Important Information
Regarding the Membership
As members of OSI Tennis you get the opportunity to play tennis frequently* within a youthful community of fellow students. OSI Tennis is a non-profit group, run purely by volunteering students who share a burning passion for tennis. All of our income (like the semester fee, course profit etc.) goes back to our members in some way or another, with the intention of offering the best possible tennis-experience for the cheapest possible price (you can expect occasional social happenings as well). In return we expect all of our members to familiarize themselves with the information we provide here, and also follow our rules and regulations.
We encourage all members to join our “Facebook Discussion Group”, as it will be used as a channel to provide useful information regarding our activities. You can also use it as a platform to communicate with other members, ask questions, encourage people to attend to sessions etc. Link: https://www.facebook.com/group...
Also be sure to follow our official page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/OSITe...) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/osit...).
*Many sessions are held prior to the afternoon/evening due to court availability. During the outdoor season, one can't expect to play much in the afternoon/evening at all.
Beginner:
You should master:
-We don't expect you to have any tennis-skills
Your primary goals should be:
-Hit ball in front of your body
-Play points on mini-court with under-arm serve
-Basic grip for groundstrokes
-Basic technique for FH & BH
-Aim for open areas on the court (where the opponent isn't)
Beginner+ :
You should master:
-Hit ball in front of your body
-Play points on mini-court with under-arm serve
-Basic grip for groundstrokes
-Basic technique for FH & BH
-Aim for open areas on the court (where the opponent isn't)
Your primary goals should be:
-Possess a basic serve that that get in most of the times
-Play all basic shots with balance and hitting zone in front of the body
-Hit with top-spin
-Utilize different swing lengths
-Connect back-swing to forward-swing fluidly
-Can play basic volley shots
Intermediate:
You should master:
-Possess a basic serve that that get in most of the times
-Play all basic shots with balance and hitting zone in front of the body
-Hit with top-spin
-Utilize different swing lengths
-Connect back-swing to forward-swing fluidly
-Can play basic volley shots
Your primary goals should be:
-Play points with serve on a full court
-Serve to opponents forehand, backhand and centre of the body
-Use your entire body during groundstrokes
-Adjust Swing and height of hitting zone
-Hit ball on up-bounce to control time
-Can change direction on the ball to move opponent on the court
-Use volley during play
-Return short and low balls with control.
-Combine long and short balls during play
-Combine different kinds of spin during play
-Coordinate play during doubles
Advanced:
You should master:
-Play points with serve on a full court
-Serve to opponents forehand, backhand and centre of the body
-Use your entire body during groundstrokes
-Adjust Swing and hight of hitting zone
-Hit ball on up-bounce to control time
-Can change direction on the ball to move opponent on the court
-Use volley during play
-Return short and low balls with control.
-Combine long and short balls during play
-Combine different kinds of spin during play
-Coordinate play during doubles
Your primary goals should be:
-Play points where one starts to use own strengths and weaknesses, and opponents strengths and weaknesses
-Coordinated use of entire body at groundstrokes, in both forward motion and sideways motion
-Hit ball on bounce-up with frequent success
-Control length and direction of volley during play
-Difference between the use of spin at 1st and 2nd serve
-Develop a 1st serve that can give an advantage during the point
-Use short balls hit by the opponent to get in an offensive position
Competitive:
You should master:
-Play points where one starts to use own strengths and weaknesses, and opponents strengths and weaknesses
-Coordinate use of entire body at groundstrokes, in both forward motion and sideways motion
-Hit ball on bounce-up with frequent success
-Control length and direction of volley during play
-Difference between the use of spin at 1st and 2nd serve
-Develop a 1st serve that can give an advantage during the point
-Use short balls hit by the opponent to get in an offensive position
Your primary goals should be:
-Play points basing the game on the three situations: Attack, Neutral, Defense
-Efficient footwork
-Judge situation based on:
- Own position
- Opponents position
- Ball- and court properties
-Full balance during groundstrokes
-Can make the opponent move on the court
-Can perform "hit-while-running"
-Can defend yourself during pressure from the opponent
-Can use return on 2nd serve to get an advantage
-Can play with safety and use the entire court
-Can play drive-volley
Different Levels of play
We usually divide our practice sessions into different levels of play to ensure players get the most out of practicing. We arrange separate common practices for Beginner, Beginner+, Intermediate and Advanced players.
In addition to distinguishing between these three common levels, we also define a "competitive" level of play. If you are looking to play competitive tennis, and want a relatively high level of play, our team play offer might be worth considering. To be eligible to play on a team you have to sign a contract, and you have to pay an additional team fee to cover general team expenses.
See the description below for a rough estimate of the typical player belonging to each level:
Different Practice Sessions
We organise a selection of different practice sessions. We strive to have a coach present at some common practices and serve sessions in addition to the courses:
- Common Practice: At common practices (beginner/Intermediate/advanced) you meet up with fellow players and usually organise the session yourself. Try to do something useful (don’t just hit without a purpose), and focus on specific strokes, technical issues etc. A good and fun approach is to practice through playing different games (e.g. king, single-double, uptown/downtown etc.).
- Choose the Right Level: Do not be intimidated to challenge yourself, but be realistic when choosing which level you attend. Some players think they suddenly turn "intermediate" when they have played a few times, while they still barely know the game. Remember that tennis is one of the hardest ball games there is. It is a hard game to get "good" at, but frequent practice, dedication and hard work will pay off eventually. If you are in doubt about which level you belong to, you can have a coach give you some feedback, and ask other players what they think about your game.
- Playing on "lower" levels: If you, for instance, are an advanced player, you are still eligible to book a spot, and attend, intermediate/beginner sessions IF there are still available spots left when there is 24 hours (or less) until the session starts. We actually encourage players to do this, because spots don't go waste, and the better players can help the others to improve by giving them feedback on their game. It is very important that the better players adjust their game to fit the general level, and that they practice their consistency instead of trying to hit winners or make aces. When done correctly, this kind of practice can be very advantageous for all players, regardless off their level.
- Serve Practice: We arrange sessions where players of all levels can gather and practice their serve. The serve is in general the hardest shot in tennis, and everyone can benefit from attending these sessions. A coach or other advanced players will most likely be present, to help you with your serve. A basket of tennis balls owned by the club will most likely be used, but bring some of your own just in case.
- Team Practice: This is practice sessions held especially for our competitive teams, which consists of advanced players. Our aim is to have a coach present, to coach the team players, or at the very least have a team member who is responsible to structure these sessions.
Guidelines
We have some simple guidelines, which we want all members to follow. Many will recognize this section as common sense, but we explicitly want to remind people nonetheless. Abusing the guidelines may result in receiving strikes. If you get a three strikes in the same semester, you will be suspended from all tennis activities for the next 2 weeks. Extensive abuse may get you suspended directly without further notice.
Being on Court
- Try to be on court at least 10 minutes before a session starts. It’s very annoying when others constantly arrive late.
- Players might receive strikes if late arrivals become a significant problem (see "Booking and rules" for more infomation).
- When attending common practices, you are expected to bring your own racket, and a few tennis balls of decent quality (not worn out) for everyone to play with.
- If it’s raining during an outdoor-session, it will automatically be cancelled. It is never possible to play during rain for various reasons. The most important one being that the surface gets slippery, and chances for falling over and hurting yourself are considerable. In addition to this, tennis balls get ruined (and won’t bounce) if they get wet. The surface of clay courts are also especially vulnerable for damage when they are wet, and it’s strictly forbidden to use them when there is visible water at the surface (in addition to hurting yourself, you might also ruin the court).
- In wet/humid//soggy and general questionable conditions, you might ask in the Facebook discussion group, or contact a coach/the board to determine if a session gets cancelled or not.
- Always leave the courts in the same state (or better) than when you arrived. Always follow the local rules for utilising the facilities at any place we might rent court time. Pay extra attention when playing on clay courts (such as the one at Blindern Students Home). Always sweep the court, brush the lines etc. If problems you cannot resolve arise, do contact the people in charge of the facilities or contact someone from OSI Tennis. Do not ignore such problems.
Behaviour on Court
As a member of OSI Tennis, you represent our club to the outside world. It is important for us that all of our players behave in a good manner, which make others perceive OSI Tennis as an outgoing and friendly community of youthful tennis enthusiasts.
- Never throw the racket.
- Keep swearing to a minimum.
- Carry out good sportsmanship through honest fairplay, and always being friendly towards fellow players.
General Handling of Conflicts
We will always try to solve conflicts in a diplomatic way. It's important that people speak up and state their cases instead of being passive, angry and dissatisfied. However, do not involve people who are not part of a conflict in the first place, and try to be reasonable while conducting yourself. As a last resort, the board (or people working on behalf of the board) claim the right to give members a warning, or to directly suspend members from all activity on a 2-week basis.
- When a player claims to belonging to a higher level of play than the general assumption: As an example, a player may perceive him/herself as an "intermediate", while others do not recognize the player as such (maybe rather a beginner). In such cases, we highly recommend to take courses and get feedback from a proper coach. You can also ask other players where they think you are level-wise (avoid close friends though). If it still proves hard to agree on this matter after comprehensive feedback, the board may get a representative to make a formal evaluation of the player in question (if available capacity). If an agreement is never reached, the board claim the right to deny players access to certain sessions, issue warnings or suspend people.
Making Payments
- The membership is paid through an invoice after the sign-up process on our web page. Additional payments (such as course fees) are paid by the use of “VIPPS” – a mobile paying solution available for everyone with a Norwegian phone number. Members without a Norwegian phone number will receive an accumulated invoice, with all expenses gathered together at the end of each semester.
- If you have problems regarding payments of any kind, please contact “okonom@tennis.osi.no”.
Ending Note
We are constantly trying to improve, and we will try to work towards multiple exciting improvements in the time to come! If you have further queries or questions, do not hesitate to contact us!
