership@knutsfordtennisclub.org.uk. If any applicant is for the Under 25 membership class then please include their name and date of birth. We are pleased to announce, having reviewed the Government and LTA Guidelines, we are ready to re-open the courts this Friday for members to play. Members must follow the guidelines, observe social distancing of 2m and be responsible for your own health and safety.
LTA GUIDELINES A maximum of two people per court (singles play only). Players can be from different households. The only exception to the singles play is where a group of players are all from the same household in which case they can play doubles. Coaching sessions are limited to one-to-one coaching. The LTA guidelines contain all the relevant, up to date information which we are following so we recommended that you refer to them as well. You will find them under the following links: LTA Covid-19 – Guidance for Tennis Players LTA Covid-19 – Guidance for Tennis Venues We have also prepared our own Players Checklist below in this newsletter which members need to refer to. We would expect our members to follow the social distancing 2 metre rule at all times and naturally to take any precautions you feel you need . BOOKING SYSTEM We are taking this opportunity as outlined in the LTA guidelines to introduce a booking system. The booking system is for members only who have renewed or have asked to have their membership paused. Please contact the membership secretary to renew your membership or wait until your next payment reminder in the next week or so which will be pro-rata at 11/12ths Bookings can be made on your phone using the free ClubSpark Booker App (available for iPhone or Android) or online at https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/knutsfordtennisclub/Booking The system will go live from 1200hrs on Thursday 14th May. Please see below for details on how to book a court. If anyone has a problem using the online booking system, or is not especially tech savvy, then Mark has kindly offered to look at booking a court or please contact Christine Falder. This is very new for us as well, so please let us know if you have any issues / suggestions through membership@knutsfordtennisclub.org.uk Currently, members are permitted to bring a guest 3 times at £5 a visit. Whilst the Covid-19 restrictions are in place, we may review this policy, so please let us know if you want to make this more flexible. MAIN CLUB Please be aware that the main club building remains closed so no access to toilet facilities or changing rooms. KTC PLAYER CHECKLIST BEFORE LEAVING HOME & AFTER YOU RETURN FROM THE TENNIS CLUB:
SOCIAL DISTANCING MUST BE ADHERED TO AT ALL TIMES. HOW TO BOOK A COURT You can make a booking in one of two ways Use the ClubSpark Booker App on your phone (works with iOS 11 or Android 4.4 and above) or go online at https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/knutsfordtennisclub/Booking First time users of either system will be asked to agree to the Terms of Use of the courts before proceeding. ClubSpark Booker App Download the app and sign in using the same account details that you use to sign into ClubSpark, then select “Make a Booking”. Select Knutsford Tennis Club and our booking sheet will appear, showing available slots. Choose the day, time and duration (30 mins, 60 mins or 90 mins) of your session and click “Book now” and your court will be automatically allocated. If you have a preferred court, you can select it and look for available times. The top right corner icon switches the view between a list and a grid. You will receive an email confirmation of your booking. You can book up to seven days in advance and up to three sessions a week. The Bookings summary page shows you a list of all your upcoming bookings. Please cancel any bookings you are no longer able to use to help keep the courts available for as many users as possible. The App syncs with the Club Spark website bookings sheet so you can view and amend your bookings there as well. Online Web Bookings Follow the link on the KTC website or go directly to their booking system via the link above. Sign in with your ClubSpark login and the booking sheet will appear. You can view the sheet by court or by date. Click on your chosen time slot and a pop-up appears to allow you to select the duration of the session, then click Book Now to confirm the booking. You’ll be sent an email confirmation - and as above, please remember to cancel any bookings you’re unable to use. Parents/Guardians can book courts on the website using their child’s membership by first logging in with their own registered log in details, and then changing the view to the child’s membership with the drop down menu under their name, top right. Any problems – please email membership@knutsfordtennisclub.org.uk and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. The system is relatively simple and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it all works fine, but it’s new for all of us so there could be a few teething troubles to sort out. Courts Closure
Following the government statement issued on Monday we are advising that the tennis courts should not be used by members until further notice. As members of our club we need to follow the government directives and ensure we remain at home until the restrictions are lifted. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19 Obviously, the committee will keep the courts closure under review as and when the situation changes. Subscriptions Renewals In advance of sending out membership renewal notices for the coming season we thought we would share some of the options being discussed by the committee. The next membership period currently runs from 1st May 2020 to 30th April 2021. We do not yet know when the Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted but hopefully this will occur within the next three months. Our current proposals include: - Pay in Full We will be asking for members to continue to pay their membership in full as normal for the May to April period. This is because we need to protect the club’s income so we can cover our ongoing costs and the debt repayments for the 2 new courts. Therefore, payment in full as normal will really help the club’s cash flow. Pay Pro-rata Members can choose to defer and pay pro-rata from when the tennis courts can re-open. For example, this may mean a two-month reduction in the next annual fee if we can play again in July. The requests to continue membership will be coming out early in April and we will include these proposed options in the covering notice. As a committee we would urge as many members as possible to pay in full by the due date to support the tennis club and help keep finances on track. We can then repay our loans for the courts and make sure we have sufficient funds to cover the essential overheads for the next 12 months. We also understand that these are unprecedented times for us all - and the Committee will continue to consider the options if COVID-19 continues to affect our ability to use the Tennis Club facilities. Matches Just to let you know the Winter League matches were stopped before the end of the season and there is as yet no start date for the Summer League. If you have any queries please contact Bill Jackson (Chair) on 07971 641768 or Anne McPhie (Vice Chair) on 07792 462306. We will keep members up to date through this Newsletter but please also keep an eye on your WhatsApp group messages plus our KTC website and Facebook pages. The Main Club building and facilities will be closed until further notice.
The Tennis Courts will remain open and members can choose to play whilst adhering to the latest government recommendations. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19 It will mean though that you will have no access to toilets and hand washing facilities. So please bring whatever you think you need and remove all items (including any litter) from the court with you when you leave. There will be no organised Club Nights. Junior Coaching on a Friday is postponed along with all team coaching until further notice. Mark will still be available for private coaching - please continue to liaise with him directly. If you have any queries please contact Bill Jackson (Chair) on 07971 641768 or Anne McPhie (Vice Chair) on 07792 462306. We will keep members up to date through this Newsletter but please also keep an eye on your WhatsApp group messages plus our KTC / KSC websites and Facebook pages. Court Cleaning You will have seen the dark patches on the courts over the last few months. The torrential rain has brought the “muck” to the surface. Yesterday, Guy Hill and Morten Lindholt jet washed and hoovered the main areas. A big thank you to both of them. They were there most of the day in the rain - and a little thank you to Anne McPhie - who helped a little and provided them with some food. I am sure we will be calling on “Guy’s Crew“ again. So, if you haven’t volunteered already please contact Guy, Bill or Anne. |
