It has been great to see so many members playing again at the Club during July. We are delighted that most Members have decided to rejoin, and we continue to welcome a steady flow of new Members. Thank you all for cooperating with the revised arrangements which are so important for making Purley Bury a safe place for us to play tennis. Special thanks to everyone who has refrained from playing tennis on hot days. It is vital that we do not use the courts when the surface is likely to soften in the year after they are laid. If we do, we will suffer the consequences for the next 10 years. Remember, the first sign of the problem is usually when black marks begin to appear as a result of the paint being rubbed or scuffed off. This can happen any time when the temperature is over 22C especially in direct and sustained sunlight and if it does you must stop playing immediately. Play is not allowed when the temperature is over 25C. This is likely to be the case this coming weekend
Club Tournament
We are delighted to announce that Nathan Ascott will be running the Club Tournament this year during September and October, including Plate events. He will be sending out an email in August inviting Members to to enter the various events
Tennis Balls and Floodlights
As you know, we have asked players at Club Sessions to contribute £1.25 to the cost of providing new tennis balls for each session to mitigate the risk posed by them as a common touch point. Floodlights, if required have been free. Now we have a supply of used balls in good condition and the risk is lower, we have decided to reinstate their use for Club Sessions and only provide new balls when no suitable used balls are available. Different balls will be provided for each session none of which will have been used in the previous 72 hours. Players may, of course use their own tennis balls if they prefer. As from 3 August the charge for early evening Club Sessions will be £1 per player, and £2.50 for late evening Club Sessions. This is predominantly to cover the cost of floodlights. There will be no charge for Sunday Mornings or Mens and Ladies mornings, and no change to the fees for Rusty Rackets, match practice or Saturday Singles. These arrangements will be reviewed again at the end of August.
Payment should be made at the end of the month by BACS to avoid unnecessary handling of cash to
Sort Code: 20-88-13
Account Number: 03184153
Reference: Please quote your name as a reference
May we remind you that you should be making your payment for July now
Playing Surface
As part of the contract to relay the playing surface we ordered the application of a binder before the courts were painted. In the event, the contractor forgot to apply the binder. As we were advised at the time of ordering that the binder would prolong the life of the courts and the quality of the playing surface the contractor has agreed to come back to apply the binder and repaint the courts. This does mean that the courts will be out of use for up to 2 weeks but we think it is in the best interests of the Club to have this done. We hope the contractor will be able to start towards the end of August, but in any case it will be done before the end of September 2020 and we will advise you accordingly.
Bar and Use of Buildings
In the interests of the health and safety of us all, the Club House will remain closed and will not be available for general use other than by people who require access for operational reasons, such as the session organisers, or in emergencies such as accessing first aid.
We are keen to re-open the bar in September assuming our area has not fallen foul of a second wave of COVID-19. Robbie Watt would be pleased to hear from anyone willing to help do this for a particular session. It will involve ensuring the necessary cleaning is done, before during and after the period when the bar is open, managing seating, the queueing arrangements and service to table
Review of Restrictions resulting from COVID-19
All the current restrictions at the Club will be reviewed at the end of August 2020 and as and when Government and LTA guidance changes.
Smile
The Club still needs to raise funds from any available source. We have mentioned before that one easy option is when you purchase items from Amazon by entering www.smile.amazon.co.uk and clicking on Purley Bury Tennis Club as your selected charity. This will attract a donation of 0.5% of your purchases to Purley Bury Tennis Club Charity. You will find Amazon invite you to nominate a charity from time to time and once set up it becomes one of your preferences at no cost to you.
Your Purley Bury Management Team
