Statement issued by Tom Vinall Centre Manager at 2100 on 18/03/2020
Continued Updates - We have now launched a dedicated Covid-19 update page on our website. Please check this page before travelling to the centre for any form of activity for the latest updates.
Tennis & Badminton Coaching - Following the governments decision to close all schools from Friday 20th March all Tennis & Badminton group coaching will be cancelled from Saturday 21st March onward meaning that the final sessions will take place 5 - 6pm on Friday evening (20/03/20). Any remaining sessions will be credited on the next term of coaching whenever that resumes. All Easter holiday camps will be cancelled with any bookings already made being refunded in the coming days.
Individual coaching sessions will continue to be available with further details on how to book these coming out tomorrow.
Court Booking at ARC - All court booking facilities will continue to be available to both members and non-members for the time being. The Badminton courts have been left down permanently during this period meaning that they will be available to book for our full opening hours.
Arrange a Safe Game Facebook Group - The Government have currently indicated that ‘recreational exercise that takes place at a safe distance from others and in safe exercise environments is something that can continue during this period’. Whilst taking the advice seriously around large gatherings we do feel that arranging small games of Tennis & Badminton can still be a safe activity if simple guidelines are followed; such as keeping these arrangements to a maximum of 4 people, washing hands before and after playing and adhering to the government’s guidelines around social distancing.
We also believe that exercising and keeping active whilst practicing social distancing during this period is important. To help you do this we have created an ‘Arrange A Safe Game Facebook Group’ that members can join if they’d like to find someone to play a game with over the coming weeks. You can join it by clicking here.
North Devon Tennis League - The North Devon Tennis League today announced that ‘all fixtures in the ND Summer Programme are now suspended until further notice’. Likewise the LTA and Badminton England have cancelled all tournaments, events and courses up until the 20th April.
New LTA, BE & SE Advice Pages - Both the LTA, Badminton England and Sport England have now created advice pages on their websites channeling the latest government guidance on Covid-19 and the ways it affects sport and exercise. You can view those pages here:
LTA - Coronavirus page
Badminton England - Coronavirus page
Sport England - Coronavirus page