Dear Fishbourne Tennis Club member,

Welcome to the latest update from your committee as we – slowly, slowly – head into tennis life after lockdown. On behalf of all your friends at Fishbourne and your committee, we hope you are keeping fit and well.

Tennis rules as of 1 June: green light for doubles

Following Boris Johnson’s statement on Thursday 28 May, four club members from different households can from 1 June 2020 play doubles together as long as they keep 2m apart at all times. This loosening of restrictions has been ratified by the LTA. FTC is pleased to follow this advice but urges all members who intend to take advantage of it to be more alert to the dangers of transmitting the virus than ever. We will only be able to stay safe if we follow all public health guidelines to the letter.

As has been the case since FTC’s partial reopening on 13 May, all games must be privately arranged; club sessions remain on hold until further notice. The courts remain closed to the public. Only courts 1, 2 and 4 are available; court 3 is not separately enclosed and is therefore being kept out of action as a way of helping with social distancing rules.

FTC is pleased to follow this advice but urges all members who intend to take advantage of it to be more alert to the dangers of transmitting the virus than ever. We will only be able to stay safe if we follow all public health guidelines to the letter. 

As has been the case since FTC’s partial reopening on 13 May, all games must be privately arranged; club sessions remain on hold until further notice. The courts remain closed to the public.

Only courts 1, 2 and 4 are available; court 3 is not separately enclosed and is therefore being kept out of action as a way of helping with social distancing rules.

The courts have to be booked online, via the club website, for a maximum of an hour per day in any one person’s name. This is so everyone can get a game if they want it. If you book a court but can’t make it, please remember to cancel it. The hitting wall is available for solo practice, but court 1 must be booked.

The clubhouse remains locked shut and there are no longer any club balls available, so bring your own – if you mark them they won’t get mixed up with anyone else’s.

Please bear in mind all this is conditional on government health guidelines being followed, and is subject to change at any time so watch out for updates!

FTC annual subscriptions

The committee would like to thank all FTC members who have renewed their subscription for 2020/21. The club needs subs income to fund improvements at the club, and thanks to your support at a difficult time the club has been able to continue with its improvement plans.

As a thank you for your loyalty and support, you will be eligible for a special reduced membership rate when renewal comes around again next April. Membership secretary Ivor and treasurer Bryan will be in contact with you separately about this soon.

But what if I haven’t yet renewed?

The committee decided that players who were paid-up members in 2019/20 but who haven’t yet renewed for this year are still able to book courts and play tennis at Fishbourne. However, this concession comes to an end on 30 June. 

FTC coming back with a bang

Thanks to those members who have renewed for this year, the plan to improve the club is going ahead as scheduled. A new drainage system has been installed around court 1. Court 1 itself will be resurfaced with Tiger Turf (identical to court 2) asap: the new surface is on order and we hope work will be finished by end July; the court will be out of action for about two weeks and the dates of this will be advised separately. New fencing with extra gates and floodlighting to court 1 are next up.

The Fishbourne Centre is hoping to have finished soon its new drinks terrace. ‘The Wimbledon Bar’ is close to our clubhouse and promises to be perfect for a post-game reviver in the sunshine.

Committee changes

All members will want to wish Caroline James all the best as pressure of work forces her to bow out – the committee will miss her incisive judgments and members are sure to miss her fiendish quizzes! Joining the committee is Jazz Kimbell whose wise counsel will be invaluable in all areas and especially as the club’s fixtures secretary for the Portsmouth & District leagues.

Other committee members remain Nicola Dawtrey, Kate Gurl, David Lord, Ivor Smith, Bryan Doling and Bob Murray. Anyone interested in joining the committee can talk to any one of us.

Let’s play more tennis! On behalf of all your friends at Fishbourne and your committee, we hope you are keeping fit and well.