Questions and Answers
MEMBERSHIP, GUESTS, AND PAYMENTS
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 clubhouse has been open since October.
ANSWER: Yes, for sure. Just send us an email at [email protected] and let us know what you would like to do.
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 a 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 in March covers our expenses, which consist mostly of salaries, electricity for the court lights, and court/facility maintenance.
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.
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 prorated refund when you supply us with a doctor’s note.
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.
ANSWER: We do not offer prorated membership fees based on the specific date that you join.
ANSWER: There are nominal fees for other activities like the Ladder, Round Robins, Tournaments, Socials, Snack Bar/Tuck Shop, Guests, etc.
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.
ANSWER: No, there are no maximums regarding guest bookings.
ANSWER: Yes, you certainly can. You just need to modify your booking in the system by adding the non-member as a guest. Doing that, however, will incur the $15.00 guest fee.
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.
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 (Court Reserve 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.)
ANSWER: Members may book up to 73 hours (3 days + 1 hour) in advance of the start of the court time.
ANSWER: Yes, there is. On the booking scheduler, you will see a column on the far left of the grid that allows you to “JOIN WAITLIST.” The system will then notify you (and all others on the waiting list at that time) if/when a court becomes available.
ANSWER: Yes, we allow this during the slow periods of the day/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.
ANSWER: Ball machines are great tennis practice tools. However, their use can interrupt other members' games. Therefore, we request that you only use them during non-peak times (Monday-Friday: 6-9am, 4-6pm, 8pm-close. Saturday-Sunday: 6-9am and 1pm-close) on courts 5, 6 and 7 with the divider nets closed.
ANSWER: No, we do not at this time.
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.
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.
ANSWER: YES. If you cannot play at a time you have reserved, please cancel your reservation at least eight (8) hours in advance to allow other members access to that court time. A reservation that is cancelled with less than an eight (8) hour notice is deemed a “penalty cancellation.” The booking system tracks your total number of penalty cancellations, and if the number gets too high (5 or more in a season), your advance booking privileges will be suspended, and you will have to email us ([email protected]) to request reinstatement. We request that you cancel as early as you possibly can. 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. We
ANSWER: Yes, you certainly can. You just need to modify your booking in the system, delete the member who backed out and add 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.
ANSWER: Yes. Last year, we extended the maximum reservation time to 90 minutes, and this year, we extended it to 120 minutes. The 120-minute bookings, however, will incur an additional $8.00 charge to your account.
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 clubhouse for other members to use for free.
ANSWER: The courts are very dangerous to play on when they are wet. Therefore, we close them while it is raining, as well as afterward 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 Court Reserve. 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 Court Reserve. You can always check the court reserve and 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.
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.
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 eight members registered
- At the end of the registration period (24 hours in advance of the event), in order to ensure 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. 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
- Overview:
- Pairing is done randomly by the court captain before the event begins
- 3–4 courts are used for a 2-hour period
- Three matches are played for 40 minutes each, or whichever team wins the set (the set is a regular six-game 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.
- 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
ANSWER: Yes, we do. It is usually scheduled over five to seven days in August and is open to all members. The events usually include Men’s and women’s Singles and Doubles, Junior Singles and Mixed Doubles.
FACILITIES and SERVICES
ANSWER: Yes, we have two gender-neutral washrooms (recently refurbished) in our clubhouse.
ANSWER: Yes. Our Tuck Shop sells water, Gatorade, soda, coffee, gummy candy, energy bars, ice cream/freezies, slushies, a few snacks, tennis balls/accessories, sunscreen, lip balm, Tylenol, OFF! Spray and wipes and MTC tumblers. You can either pay cash for these items or charge them to your account.
ANSWER: Yes, we have two water coolers in our clubhouse. One of them also has an automatic bottle filler.
ANSWER: These programs are provided by Adamson’s Tennis Academy. Details and registration information can be found on their website at www.adamsonstennisacademy.com. If you have questions that are not answered by the information on the website, you can send an email to [email protected].
MISCELLANEOUS
ANSWER: You can speak with the Court Captain, who is on duty in the clubhouse during staffed hours, or you can email [email protected].
ANSWER: Both March Tennis Club and Adamson’s Tennis Academy are fully staffed for this summer. If you are interested in next summer, please email us ([email protected] and/or [email protected]) in February/March 2024.
ANSWER: They are called “score tubes” and are designed to help you and your partner keep track of your match. At the end of every game, the winner of that game places a ball in the position (on the side of the scorekeeper they are currently playing on) next to the number of games he/she has won so far in that set. This continues until the end of the set, at which time the balls on both sides are returned to the “0” positions.
As the match progresses, the person who has won the most sets so far places a ball in the position (on his/her side) next to the word “SET.” If the set score is tied, no ball is placed in either “SET” position.
At any time during the match, the players, as well as any spectators, can see who is winning the current set and who is leading in the match set score.
ANSWER: Yes, we do. They are usually accompanied by a tennis Round Robin event. We typically have an “Opening Day” event in May and then monthly events in June-September. We serve a BBQ lunch/dinner, and all members, families and guests are invited. We usually charge a modest fee to cover our costs.
ANSWER: Yes. All members are encouraged to provide feedback by sending an email to [email protected] (if it is a club issue) or to [email protected] (if it is a program issue). We will get back to you as quickly as we can.
