May Newsletter for Official Club Opening
Welcome to the 2021 tennis season at the White Oaks Park Tennis Club! The Provincial government has initiated its reopening plan and we can’t wait to play tennis! We are awaiting the City of Mississauga confirmation to open the club this Saturday May 22nd. The online court booking system is currently live and you can book a court.
Covid-19
The club has responsible members and we appreciate your efforts during these challenging times of the pandemic.
The good news is that more folks are getting vaccinated and second doses could start soon. We know that everyone is looking forward to a return to normalcy but we’re not there yet. The bad news is that the NO GUEST policy at the club continues for everyone’s safety.
It is still important that you:
- Wear your mask at the club except when playing tennis and
- Socially distance at all times.
- Use the hand sanitizer available on the deck when you check in and also, when you leave the club.
- Do not congregate with friends to ensure there is no spread of the virus.
- Stay home if you are not felling well.
Everyone has a responsibility to ensure that the club stays open!
Booking a Court and Arrival at Club
As requested by members, you are now able to book a court starting at 7:30 a.m. See rule #1 of the Online Booking Rules on the website:
- Online booking is open daily at 7:30 a.m. and can be done remotely by logging into your account or through the club attendant who will have a computer in the clubhouse.
We are a club with about 1200 members. Everyone wants to be outside and play tennis. Consequently members may book one week in advance and up to a maximum of 3 times at any given time. See rule #6:
- Members can book a court up to seven days in advance. Three bookings are allowed within the seven days and as bookings are used, additional booking can be made in the online booking system.
When you arrive at the club, you are to:
- Give the court attendant:
- Your name,
- Time of play and
- Court number
- Each member of your group to do the same
Facilities
The clubhouse will be open when court attendants are on duty but ONLY for use of the washrooms. Since you will be inside, please wear your MASK. Court attendant hours are 8:00 a.m. until noon and 3:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.
Rules Update
Most rules in place for 2020 remain the same. Here’s the link https://www.whiteoaksparktennis.com/online-booking-rules/. There are some updates:
Same Day Bookings
You can book up to a maximum of 2.5 hours ONLY on a SAME DAY booking. For example, you have a booking at 8 p.m. on Friday for one hour and see that there is a free court at 11 a.m. for one hour on the same day. You could then book that 11 a.m. slot because it is on the same day as the initial booking provided the total time does not exceed 2.5 hours. For a same day additional booking, the 3 reservations rolling limit at any given time does not apply.
- Two people are allowed to book a court for either 30 minutes or 60 minutes on any of the 8 courts. Additional same day bookings are allowed if there are courts available.
Wait List
You may have noticed the term “wait list” after you book your court. This feature allows other members to place their names on a wait list for that court, in the event that you are unable to keep your reservation.
Since we moved to the online system from the chalk board, play time has increased from 30 minutes to a maximum of one hour for singles and 90 minutes for doubles. Members have provided feedback that the online court booking system is a vast improvement over the chalk board!
Maintenance
- On a daily basis certain playing times will be blocked off for court maintenance. During those times Members are not to be going on the courts even if they do not see anyone working on them. Members can check the maintenance schedule online daily even if the maintenance is during a time that online booking is not allowed for members.
Rain
A camera has been installed to allow members to check the condition of the courts. Simply log into your account and access the “live” camera view.
Remember, we are a club managed by volunteers. If it does rain, please cancel your court. See rule #4:
- If courts are closed due to weather or other emergencies, members are required to cancel their reservation. If you are unable to cancel the booking through your online account, please email attendant@whiteoaksparktennis.com to cancel. There will be no penalty to the Members
Cancellations, No Shows and Penalties
No Shows
Last season, member complaints were received that courts were booked but no one was using them. This occurred due to “no shows” who didn’t cancel their court, especially during prime time. It’s easy to cancel a court through the host’s account. This year, you are required to cancel at least 2 hours before playtime, in order that other members have time to book and use the court.
See rules 2 and 3:
- Cancellation of court bookings can be done without penalty up until 2 hours before the start of the booked slot. Members can make cancellations themselves online or contact the club at 905 855-0900 during working hours or email the club at attendant@whiteoaksparktennis.com.
- Cancellations made less than 2 hours prior to the booked slot will result in a written warning if there are no other courts available at that time. If a further cancellation is made less than 2 hours before the booked court time, then the member’s booking privileges will be suspended for 7 days.
Ladders
The 3 ladders being organized for 2021 are ready to go. The rules have been updated and are available online at this link https://www.whiteoaksparktennis.com/adult-tennis/ladders/
If you are a registered ladder participant, you should have received an email indicating you were registered. If you have not registered, there is still time to do so.
“NEW”
The doubles box ladder will start for the year as of the club’s reopening day. The teams are to play other teams within their box; there are 6 boxes of players that have been set up. The players in each box will be adjusted for the July round into 6 new boxes.
The mixed and ladies challenge ladders will start as of the club’s reopening day. For the first 14 days, you can challenge up by 20 spots, if you feel that you have been ranked too low. Please don’t challenge up too high unless you legitimately think that you have been placed too low; that will just make for lopsided games which isn’t fun for anyone. After the first 14 days, and for the remainder of the season, you can only challenge up 10 positions.
If you have any questions, please contact ladder@whiteoaksparktennis.com
FOBS
For new members who have yet to pick up their FOB, you can pick it up from our membership director, Sue Adorjan on the following dates:
May 22 – 10am – 1pm
May 23 – 10am – 1pm
May 24 – 10am – 1pm
If you still cannot pick up your fob, please contact membership@whiteoaksparktennis.com to make arrangements. FOB pickup will be cancelled, in the event of rain or inclement weather.
Lessons and Programs
Lessons will resume now that the club is reopening and the restrictions are lifted. The start of the junior weekend programs is postponed until the weekend of June 19th.
The start of the adult programs is postponed until the week of June 14th.
Attila will reach out before the end of May to currently registered participants to reconfirm their registration for the new schedule, which will also be posted on the website.
The summer camps will run as scheduled.
To book a lesson or register for a program, please contact Attila at:
attila@whiteoaksparktennis.com.
Abuses
When the club opened in April, member complaints were received about folks who were abusing the court booking rules. Names have been provided to your executive team and your bookings will be watched. In particular, the following rule was not followed:
- Four members are permitted to book a court for a minimum of 30 minutes up to a maximum of 90 minutes. NOTE: Two 60-minute single bookings cannot create 2 hours of doubles play time.
If you are found to be playing doubles when you booked singles, you will be asked to revert to your singles play. Further, you will receive a warning email and should this re-occur, your booking privileges would be suspended for one week per the following rule:
- Where there are abuses of the online booking system, those members will be given a verbal or email warning. If the abuse persists, a second warning will be sent to the member. If the abuse still continues, then the member’s booking privileges will be suspended for 7 days.
It is disappointing that a few members can spoil the fun of other members. We encourage you to follow the rules so everyone can enjoy court time.
We look forward to a fun and healthy season of tennis!
Whiteoaks Park Tennis Club
