Elliswick LTC Newsletter – December 2020
Dear Members,
Welcome to our December Newsletter.
We hope you that you have all had a safe Christmas and have enjoyed the festive season. As we come to the end of what has been an unusual year, we, as a committee, would like to thank you all for your continued support. Without you, our club wouldn’t be what it is today.
Now that the year 2020 is over, we wish you all a fulfilling, safer and brighter new year, with good health and even better tennis for all our members and visitors. All the very best wishes for 2021!
COVID-19 UPDATE – Playing Tennis During Coronavirus Outbreak (from the LTA)
We know how important it is for people to be active, and the particular role tennis can have in the physical and mental wellbeing of those that play it. By its very nature, tennis is an activity whereby close person to person contact can be avoided, with the UK Government saying tennis is a good example of an activity that can be undertaken in a way compliant with social distancing restrictions. Please continue to maintain social distancing at all times, only use our own balls and strictly no socialising before and after play.
LTA has now updated the summary grid of tennis activity by tier to reflect the above information and cover Tier 4. This grid has since been further updated to include confirmation that toilets are able to open in Tier 4 areas, as well as the inclusion of additional detail covering coach education. The full LTA Covid-19 Secure guidance documents have now also been updated (29 December) to reflect the Tier 4 restrictions outlined in the summary grid.
https://www.lta.org.uk/globalassets/news/2020/lta-guidance-for-tennis-players—covid-19.pdf
https://www.lta.org.uk/globalassets/news/2020/lta-guidance-for-tennis-venues—covid-19.pdf
MEMBERSHIP
Renewal notices will be issued on Monday 4th January around lunch time. A prompt payment discount of 5% will be applied if you pay in January, in addition to the 10% discount we are giving to renewing members as discussed, and approved, at the AGM.
All renewal fees must be paid by the end of February.
If you do not intend to renew, please email Sally Radcliffe, our Membership Secretary, at [email protected] so that your place can be offered to someone else.
COURT BOOKING
Despite the Tier 4 restrictions, the courts have been very busy throughout the Christmas holidays. It has been really nice to see the members keeping themselves fit and healthy during the current restriction by playing our beloved sport. However, please may we politely remind you of the following guidelines:
- Only full paying adult members and intermediate members (age 16 to 21) can book one court only, multiple court bookings by one member are not allowed at the same time, nor back to back.
- During the tier 4 restrictions, courts may be booked for 1-hour slots only (singles) and 1 ½ hour slots (doubles, within the household/support bubble) and players must vacate the courts and the club grounds at least 5 minutes before the end of their slot. Do not congregate before or after play.
BRINGING A GUEST
Guests are allowed, but please can we ask members to bring guests (only within your household/support bubble) outside peak morning times. Please enter the name and address of the guest together with his/her own name in the visitor’s book which is kept inside the entrance to the clubhouse. At the same time the required visitor’s fee of £3.00 must be paid either via bank transfer to Elliswick LTC account or by cash (in the envelopes provided in the visitor’s book) and no one may be admitted as a guest to play tennis on more than three occasions in any calendar year. The total number of guests permitted per Member per annum is four.
GROUNDS & CLUBHOUSE
- We have now received quotes for static floodlights for courts 5 and 6 from three companies. The floodlight sub-committee is going to decide which company to go for and then we will begin the planning process.
- We are going to carry out a light touch renovation process on courts 4-7 to improve drainage. This should be done, we hope, in the next month. There will be some downtime on the courts, hopefully a few days only. We do not want to invest too much in this surface as we are planning to renew it possibly in 2022, as per our five year plan.
- The creasing issue behind the car park side baseline (on courts 1 and 2, mainly 2) is not responding to treatment. We are going to get a specialist in, to cut the creases and re-glue them flat. The courts will be out for a while during this work. This work should take place in the next month or two, not at the same time as the 4-7 work.
- We will do everything we can to minimise the impact of the court surface work, thanks in advance for your patience while it is done.
TEAM TENNIS
Due to the current Tier 4 restrictions, unfortunately all league matches are on hold until further notice.
Mixed Team Tennis
The new Tier 4 restrictions has put mixed matches back are on hold. With a large backlog, rearranging and completing will be a challenge. We await further guidance as we move into the New Year as to if we continue the league. May we take this opportunity to say thank you to our mixed captains for their commitment during this challenging time. Having to rearrange matches, consult with opposition and book courts has taken additional effort this season and it’s very much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Elliswick LTC Committee
PS, Don’t forget to keep up to date with events at our website http://www.elliswickltc.co.uk and follow our Facebook page as well.