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COVID Procedures at RCRTC

Posted on by DPKSites

Dear members,

Thank you for your patience and for having responded so energetically to our invitation to make bookings at Radley.  We have been in close contact with Radley College, the T&RA, Sport England and many other clubs in England about re-opening and keeping our members and Pros as safe as possible, while enjoying the return of tennis play.  There is no standard model for Covid-19 resistant procedures.  We have written our own, taking the views of all these third parties into account, and our knowledge that our members are responsible, possessed of common sense and goodwill towards all men and women. 

These new rules of play will prevail until further notice.  We know that they are in some respects less prescriptive and restrictive than those at many other clubs, while still being carefully considered with your health and safety in mind.  They are, above all, pragmatic. We hope that, as a result, they will be easy to understand and to follow.  Please help us to protect you and your fellow players by reading the attachment carefully and following the protocol closely.

We realise that everyone is different and that you may not share our interpretation of the plethora of recommendations and preventative measures. We regret if that is the case, but look forward to welcoming you back to the club when conditions have improved and restrictions ease further.  If you have any  comments or questions, please address them to me, as I am the RCTC Covid-19 Containment Officer.

See you on court!

Maggie

COVID-19 PREVENTION RULES OF PLAY, REVISED 11 AUGUST 2020

We are delighted to welcome Radley members back to the
court since 25 July. We want to ensure everyone is kept as
safe as possible, which we feel can be achieved with the
use of common sense and good hygiene and without the
rather draconian measures being enforced at several
English courts.

We are familiar with the approach of most tennis clubs in
England, the T&RA and Sport England. If you are not
happy with the Radley approach set out below, you have
the option not to play until the situation eases further.
The following rules will be in force until further notice and
Radley reserves the right to revise them at any time.
By booking a court, you acknowledge that you have read
these rules and will abide by them. Ignorance of the law is
no defence!

Be Responsible / Keep Your Distance / Wash Your Hands

  1. No one who has, or is suspected of having, the Covid-19 infection, or is vulnerable, or shielding, should come to the court.  
  2. If you are one of the people mentioned above, only come to the court once 14 days have elapsed from the onset of symptoms.  
  3. If you need to cancel a booking because you are one of the people mentioned above, no cancellation fees will be charged, but please give as much notice as possible, to give the Pros time to fill your booking.
  4. A ‘fogging machine’, releasing an anti-coronavirus spray, will be used regularly inside the court.  
  5. The extractor fans in the court will be in use.
  6. No guests or non-players should enter the Club, except the family members of a player.  They may watch from upstairs.
  7. Bring your own water bottle (full, please!) or buy a bottle of water from the Pros (50p).  The water fountain in the clubroom will not be available. 
  8. No drinks from the club fridge or the club’s crockery or glasses will be available for use. 
  9. Arrive promptly, changed and ready to play. You are welcome to come into the Club on arrival and to watch from upstairs until the players coming off court have both left and the court and balls have been cleaned. 
  10. Use the club’s hand gel on arrival. This is IMPERATIVE, to avoid having to play in gloves or having to use marked or restricted sets of balls. 
  11. There will be hand-sanitiser down by the court. Please use it before and after playing.  
  12. The ground floor clubroom must not be used, except to give access to the court.  Seating in the clubroom, the Dedans and the Pros’ area will not be available to members. 
  13. When you come into the club, keep all your possessions with you and leave them by the court, where indicated, while you play. 
  14. Chairs will be provided, down by the court, which are only for using when you change in and out of your court shoes.
  15. Do not put your water bottles in the galleries, please, but leave them off-court.
  16. If you put balls in a pocket, ensure that pocket is otherwise empty. 
  17. Enjoy a terrific game of tennis, taking care to maintain as much distance as possible between players. No handshakes. 
  18. After playing, please do not linger. Return promptly to the club room and give your scores to the Pros, make new bookings and check your account.     
  19. Singles and doubles play and individual practice is permitted.  For doubles, all players should be from the same household or must be comfortable about playing in a non-household group.  
  20. Lessons with a professional can be booked.  
  21. Court booking times will remain the same (i.e. 60, 90 or 120 mins), but the finish time will be earlier. Play must end, and the court be vacated, 5 mins before the scheduled end of the booking.  
  22. The Pros will come into the dedans to tell players when their time is up.  Play must end 5 mins before the scheduled end of the booking, please.  
  23. The changing rooms and showers of the Sports Centre are closed, although the toilets are available.  Please follow the marked one-way system inside the Sports Centre.
  24. Airflow in and around the court is extremely important.  Doors will be left open, when and wherever possible.    
  25. Following a T&RA recommendation, the handicap system is again ‘live’, and scores will be taken as usual and entered by the Pros, unless players agree in advance not to record the score.   
  26. If, having been to the Club, you experience any Covid-19-like symptoms, please contact the Pros, who will tell Maggie immediately and she will inform all those who played the same day.  Such a member will be subject to “Track and Trace” government requirements and their contact details will be passed on as required.  This member should not return to Radley until after their 14-day quarantine period. 

    If you have questions or comments about these rules, please
    contact Maggie Henderson-Tew, the Covid-19 Prevention
    Officer for RCTC, by email: maggie.ht@btinternet.com or
    call her on 07736 666 870.

Be Responsible / Keep Your Distance / Wash Your Hands

And

Above all, Enjoy Your Tennis!