All posts by Patrick Jones

Squash restart

Dear Dean squash member,

A few days ago Scottish Squash announced that squash clubs could reopen from Mon 31st Aug, but currently to a very restricted extent, and only if relevant additional restrictions and safety procedures are in place to minimise risk of transfer of infection.  This means that for now, play will be restricted to a single player on court at any one time, for exercise and practice. Two players from the same household may play the standard game.  1:1 coaching is allowed if the coach is not on court.  Full squash is also allowed between under 12s.  

The current guidance to clubs and players is attached below:

https://www.scottishsquash.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/COVID-19-Guidance-for-Squash-Clubs-Players-Coaches-and-Competitions-in-Scotland.-Phase-3-–-Published-26th-August-2020-version-1.pdf
It is our intention to reopen on Thursday 3rd September. This is to give us few days to work through the guidance and put procedures in place to make sure we can comply.  The club’s protocol for use of the facilities will be provided to members by then.   
Initially reopening will be restricted to evenings and weekends as there are contractors in the building redecorating the clubhouse (this had originally been timed to finish before squash reopened, but the Scottish government brought forward the date by 2 weeks).  Refreshing of the courts themselves has already been completed.  It is likely we will have to restrict some of the booking slots to minimise cross-traffic from members arriving and leaving. 
Squash members will now be asked to pay their subscription for the 2020/21 year.  When tennis restarted at the start of June, we decided to move the year end date to 31st May 2021.  We will make this the end date for squash membership too, so it will be a 9 month year for squash.  The subscription will be reduced in proportion to the number of months lost, and because of the restrictions being placed on squash activities, the proportion for September will be discounted.  So essentially the cost will be 2/3 of the full year cost.  Members will have received renewal messages from membermojo recently, and the ability to renew will be enabled before Thursday.  

Any questions, please forward to me, Jerry and Michael.  Thanks for your patience and we hope you are looking forward to getting back on court
best wishes,David, on behalf of the club committee.

Volunteers please

We are currently refurbishing the Clubhouse including installing new lighting and redecorating. As part of this process we want to discard rubbish that has accumulated over many years as well as replace/ throw out old and broken furniture and fittings and many other unwanted items.

We need a group of able bodied volunteers to carry these items from the Clubhouse to the Dean Park Crescent gate ready to be picked up by our waste contractor.

We propose to do this on the morning of Saturday 19th September starting at 9:00. Hopefully it will take no more than one hour – depends on the number of volunteers. Duncan Robertson has already volunteered to help with the supervision. We have agreed that supervision will not include the heavy lifting!

Please reply directly to me.

Jerry Williams

jerrywilliams836@btinternet.com

DEAN T&SC CLUB: COVID 19 – RETURN TO TENNIS PROTOCOL

(Revision: 21st June)

Booking Courts and Tennis Activity
o The courts are available for:
o singles tennis;
o doubles provided that each partnership is from the same household
o Play is not permitted unless your court is booked prior to arrival at the Club
o Limit your booking session to one hour
o If you cannot use a booked court, cancel the booking as soon as possible to allow other members to play
o The practice wall should not be used at this time


Junior and Child Members
o Children over the age of 14 (Intermediate category) are subject to the same rules as adult members
o Junior and child members may only play with adult supervision
o Junior and child members from separate households may play against each other with supervision from off the court by one parent or a parent of each child who must abide by the social distancing guidelines
o Adult supervision is required even if the junior is playing with a sibling in the Intermediate membership category
o Games involving junior or child members should be booked on Courts 1 or 4 to allow off-court
supervision.
o Child members (under 9 y.o.) may use the mini court with a parent who need not be a member of
the Club
o Other rules remain as below


Coming to the Club
o Avoid touching the entrance gate. It is possible to open and close gates touching only your key.
o Aim to arrive 5 minutes before your booking time.
o Ensure you maintain a 2 m distance between yourself and other members present
o Be aware of other members using steps or the path and wait for them to allow 2 m distancing
o Do not enter the courts until your court has been vacated
o For access to courts use: steps by the Clubhouse (Court 1); steps on Lennox St bank (Courts 2&3);
gate from mini-court (Court 4).


Clubhouse access and general hygiene
o Wash your hands at home before coming to the Club
o Members are advised to bring their own hand sanitising gel
o Hand sanitising gel is available outside the Clubhouse door
o Avoid touching surfaces at the Club such as fences, handrails, gates, benches, etc.
o Use hand sanitiser after your match
o Do not shake hands after the match, remember to remain at a safe distance apart


Tennis balls
Tennis balls are a potential vector for virus transmission
o Players must bring their own balls to the club (no more than 4)
o The balls must have clearly marked to identify ownership
o Players may choose either to use their own balls for their service games or to use a single set of balls
o If 2 sets of balls are in use, do not pick up your opponent’s balls and return balls to the server using the racket or foot
o If a single set of balls is used, make sure you avoid touching your face and use hand sanitising gel after you finish your game
o Balls hit from adjacent courts should be returned as soon as practicable using your racket or foot
o Do not chase balls hit from your court onto adjacent courts when they are in use


During the game
Social distancing by 2 m is readily achieved in singles tennis and between partnerships in doubles
o Net height adjustment has been disabled to minimise risk of virus transmission
o Players should consider the option of not changing ends between games
o If you do change ends, do so on opposite sides of the court and maintain your distance from
players on the adjacent court
o Do not play on for more than 20 minutes into the buffer period between booking
o Please leave the Club without undue delay after you have finished playing


General
The Tennis Scotland Guidance and these Rules emphasise the aim of minimising the risk of
transmitting Covid-19 between members. That can be helped by minimising the numbers present at
the Club at any one time.
o In accordance with the Government’s guidelines, we ask you to remain at home should you, or
anyone you live with, develop the symptoms of Covid-19
o We ask you to play tennis in accordance with these instructions
o Do not use the Club as an opportunity to socialise with other members
o You are advised to use hand sanitising gel after touching shared surfaces such as gates.
o Should you develop the symptoms of Covid-19, you are advised to follow the Scottish

Government’s ‘test and protect’ guidelines: https://www.nhsinform.scot/campaigns/test-and-
protect

These rules will be reviewed throughout the period of restrictions on activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic with particular regard to the restrictions applied by the Scottish Government and advice given by Tennis Scotland

COVID 19 – RULES FOR RETURN TO TENNIS

Booking Courts and Tennis Activity
o The courts are available for:
o singles tennis;
o doubles provided that each partnership is from the same household
o Play is not permitted unless your court is booked prior to arrival at the Club
o Limit your booking session to one hour
o Use Courts 1 or 3 for doubles play
o The practice wall should not be used at this time


Junior Members (children less than 14 y.o.)
o Children over the age of 14 (Intermediate category) are subject to the same rules as adult members
o Junior members may only play with adult supervision
o Juniors from separate households may play against each other with supervision from off the court
by one parent or a parent of each child who must abide by the social distancing guidelines
o Adult supervision is required even if the junior is playing with a sibling in the Intermediate
membership category
o Games involving juniors must be booked on Court 4 with no booking permitted after 18:00 on
weekdays
o Other rules remain as below


Coming to the Club
o Avoid touching the entrance gate. It is possible to open and close gates touching only your key.
o Aim to arrive 5 minutes before your booking time.
o Ensure you maintain a 2 m distance between yourself and other members present
o Be aware of other members using steps or the path and wait for them to allow 2 m distancing
o Do not enter the courts until your court has been vacated
o For access to courts use: steps by the Clubhouse (Court 1); steps on Lennox St bank (Courts 2&3);
gate from mini-court (Court 4).


Clubhouse access and general hygiene
o Wash your hands at home before coming to the Club
o Members are advised to bring their own hand sanitising gel
o The Clubhouse is not currently accessible
o Hand sanitising gel is available outside the Clubhouse door
o Avoid touching surfaces at the Club such as fences, handrails, gates, benches, etc.
o Use hand sanitiser after your match
o Do not shake hands after the match, remember to remain at a safe distance apart


Tennis balls
Tennis balls are a potential vector for virus transmission
o Players must bring their own balls to the club (no more than 4)
o The balls must have clearly marked to identify ownership
o Use your own balls when you serve
o Do not pick up your opponent’s balls
o Balls should be returned to the server using the racket only
o Balls hit from adjacent courts should be returned as soon as practicable using your racket or foot
o Do not chase balls hit from your court onto adjacent courts when they are in use.

During the game
Social distancing by 2 m is readily achieved in singles tennis and between partnerships in doubles
o Net height adjustment has been disabled to minimise risk of virus transmission
o Players should consider the option of not changing ends between games
o If you do change ends, do so on opposite sides of the court and maintain your distance from
players on the adjacent court
o Do not play on for more than 20 minutes into the buffer period between booking
o Please leave the Club without undue delay after you have finished playing


General
The Tennis Scotland Guidance and these Rules emphasise the aim of minimising the risk of
transmitting Covid-19 between members. That can be helped by minimising the numbers present at
at the Club at any one time.
o In accordance with the Government’s guidelines, we ask you to remain at home should you, or
anyone you live with, develop the symptoms of Covid-19
o To play tennis in accordance with these instructions
o Not to use the Club as an opportunity to socialise with other members.

These rules will be reviewed throughout the period of restrictions on activities due
to the Covid-19 pandemic with particular regard to the restrictions applied by the Scottish Government and advice given by Tennis Scotland

Covid-19

The Club will remain closed until the Scottish Government permits the resumption of sports. Tennis Clubs in England were permitted to re-open on 14th May and we are hopeful that we will be able to re-open for tennis in the near future. We have carried out a risk assessment for tennis activity at the Club in accordance with Guidelines issued by the LTA on  12th May. We are committed to adherence to those guidelines when tennis activity resumes in Scotland in order to minimise the risk of spreading coronavirus due to activities at the Club.

Sadly, the resumption of indoor and close contact sports is unlikely to be permitted in the near future and our squash courts will have to remain closed.