Oak Bay Tennis Club

The Oak Bay Tennis Club

Rules for the Use of the

Courts and Club House

1. Use of the land for tennis is not permitted between sunset and 8:30 a.m.; except tennis shall not be played before 9:00 a.m. on Sundays or holidays.

2. In a spirit of good manners and respect for our neighbours, members are strongly urged that when at all possible they park their vehicles on the roadway immediately in front of the Club property on Bowker Avenue or Cavendish Road. Members are encouraged to use environmentally friendly alternative transport such as ride sharing, public transit, cycling or walking.

3. Proper tennis attire must be worn. Only non-marking court shoes are allowed.

4. Single matches must be played on the singles court whenever possible. If a singles match is in progress on a doubles court and a doubles group indicates that it is waiting to play, the singles group must do one of the following

a. continue their singles match up to a maximum of two more games
or
b. invite two of the waiting doubles group to join them in a doubles match. If their invitation is declined, then they may elect to finish their set (subject to 6.1 below).

5. The Board System must be used whenever all playable courts are in use. It is designed to provide maximum member participation and correct order among those waiting.

5.1 Every Senior Member has a block with his or her name on it. There are also blocks for use by guests.

5.2 Waiting players place their blocks on the board when they are available to play.

5.3 The chooser is the first name at the left on the board, and must make his/her choice of partners from the next eleven (11) names to the right.

5.4 If the chooser is a man and the next eleven (11) names are women (or the reverse), the chooser may elect to surrender the choice and vacant court to the next name, while retaining the chooser position.

5.5 A person refusing to play when invited shall have his/her block placed at the end of the waiting line, unless he/she declined in order to play with a guest.

5.6 A waiting group must take the first court that becomes available.

5.7 When a match is completed and the group's blocks are returned to the board, the chooser's block is placed last.

6. When people are waiting to play, only one short set shall be played with the winner being the first to win five games and a tie break played at 4 – 4.

6.1 A group of five or more players rotating one or more person in and out of play may play for 30 minutes, and then they must give their court to the next waiting group

6.2 Players practicing rather than playing a set may play for 30 minutes, and then they must give their court to the next waiting group

7. Senior Members have priority over Junior Members, except as shown below.

7.1 When Seniors ask Juniors to vacate a court (or vice versa), the players must be allowed to finish the game in progress. A Junior playing with a Senior has Senior playing status for the duration of the set.

7.2 Juniors have priority over Seniors on Mondays after 4:00 p.m., except when that Monday is a statutory holiday; then the Junior priority will start at 5:00 p.m.

7.3 On Fridays after 4:00 p.m., Seniors and Juniors have equal access to the courts. Unless the Club Board of Directors decide that another day is more suitable, on Saturday and Sunday Juniors and Seniors have equal access to courts from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.

8. Members must register their playing guests in the Guest Register each day before they play. Guest fees are included with the member’s annual fee. Guests may be invited to play for a maximum of ten (10) days a year

9. Balls are supplied from Opening Day through to Closing Day. This service is only possible if members observe the following rules:

9.1 Senior balls must be put in the Senior Rack at the end of each match, and the rack should be locked in the storeroom at the end of each day. Junior members do not have access to the storeroom.

9.2 Junior balls must be put in the Junior Rack inside the Clubhouse.

10. Court #1 may be preempted for ball-machine use or other practice drills provided other courts are available. Juniors may use the ball machine under the supervision of a Senior.

11. Safekeeping of Club property is every member's responsibility. If you are the last or one of the last to leave the Club, please check the following:

• Have all the balls been returned to the storeroom?

• Is the storeroom locked?

• Are all lights out and the thermostat turned down?

• Is the Clubhouse locked? Are the gates locked?

All members have a key; don't hesitate to lock up while others are playing on the courts.

12. The Clubhouse should normally be vacated by one (1) hour after dusk and remain so until the following morning. Use of the Clubhouse for private functions or outside these hours must be authorized by the Board of Directors

13. The successful operation of our Club depends on members' observance of agreed upon rules and common courtesy towards each other. If another member is seen to be ignoring these rules, a polite reminder is often sufficient. If not, the circumstances should be reported to a member of the Board of Directors.