Almonte Tennis Club

PLEASE………. NO Guests on the courts!!

The Municipality of Mississippi Mills acting on advice from the Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit have authorized that all three ATC courts can now open with safety and health restrictions.

The ATC “Rules and Recommended Behaviour”, court signage and protocols established in 2020 meet these health and safety expectations. To further protect members and the community please also follow two added recommendations;

1. Each time, before heading to the courts please take the Covid-19 Self Assessment at https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/
2. Keep keep a personal note of the date and time of play and the players in your group in the event that contract tracing information is required by District Health medical authorities due to Covid exposure.

During Covid-19, programming and lessons have been suspended, and guests are not allowed.

These steps that ATC and other clubs have implemented have given confidence to health and municipal officials that the risk of infection is low, allowing the courts to open.

Please ensure that you review and follow the ATC rules and recommendations and self screen before play.

Great weather is coming …………. Enjoy!!

Bill Adams
ATC President

Effective Saturday May 29th, Court 1 and Court 3 will be open for singles or doubles play. Maximum capacity for EACH court is restricted to 5 persons.

Members playing on Court 1 must enter and exit through the Court 1 gate.

Members playing on Court 3 must enter and exit through the Court 3 gate.

Both gate locks have the same code.

Cross court traffic is not allowed. If you are rotating between Court 1 and Court 3, please walk on the outside of the facility fence.

Court 2 is closed.

Please review “Rules and Recommended Behaviour” on the ATC website. Play safe!

As a reminder, until further notice, guests are not allowed on the courts.

Permission was a collaboration with the ATC Executive, Municipal and Health officials. We thank all for their efforts.

Further updates to follow as the Provincial Safety Roadmap Directive evolves.

Enjoy……

Bill

Just so that you know, we continue to monitor ATC court capacity requirements pursuant to the Provincial 3-Step Directive. Other clubs, larger that ours, are advocating for clarity regarding court capacity. If clarity does arrive, consultation will again resume with the Municipality.

Remember that our goal through this period is to reduce the risk of exposure to Covid-19 by providing the safest facility possible while maximizing court use within the restrictions imposed.

To that end, please review the Rules and Recommended Behaviour page on the ATC website.

We will also monitor court usage to see if backlogs are occurring or waiting periods during prime time are problematic. To that end please remember our ATC club rule:

“When all courts are in use….. The waiting period is 1/2 hour, or the end of the set, whichever is achieved first.“

Thanks for your patience and support.

Bill Adams

Provincial Safety Roadmap can be viewed here https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1000161/ontario-releases-three-step-roadmap-to-safely-reopen-the-province

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Yesterday, I received information from the Ontario Tennis Association that caused me to question our decision to open the courts to a maximum of 12 players.

Different clubs in the Province were interpreting the allowable numbers of players in different ways. For example, a legal decision from the City of Ottawa advised that the maximum capacity of tennis courts Pre Provincial Roadmap Step 1 was limited to 5 persons only.

I felt it important to consult with the Municipality on this issue.

Following this discussion, the Municipality concurs with the Ottawa decision in interpreting the Provincial Safety Roadmap. The ATC courts are limited to 5 players until the Province goes to Step 1 around mid June.

Effective Thursday May 26th, court capacity will be limited to 5 persons.

Playing Options:
1 court of doubles (any additional players must wait outside the courts)
2 courts of singles (any additional players must wait outside the courts)
(example: persons rotating into play or a new players waiting for the court)

While this change is unfortunate, it is made with the overall intention to protect the health and safety of ATC members and others in our community.

Thanks for your patience and understranding

Bill Adams
ATC President

The Municipality of Mississippi Mills has authorized the opening of the ATC tennis courts as of Saturday May 22, 2021.

An email has been sent to all members who were registered in 2020, with the current gate code and 2021 membership information.

We welcome new members to join the Almonte Tennis Club.

Registration for the 2021 season is now open at https://atc.sport.blog/registration/. New members will be sent the gate code upon approval of their application and membership payment.

ATC courts cannot be reserved, so we share court space by the following rule: When all courts are in use, doubles play is preferred but not mandatory.  The waiting period is 1/2 hour, or the end of the set, whichever is achieved first.

Stay safe. Have fun…..

Bill Adams
President ATC

The Province has announced that tennis courts are allowed to open as of Saturday May 22nd.

I am currently checking with the Municipality to inquire on any local restrictions that might apply.

Once local authority has been verified, the gate-lock combination will be sent to all members registered in 2020.

Bill Adams
President ATC

The ATC Annual General Meeting was held virtually (ZOOM) on April 21st @ 7:00 PM.

A quorum was present and the meeting was conducted as per the agenda

Reports were submitted by President Paul Scissons, Vice-President Bill Adams, Treasurer Derek Rafuse, Membership Coordinator Cecilia Kelly, Property Manager Karl Krech, Program Coordinator Hyacinth Chatterton, and Social Coordinator Terry Dyer-Adams.

Paul Scissons thanked the membership for their support in this challenging Covid year. As it is Paul’s final commitment to the President’s chair, he also thanked the ATC Executive for their support and assistance in making his last three years productive.

The minutes of the 2021 ATC AGM are

Nominations to fill executive vacancies resulted in Bill Adams being elected as President and Bruce Paulauskas being elected Vice-President.

Bill thanked Paul for his service to the club which saw significant improvements to the courts infrastructure and overall administration (electronic membership and banking options, renewed website, light timers, net and wind screen upgrades, and a safe and secure response to Covid). The ATC remains healthy and solvent due to Pauls leadership and the dedication of all executive members.

While the 2021 official tennis season starts May 1st, membership applications for 2021 have been suspended due to the Provincial Stay-at-home lockdown. It is expected that play will resume once provincial and local health authorities deem it safe to do so.

You will be updated through this website as changes occur.

Bill Adams
ATC President

The Almonte Tennis Club Annual General Meeting will be held (Virtually by ZOOM) on Wednesday, April 21st at 7:00 PM.  All ATC members are encouraged to attend.

Agenda

Meeting Protocol

Meetings conducted virtually require more structure.
** Parliamentary “Rules of Order” will apply.
** Please “mute” your microphone when not speaking.
** Please hold all questions until the formal AGM portion of the meeting is complete. The floor will be open any questions at the end.

ZOOM Joining Instructions

Join Zoom Meeting on COMPUTER
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6340719106?pwd=VDVYaFZSY3FYemNzWEtkN2czMTdVdz09

Meeting ID: 634 071 9106
Passcode: 1234
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Join Zoom Meeting by PHONE
        
        +1 647 374 4685 Canada OR
        +1 647 558 0588 Canada

Meeting ID: 634 071 9106
Passcode: 1234

Looking forward to your participation.

Paul Scissons
ATC President

The Municipality of Mississippi Mills has closed recreation facilities in response to the current Provincial Emergency Stay-At-Home Order.

Your ATC Executive will continue to monitor this closure. 

Rules and Recommended Behaviour are in place and posted on the ATC website to ensure healthy play once the courts are open.

The Gate Lock Code has been changed to restrict access to maintenance personnel.

As of this posting, Membership Registration is Suspended until the courts have opened.

When the courts reopen, a Gate Code will be sent to all members.

Thank you all for your support in keeping our tennis community safe.

Paul Scissons
ATC President

** Text from the Mississippi Mills Website **

“In accordance with (the Provincial Emergency and Stay-at-home order) , Municipal Facilities and Services will be closed to the public for four (4) weeks or until further notice effective 4:30 pm this afternoon (April 8th).”

“All outdoor recreation facilities are closed. This includes the Tennis Courts, Basketball Courts, Frisbee Golf, Skate Board Park and playground equipment. The new Covid-19 variant that has been linked to many local cases has been determined to spread more easily. Symptoms may also be more severe with an increased need for hospital care. We do not feel confident in our ability to ensure outdoor recreation facilities are sanitized sufficiently to ensure everyone’s safety. In addition these facilities can encourage gathering, which can also lead to spread.”

The above text can be viewed at https://www.mississippimills.ca/en/news/provincial-emergency-and-stay-at-home-order-april-7-impact-on-municipal-facilities-and-services.aspx

Paul Scissons
ATC President