Bookings

COURT BOOKING PROCEDURES

Court Bookings for Members:

Members can book courts via the Court Bookings sheet on the external noticeboard on the side of the Clubhouse (or inside if it has not yet arrived!). Bookings will be on a first-come-first-serve basis but no more than 7 days in advance (ie book on Tuesday for the following Tuesday). Bookings can only be made in person on the Court Bookings sheet.

Members can book courts for up to 90 minutes at a time, at any time when the courts are not reserved for club coaching or mix-in sessions or tournaments. Regular club sessions will be blocked out on the court bookings sheets more than 7 days in advance.

Matches, tournaments and special events will be marked on the court bookings sheets as far in advance as possible.

If a member has booked a court but has not turned up to play within 15 minutes after the court booking time started, then the court becomes free and other members can book and play on the court.

To ensure members have the maximum opportunity to use the courts, members are asked to try to cancel their entry on the court bookings sheets if they know they cannot play. Pleasedo not book courts unless you are fully intending to play.

Courts for private coaching sessions will be booked in the same way as other members make court bookings, ie no more than 7 days in advance.

Non-members can only book up to 6 days in advance so members have priority court booking with 7 day advance booking

If nobody has booked the court and you turn up to play, you are advised to write your name on the court bookings sheets: otherwise the court will remain free to be booked by any other member who arrives and writes their name on the court bookings sheets for the next free slot.

VISITORS' & NON-MEMBERS' BOOKING PROCEDURES

Visitors Playing with a Club Member:

Visitors playing with a Member of the club should just sign the Visitors' Book on arrival (essential for insurance purposes) and pay the Visitor's Fee of £3 per visitor, into the Suggestions Box in the clubhouse.

Court Bookings for Non-Members ie. Pay & Play:

Non-members can book courts no more than 6 days in advance and no less than 1 day in advance (ie book between Wednesday - Monday for the following Tuesday), by emailing the Club Secretary (or leaving a message on answer-phone - 01962 771661) .

Bookings should be recorded by those making the booking on the court bookings sheets at the Clubhouse on the day of booking.

The secretary will arrange with the players a time to collect and return the court key.

Non-member's pay & play fees are £6 per court per hour without floodlights; £10 per court per hour with floodlights, and will be payable when court key is collected before play. A £20 refundable key deposit may also be payable.

Visitors playing with a Member of the club should just sign the Visitors' Book on arrival and pay the Visitor's Fee of £3 per visitor, into the box in the clubhouse.

BOOKING & USING THE FLOODLIGHTS

Courts should be booked in the normal way: in writing on the court bookings sheets on the clubhouse, whether play will be under floodlights or not

Floodlight fees are paid by all who use the courts - members and non-members alike (and also added to some club sessions and private coaching run under lights, where the floodlight fee may be divided between the number of players).

The floodlights are operated by a coin metre in the Clubhouse - £1 coins only (£4phr, £2p½hr).

Fees for floodlights: £4 per hour (covers the electricity cost and a small contribution towards the expensive maintenance of the floodlights throughout the year).

Floodlights are timed to go off at 9pm each day and there can be no play after 9pm under lights (to comply with planning permission regulations as well as for the sake of the country village setting)

Floodlights should be switched off if play stops early, and not be left to automatically go off at the end of the timed period. This will help keep artificial light to a minimum in this rural area, as well as save the bulbs. However, if other players are arriving to follow-on under the same lights, please do not switch off the lights unless the gap in play will be more than 10 minutes as the lights should not be switched back on within a 10 minute period (see below)

It is essential that floodlights are not switched back on immediately after they have gone out (this ruins the lights quickly). Please wait 10 minutes before inserting tokens if you have just seen the lights go out.

5 minutes before the lights are due to go out a warning light will come on. As the courts are in a dark area, players are advised to stop play at this point and lock up the clubhouse.

A courtesy light remains on for 5 minutes after the floodlights automatically go out.

Courtesy lights have been installed on 3 of the lighting columns, switched from the clubhouse end and the car park end, to light the path from clubhouse to car park (and vice versa)

Please arrive in good time for your floodlit court booking so that lights do not go off when the previous players leave.