Dear All

I expect many of you are wondering what the recent local restrictions concerning Covid-19 would mean for our ability to play tennis.

We have checked the advice on the Northumberland County Council website, but we found it unclear concerning tennis. 

(To open, right click on the link below and click “open link”)

https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/coronavirus/Latest-information-and-advice-on-Coronavirus.aspx

The Government website gives clearer guidance, see below.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/north-east-of-england-local-restrictions

Happily, the LTA have put advice on their website which seems clear. I have copied the relevant section below.

https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/tennis-news/news-and-opinion/general-news/2020/march/coronavirus-covid-19---latest-advice/

Local Restrictions (updated 17 September 2020)

A list of  areas in England affected and the rules in place for these can be read on the Gov.uk website:

• List of Local Restrictions in England

• From Friday 18 September, in specified areas of the North East of England, spectating should not take place at tennis activity. Supervision however, can continue, and so where attendance of a parent/guardian (non-participant) is required, or a carer for a disabled player, it is permitted, but should be off court and limited to one per player where possible

Other than the above exceptions, tennis activity in areas of England with local restrictions may continue as it previously did so and as is permitted elsewhere in England, subject to it being done so in line with the LTA guidelines for players, venues, coaches and competitions.

Anyone taking part in or running tennis activity should however be aware of whether they are in an area with local restrictions, and if so what the restrictions are as they may impact on aspects of the activity beyond the tennis court, such as restrictions on travel, socialising with people outside of your household off the court (e.g in venue clubhouses), clubhouse bar opening times etc. 

My interpretation of this advice is that we are still allowed to play social tennis, including playing with people from another household, but we must be careful that we observe all the local restrictions by not socialising before or after the game and avoiding the use of public transport as this is not essential. We also still need to remember the Rule of Six, which means that we should not play social tennis in groups larger than six people.

I think that our club sessions, on Sunday morning and Wednesday afternoon are still allowed to continue.

My interpretation is that coaching should still be allowed.

In order to continue to play safely, I advise everyone to continue to be very careful to follow all the advice on safe play which is found on the LTA website.

https://www.lta.org.uk/globalassets/news/2020/lta-guidance-for-tennis-players---covid-19.pdf

In particular:

• Do not play if you are unwell. 
• Wash your hands at home, before and after playing. 
• Use hand gel, supplied on the court door, before and after playing. 
• Stay at least 2 m away from others and do not socialise before or after the game.

Can I also remind people that we are required to keep a register of all players. There is a log in the entrance lobby to the clubhouse, which you should sign and leave contact details when you play.

If you use the court booking system to book your court, this also helps us to know who has been playing, should we have a request from the Track and Trace service.

I hope that you agree with my interpretation of the advice.

Ultimately, we all need to make our own mind up about what levels of risk we feel happy to accept. The club will continue to do all it can to make the courts a safe place to play tennis.

Stay safe

Gordon Cameron

Chair - Rothbury Tennis Club