Forrest Tennis Club

Forrest Tennis Club 

Revised Court Hire Procedures 

Summary of Changes 

• New arrangements for court booking commence 1 February 2012.

• Daytime bookings by members are unchanged, except that Court 6 will not be available for booking in the clubhouse.

• Forrest Hotel will provide a Night Court booking service, and take daytime bookings from non-members only for Court 6.

• A refundable key deposit of $20 is required for Night Court bookings; keys must be returned by 10.00pm.

• Pennant players and Wednesday Night Social will have special arrangements.

Background 

Having handled the night court booking for more than 15 years the Boyle family is no longer able to provide this service. The Club thanks them for their dedication and ask that members no longer contact them concerning court hire.

We have reviewed arrangements for both day and night hire and can now advise that the Forrest Hotel and Apartments (FHA) has kindly agreed to a trial arrangement for three months. During this trial, they will provide day and night court booking facilities without charge to the club. This arrangement will start on the 1^st February 2012, and be reviewed by the Committee and by FHA at the end of April.

Day Court Booking Changes 

From 1^st February,

No change in booking courts 1 to 5: Members can continue to make bookings for courts 1 to 5 using the booking sheets in the clubhouse. Court 6 bookings: Court 6 is now reserved for day bookings made by the Forrest Hotel. They will accept day court bookings from non-members at the cost of $20 per hour (Cash only). To prevent conflicts between FHA bookings and the clubhouse booking sheet, court 6 is quarantined from clubhouse booking.

Court 6 can be used by members if not occupied: Bookings made by the Forrest Hotel have priority over casual member use and you may need to give up the court. Players arriving to use Court 6 will have a receipt stating the date and time of the booking. Forrest Hotel guests are also allowed to book and use court 6 in this way. However, we expect that during the trial there will be very few of these bookings.

Night Court Booking 

Members are asked to read and digest the following information to ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangements.

Contact Forrest Hotel to book a court under lights 

Night court bookings are now made through the Reception at the Forrest Hotel (Telephone 62034300 between 7:00 am and 10:00 pm). Contact them to make a booking for night court hire up to a month ahead, or to cancel a booking made previously.

To make a booking you need to provide:

1. When and who: Provide the date, time and court you want to book; the Reception staff will check what is available.

2. Who is playing: Tell Reception whether all persons playing are members or whether there are some non-members playing. If all persons playing are members then the charge is $15 per hour ($7.50 for 30 minutes). If one or more persons playing are not a member, then the charge is $30 per hour ($15 for 30 minutes). This will be recorded on the receipt so that it can be checked at the club.

3. Deposit: Note that a $20 deposit must be paid when collecting the keys, and that this will be refunded upon return of the keys. The deposit is forfeited if the keys are not returned within 24 hours.

4. Paying: Go to the Hotel Reception before your booking to pay the hire fee and the deposit and to collect the keys. The Reception will only accept cash on behalf of Forrest Tennis Club.

5. Receipt: Reception will give you the keys and a receipt that shows the date, time and court of your booking. Retain this as you may need to show this at the club and you will need it when you return the keys to receive your deposit.

Return the Key after finishing and before 10pm: You will get back your deposit when you return the key and show your receipt at Reception.

Do not turn up at the Club and expect to use someone else’s key. They have to return that key to Reception to get their deposit.

Members should contact Forrest Tennis Club directly for bookings more than a month in the future as we set up the diary used by Reception a month ahead.

How to get to the Hotel Reception? 

􀂾 Access can be gained adjacent to Court 2 (Dominion Circuit frontage). The red brick apartments fronting Dominion Circuit are part of the Hotel.

􀂾 Follow the path into the landscaped area past the BBQ heading towards National Circuit.

􀂾 Signs point the way to Reception.

Pennant Players and Wednesday Social 

Pennant players and Wednesday Night Social players do not need to book with FHA Reception as these recurring bookings will be made by the Committee ahead of time.

A key safe containing court lights keys has been installed in the clubhouse. Team captains of Pennant teams will have the combination for this safe. Pennant and Social players will return the keys to the safe at the conclusion of play.

The keys stored in this safe are only for Pennant and Social use; these regularly finish after 10pm and FHA Reception closes at 10.00pm. This arrangement with the key safe will work if members respect the security rules; any alternative arrangement is likely to necessitate a commercial arrangement and the introduction of a booking fee.

Recurring Night Hire Bookings 

There are a few bookings already in place for 2012. The Committee will transfer these to the diary held at the Forrest Hotel. These members will not need to contact Reception and the Committee will contact you separately to confirm the bookings.

Why a deposit ? 

We have had to introduce the deposit for a variety of reasons including the fact that the Forrest Hotel cannot accept responsibility for chasing up missing keys or keys left at the club. This is the responsibility of the person hiring the court and the deposit system formalises this.

What if I do not get the key back before 10pm 

If you play later than 10pm, you should:

Return the key to the Night Manager (push button at front door to get his attention). You will need to return the next day with your receipt to get your deposit. If the key is not returned within 24 hours, your deposit is forfeited, and inconvenience to other users is likely.

What if someone else has a booking after me on my court? 

In this case it is preferable that you do not turn off the lights to retrieve the key you were given as the lights will take around 10 minutes to come back on. To avoid delay to the players following your booking, you should agree to take their key back to Reception and obtain the refund of your deposit. At the end of their game, they take the key you were given back to Reception and get back their deposit – everyone is happy.

The same applies if you are using say Court 1 from 6pm to 7pm and another group is using Court 2 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. The persons using Court 1 take back the key for Court 2. There will be separate keys for Court 1/2 and Courts 3/4 to allow for separate deposits.

Arrangements have been made for Pennant teams and Wednesday Social. So if either Pennant or Wednesday is playing after you, you can take their key back to Reception. They will keep the one you were given.

If a group following your booking does not have a key, they will need to obtain one from the Forrest Hotel Reception. If you give your key away, you lose your deposit.

Contact the Forrest Committee 

You should (as before) directly contact the Committee of the Forrest Tennis Club to:

• register to play in night Pennant;

• report problems or difficulties with the court lighting;

• enquire if courts are already reserved for club specific activities at the time that you want to book;

• raise queries about issues outside the limited responsibilities of the Forrest Hotel.

Forrest Hotel 

As part of the new arrangements the Club has agreed to provide marketing opportunities to Forrest Hotel. If you have friends coming to Canberra, why not suggest they stay at Forrest Hotel? Close to the Parliamentary Triangle and many of the major attractions. Visit the web site at www.forresthotel.com to check out.

They have a pleasant Restaurant which you can try and the opportunity exists to hire their BBQ facilities (pre-booking is essential). It is likely the Tennis Club will organise a Club dinner at the restaurant later this year.

Contact Barry Telford 6232 5281 or 0411 25 27 27