MEMBERSHIP, GUESTS and PAYMENTS
QUESTION: What time period does my membership cover?
ANSWER: The official season starts at the beginning of May. However, we open the courts in the spring as soon as the weather allows. Over the last several years, this has varied from the last week of March to mid-April. Likewise, the official season ends on October 1, but we do not close the courts until around the beginning of November (weather dependent). However, we no longer turn on the lights in the evenings starting in mid to late October. The club is staffed and the club house is open May-October.
QUESTION: If I purchase one type of membership, and then later decide that I want to upgrade that membership to another type (i.e. Adult to Couple), am I able to do that?
ANSWER: Yes, for sure. Just send us an email at [email protected] and let us know what you would like to do.
QUESTION: Aren’t these courts owned by the City of Ottawa? Why can’t I play for free?
ANSWER: The City of Ottawa has two different types of tennis court facilities: public and private. The public courts are not staffed and are available for any resident to drop-by and play on at any time. The private courts are operated by local not-for-profit organizations like The March Tennis Club, under formal agreement with the City of Ottawa Parks and Recreation Department. These courts are typically kept in better shape, are much better suited for organized play and usually have small clubhouses with some type of washroom facility. The membership fee that you pay at March covers our expenses, which consist mostly of salaries, electricity for the court lights, and court/facility maintenance.
QUESTION: Do you stop accepting new memberships when your numbers get high?
ANSWER: If we get to the point where, based on the total number of current members, and the type of memberships they are, we feel that members will struggle to get adequate court time, we will restrict new sign ups.
QUESTION: Can I get a membership refund if I decide that I don’t want to play any longer?
ANSWER: We do not offer refunds unless you are not able to play for the remainder of the season for medical reasons. In this case, we will typically offer a pro-rated refund when you supply us a doctor’s note.
QUESTION: Do you charge court fees in addition to the yearly membership fee?
ANSWER: For regular match times (30, 60 or 90 minutes) there are no additional fees. If you book a match for the Extended time of 120 minutes, there is an $8.00 court fee.
QUESTION: Are there extra charges for anything else at the club?
ANSWER: There are nominal fees for other activities like the Ladder, Round Robins, Tournaments, Socials, Snack Bar/Tuck Shop, Guests, etc.
QUESTION: Can I bring a guest to the club?
ANSWER: Yes, you certainly can. When you reserve a court and add the guest to your reservation, a fee of $15.00 per guest will be added to your account.
QUESTION: Is there a maximum number of times that I can bring a guest?
ANSWER: No, there are no maximums regarding guest bookings.
QUESTION: Can I bring a non-member with me to help me practice?
ANSWER: Yes, you certainly can. You just need to modify your booking in the system, adding the non-member as a guest. Doing that, however, will incur the $15.00 guest fee.
QUESTION: Can I pay cash?
ANSWER: Membership purchase is handled by our web application and only credit is accepted. Purchases from our Tuck Shop/Snack Bar can either be paid for in cash, or charged to your member account.
QUESTION: When I incur a charge to my account for an event, guest fee, extended court time, tuck shop/snack bar purchase, etc. do I need to pay that fee immediately?
ANSWER: No. We would actually prefer that you wait until the end of every month when you receive your monthly account statement. If you have a credit card on file with us (CourtReserve calls it a Payment Profile), we will automatically charge your account balance to that card three days after we send out your statement.
COURT BOOKING and PLAYING
(Note: Many other questions regarding court booking can be answered by reading our Booking Rules and Regulations HERE.)
QUESTION: How far in advance can I book a court?
ANSWER: Members may book up to 73 hours (3 days + 1 hour) in advance of the start of the court time.
QUESTION: Can I book a court for practice where I am the only member on the court?
ANSWER: Yes, we allow this during the slow periods of the season. However, during the peak months, we require a minimum of two people on the court to maximize the use of the courts. Each person on the court must either be a current member or a registered guest.
QUESTION: Can I use my ball machine?
ANSWER: Ball machines are great tennis practice tools. However, their use can interrupt other member’s games. Therefore, we request that you only use them on courts 5, 6 and 7 with the divider nets closed.
QUESTION: Do you have a ball machine that I can borrow or rent?
ANSWER: No, we do not at this time.
QUESTION: If I have a court reservation, do I still need to check-in before I go on the court?
ANSWER: Yes, everyone on the court must be “checked-in”. However, this only applies during the hours that the club is staffed. If the Office window is open, you need to check-in. If it’s closed, you do not.
QUESTION: When I cancel a court reservation, why do I have to tell you why I am cancelling every time?
ANSWER: When you reserve a court, it makes that court unavailable to other members for that time period. Therefore, we try to minimize the number of times when members book a court and then cancel it. We monitor the number of times each member cancels, and if it seems excessive, we may no longer allow that member to book in advance. However, we do realize that plans can change, and that health issues can also impact your ability to play. Therefore, some periodic cancellations are totally justifiable.
QUESTION: If I book a court, and then I’m not able to play at that time, do I need to cancel my booking?
ANSWER: YES. This is very important. Cancelling frees up the court for other members to book/use. We monitor the number of times that members book a court and then do not show up to use it (without cancelling), and if it seems excessive, we may no longer allow that member to book in advance.
QUESTION: If the member that I was planning to play with backs out, can I bring a friend who is not a member to fill that slot?
ANDWER: Yes, you certainly can. You just need to modify your booking in the system, deleting the member who backed out and adding your friend as a guest. Doing that, however, will incur the $15.00 guest fee. If the fee is not acceptable, then you can just cancel the reservation and re-book another time.
QUESTION: Can I play for more than an hour at a time?
ANSWER: Yes. Last year we extended the maximum reservation time to 90 minutes, and this year to 120 minutes. The 120 minutes bookings, however, will incur an additional $8.00 charge to your account.
QUESTION: Does the club provide tennis racquets or balls?
ANSWER: We do not provide racquets. However, we do sell balls at the Tuck Shop. Also, when members are ready to use new balls, many of them will give us their old balls. These balls are then available at the club house for other members to use for free.
QUESTION: What happens when it is raining?
ANSWER: The courts are very dangerous to play on when they are wet. Therefore, we close them while it is raining, as well as afterwards while we dry them. Sometimes, depending on the sun and temperature, it can take a while to get them dry after the rain stops. As soon as the rain starts, we will close the courts on CourtReserve. This will send an email/text to everyone who already has a reservation for the “closed” time period. When the courts are dry and safe to play on again, we will reopen them on CourtReserve. You can always check the CourtReserve court reservation grid to see if we are open or closed. When it appears obvious to us that the rain will continue for the remainder of the day, or when it has rained so much that it will take at least overnight for the courts to dry, we will close them for the remainder of the day. When the club is not staffed, you play at your own risk. We urge you to be cautious.
QUESTION: I am new to the March Tennis Club. How do I find other members to play a match with?
ANSWERS: If you are new to the March Tennis Club, or you are a returning member and just looking for other members to play a match with, we offer several suggestions to you. Please click on “FIND A PARTNER” in the menu above.
QUESTION: How do the Round Robins work?
ANSWER:
- Sign-Up:
- Each player signs up individually
- This event is for intermediate to advanced players
- In order for the event to occur, we must have at least 8 members registered
- At the end of the registration period (24 hours in advance of the event) in order to insure proper pairing, if you are the 11th or 15th person to register, your registration may be cancelled
- New balls will be provided by the club. and there will be a $2.50 fee per person/per event to cover the cost. If your registration or the event is cancelled, the fee will be credited back to your account
2. Overview:
- Pairing is done randomly by the court captain before the event begins
- 3-4 courts are used for a 2 hour period
- 3 matches are played for 40 minutes each or whichever teams wins the set (set is a regular 6 games set)
- If time expires, then whichever team is in the lead wins
- In general, the winners move up a court and the losers move down a court (See below for details)
- Over time there will be a “seeding” that becomes apparent and the stronger players will start on Court 1 and weaker teams on Court 4.
3. Court Relegation:
- Court 1 – Winners stay, Losers move to Court 2
- Court 2 – Winners move up to Court 1, Losers move down to Court 3
- Court 3 – Winners move up to Court 2, Losers move down to Court 4
- Court 4 – Losers stay, Winners move up to Court 3
FACILITIES and SERVICES
QUESTION: Do you have washrooms at the club?
ANSWER: Yes, we have two gender neutral washrooms in our club house.
QUESTION: Do you sell drinks and food at the club?
ANSWER: Yes. Our Tuck Shop sells water, Gatorade, soda, coffee, gummy candy, energy bars, ice cream/freezies, a few snacks, tennis balls/accessories, sun screen and lip balm. You can either pay cash for these items or charge them to your account.
QUESTION: Can I fill up my water bottle at the club?
ANSWER: Yes, we have two water coolers in our club house. One of them also has an automatic bottle filler.
QUESTION: How do I find out the details of the instructional programs and register for those programs?
ANSWER: These programs are provided by Adamson’s Tennis Academy. Details and registration information can be found on their web site at: www.adamsonstennisacademy.com. If you have questions that are not answered by the information on the web site, you can send an email to: [email protected].
MISCELLANEOUS
QUESTION: What should I do if I have a question that is not answered here?
ANSWER: You can speak with the Court Captain who is on-duty in the Club house during staffed hours, or you can email [email protected].
