Yesterday the Province announced that tennis courts were permitted to open on May 19th – very exciting news for all of us! But you need to read and hear carefully. Unfortunately, the courts will remain closed until the City of Toronto issues a permit in order for us to open, and we are unsure as to when this might occur.

And even then, it’s not the case of flicking on a switch to get 2020 operations under way.

As such, the DMTC Executive will be receiving direction from the both the City of Toronto and the Ontario Tennis Association in preparation for beginning our tennis season under Covid19 restrictions. There are still many questions and unknowns to be addressed before we will be able to officially open our tennis courts. Once we have received and reviewed the directives from these governing bodies, the Board will be engaged in ongoing meetings, discussions and clarifications in order to ensure that all guidelines are followed and new protocols are put in place so we can get back to the courts safely. We fully anticipate that adaptations will occur to specifically address adapted physical spacing and rigorous hand hygiene and sanitation for members while on court. More to follow on this later.

Some general answers to those of you salivating:

  1. Yes, the bubble is going to come down. Dave of NYTA has been trying to get the bubble down since March 15th! .. but he hasn’t been allowed to set foot on the premises, socially distancing or not. He would have been penalized for even going on premises.
  2. Dave/NYTA anticipates being able to go on to bring the bubble down within the next 2 weeks. He will try do it ASAP. He needs the weather to cooperate as well, as when he gets his crew together, they have to take out all the lamps and equipment inside, they have to also fold the big bubble up for storage. The dry weather is necessary, as, if the bubble is folded while damp or wet, it will mold, and thousands of dollars will be wasted.
  3. We will open up online registration, but only once we have an idea of how we’re going to operate under the new normal.
  4. We WILL also try to reduce membership fees – we don’t know right now what that fee will be. For those who eagerly already sent us a membership cheque, nothing has been cashed, so don’t worry – you know where we are, we know where you are.
  5. Is there going to be teams? Don’t know. Let’s get the operations up safely first.

 

Cheers,

Angela Kooij
President, Don Mills Tennis Club