Tennis Rules

Tennis Rules for The Branches Club

(rev. 7/10/15)

The Branches Club, Inc. (the “Club”) exists solely for the recreation of its members. The general membership’s welfare is the sole consideration and responsibility of the Club’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) and committees. Activities such as ALTA & USTA are for the adult and youth members, and are considered forms of recreation only. The Board and the Tennis Coordinator administer these Tennis Rules. The Tennis Coordinator’s responsibility is to monitor the observance of these rules and assist the captains in managing their teams. These rules can be reviewed annually and changed with the approval of the Tennis Coordinator and the Board.

GENERAL RULES

  1. The courts are to be used for tennis only. Tennis shoes & shirts must be worn on the courts. Bathing suits are not allowed on the courts.
  2.  Spectators & pets are to remain outside the courts. Children are not allowed on courts unless they are playing tennis.
  3.  Courts are not to be used for rollerblading, skateboarding, bike riding, scooters, street hockey, or any other activity besides tennis.
  4.  Offensive language & disruptive behavior will not be tolerated on the courts or surrounding area.
  5.  Glass containers, gum, and black-soled shoes are not permitted on courts. Tennis players must ensure that the soles of their shoes are clean; red clay on the bottom of any type shoe will stain the tennis court surface.
  6.  Tournaments in the Branches are for Club members in good standing only, unless otherwise specified.
  7.  Club members & guests are encouraged to park their vehicles in the Club’s parking lot instead of on the streets near the tennis courts. If the Club parking lot is full, members and guests may park on the surrounding streets where parking is permitted. Violators who park in no-parking areas (as indicated by “no parking” signs) will be subject to all applicable City of Dunwoody ordinances, and vehicles may be towed at the owner’s expense.
  8.  Tennis Coordinator or Board approved events such as league matches, scrimmages, tournaments and team/group lessons take precedence over regular play. The Tennis Coordinator must approve any regularly pre-scheduled event. The Tennis Scheduler will promptly post events on the online reservations page.
  9.  Empty trash cans after play; remove your trash.
  10.  Anyone caught vandalizing the court area or any part of Club property will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
  11.  The Club is not responsible for accidents resulting from use of facilities.
  12. The use of blowers to clean the courts is prohibited before 8 a.m. and after 6:30 p.m.

RESERVING A COURT

  1.  The Club’s courts may be reserved for private or group play. Group and team practices or lessons will be scheduled on courts 2 and 3. Any available court may be reserved for recreational play by using the online reservation system and following the rules for reserving a court for recreational play.
  2.  A maximum of two courts may be pre-reserved by submitting a request to the Tennis Scheduler in advance at tennis@thebranches.org for Coordinator or Board approved events such as team scrimmages, team lessons, member children group clinics and personal league matches such as T2, Ultimate Tennis, and other independent tennis leagues.
  3. Reservations for recreational play may be made 48 hours prior to scheduled playing time; using the online reservations page on the Club’s Website.  
  4.  Recreational play is limited to two hours (2) and should start on the hour or half hour.  For personal league matches such as T2, Ultimate Tennis, or other similar match play, a court may be reserved for two (2) hours.  We encourage you to start your matches at either 6 or 8pm so the court can be used either before or after your match.
  5.  A player forfeits his or her reservation if he/she does not occupy the court within 10 minutes after the scheduled reservation start time. Non-members cannot hold the court.
  6.  Players cannot make back-to-back reservations.  The only exception is a coach giving lessons as approved by the Tennis Coordinator.
  7.  Generally, a single group cannot use all four courts at one time. Two exceptions are:  ALTA teams playing home matches/scrimmages simultaneously and approved Club tennis events.
  8. When league play is cancelled due to weather, check the online reservations page before scheduling a make-up. The online reservation system takes precedence over rain make-ups. If a tennis team is having trouble scheduling make-up matches due to a lack of court availability, the captain of the affected team may contact Club members who have court reservations to see if they are willing to give up their reservation in order to facilitate the rescheduling of league (ALTA/USTA) matches.

ALTA LESSONS / PRACTICE

  1.  Each ALTA team is allowed one court for up to two hours of pre-scheduled lesson or practice time each week, beginning two weeks prior to the start of the applicable ALTA season and continuing throughout that ALTA season.
  2.  The sessions must be on a set day and time each week for the duration of each season.  
  3.  Pre-reservation times for these practice/lesson sessions are subject to availability rules.
  4.  If a team requires two separate practice/lesson times each week (due to scheduling issues), each practice/lesson can be no longer than one hour each (to reach the two hour per week total).
  5.  These pre-scheduled sessions must be arranged by ALTA team captains via email request at the beginning of each ALTA season with the Tennis Scheduler at tennis@thebranches.org.
  6.  Any additional team practice time desired by each ALTA team can be scheduled online by team captains following the rules for reserving a court for recreational play.
  7.  In addition to the above, each team is allowed to pre-reserve two courts one time during each season (again scheduled through the Tennis Scheduler) for a practice, scrimmage or party.
  8. All ALTA rosters must be submitted to the Tennis Coordinator before a roster may be submitted to ALTA.

T2, USTA, and Ultimate Tennis

Courts can only be reserved a maximum of 7 days in advance. If you are within 48 hours and trying to schedule a match, you can contact the Tennis Coordinator, but it is your responsibility to make sure the court is reserved using the online reservation system. The Tennis Scheduler or Tennis Coordinator may not be available to make a last minute reservation.

GUEST POLICY

  1.  Club members may have guests on the courts. However, guests may not comprise more than 50% of the players on a given court (e.g., for doubles tennis, no more than two players may be guests).
  2.  Non-members who are eligible for Club membership CANNOT be guests.  Please support your fellow members by respecting this rule.
  3.  During league matches, guests should not occupy a court until the Club member has arrived.
  4.  Club members should direct guests to use the parking lot (versus parking along the street).

LESSONS

  1. Courts 3 and 4 are preferred for individual private lessons. However, any available court may be reserved 48 hours in advance for recreational play (including private lessons) by using the online reservation system and following the rules for reserving a court for recreational play
  2.  If you choose to play on courts 3 or 4, be aware that coaches may teach next to you.
  3.  A maximum of 2 group lessons can be given at any one time and will be held on courts 2 and 3. Team and Board-approved group lessons may be pre-scheduled by contacting the Tennis Scheduler.
  4.  Following the completion of a series of group lessons, a Club member must contact the Tennis Scheduler before resuming another series of lessons.  All group lessons and clinics must have a start and end date provided to the Tennis Scheduler.
  5.  Only 1 court per group or team can be reserved for group/team lessons.
  6.  The Club does not retain or endorse any one particular coach.
  7.  Lessons are not to be scheduled at peak times when ALTA/USTA matches or approved Club tennis events are being played.  Please do not schedule any lessons at the same time that a league match is being played.

LEAGUE PLAY

  1.  Any Club member in good standing can play on any Club team.
  2.  A captain of a Club team has the responsibility to determine the eligibility of the team’s players.
  3.  Captains are required to contact opposing teams (via phone or email) prior to home matches and direct them to use the Club parking lot (versus parking along the street).
  4.  Immediately upon receipt each season, a roster and schedule must be submitted to the Tennis Coordinator, in order to be eligible to play on Club courts.  A schedule also must be given to the Tennis Scheduler.
  5.  Married couples who wish to play Mixed Doubles reserve the right to play on the same team. However, the couples are strongly encouraged to play at the level of the higher player so as not to adversely affect the playing level of a lower team and pulling it up to a higher level.
  6.  To form a new adult or junior ALTA or USTA team, a member must contact the Tennis Coordinator for approval and assistance.

NON-MEMBER PLAYERS

  1.  Club members have priority in forming a team, and no team can have more than 3 non-member players in a given season.
  2.  A non-member may be added to a team only if (a) an adult team has fewer than 18 Club members, or a junior team has fewer than 8 Club members, (b) no other Club team exists within 1 flight (ex. ALTA – two teams at B3/USTA – two teams at 3.5), (c) the non-member player’s level is not higher than the team’s ALTA/USTA level from the prior season, and (d) the procedures below for adding a non-member player are properly followed.

ADDING A NON-MEMBER PLAYER

The following actions must be taken before adding a non-member to a Club team roster:

  1. The team captain must email all Club team members from the prior season asking whether they are interested in playing for the team during the upcoming season and cc the Tennis Coordinator on this initial email.
  2.  The team captain must post a message to the Club’s Web site, either directly or through the Tennis Coordinator, soliciting Club members at the appropriate playing level to play for the team. The message shall include information regarding the team, including the number of Club members, and the team’s playing level during the prior season.
  3.  If, two weeks after the team captain has emailed all Club team members from the prior season and posted a message to the Club’s Web site, the team has fewer than 18 Club members, then the team captain may notify the Tennis Coordinator that the team has fewer than 18 Club members, that the above procedures have been followed, and that the team desires to add non-members.  
  4.  The team captain must provide the Tennis Coordinator with the names of the non-members and the non-member players’ playing level.
  5.  The team shall be assessed a fee for adding non-member(s) to the roster ($50 per non-member) prior to the start of the season.
  6.  It is the responsibility of the team to pay the non-member fees in full to the Tennis Coordinator prior to the start of the season. The team’s matches will not be scheduled by the Tennis Scheduler until all non-member fees have been submitted in full.

In addition to the above requirements and actions, the following rules also apply to non-members:

  1.  Non-members may not be added after the roster deadline.
  2.  Non-members eligible for Club membership cannot play on Club teams.
  3.  Non-members may only use the Club’s courts for coaching and scheduled ALTA/USTA matches.
  4.  Non-members receive no other Club privileges.
  5.  Non-members must be reinstated using the above procedures, and the team must pay $50 per non-member every season.
  6.  Rule violations will result in a fine of $150 to the team captain. See Article X, Section 4 of the bylaws for enforcement.

 

Tennis Court Lights / Hours of Operation

  1. The courts are officially open for play during the following hours:
    8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
    8 a.m. –   9 p.m. Every Sunday
  2.  Tennis court lights will turn on when engaged manually by a member at such time as additional light is required and will automatically turn off at the “closing” times indicated above.
  3.  If players depart the courts before the automatic cut-off times, the last groups to leave are encouraged to manually turn off the lights on the court(s) on which they played.
  4.  All players are asked to depart the courts at the closing times posted above.