Booking of practices and rules
We use an online booking system called “Spond”, where you can book your spot at practices and courses. You will receive an invitation to join our group on Spond after you sign up for a membership, and you will have to create a user with the same e-mail used to register for the membership. You can use the system either on pc/tablet (https://spond.com/welcome), or as an app for phones. We recommend downloading the app, and turning off email notifications.
Keep in mind that our member count can vary greatly between semesters, and as such there can be periods where certain practices and sessions fill up very quickly if we have many new members. We continuously monitor this and adjust the amount of practices as we deem necessary and within what is economically possible for our club. However, we can't always guarantee that everyone will get to attend the practices/coaching sessions that best suit their schedules. But there will usually be other available practices!
Please note that you are not eligible to book spots at practices or courses before you have paid your invoice (semester fee)!
How booking works:
- You can maximum book a spot on 3 common sessions per week during the outdoor season, and 2 common sessions per week during the indoor season. Note that you still can book spots on other types of sessions in addition to this the same week (e.g. Beach Tennis, serve practices, team practices, courses etc.).
- Sign up only if you are certain you are going to attend. We have experienced that some members just book a spot, and only show up if they feel like it. This is not efficient, as many spots and booking fees go to waste.
- It is not allowed to cancel your spot at any session when there is 24 hours or less until start on Spond. If the session is not full at this point(e.g. 3/4 spots taken), you may still join in even though it's not allowed to cancel spots anymore (comment in the event on Spond that you will attend if the "join"-button is not working at this point). Taking an open spot in this way after the "sign-up/sign-off deadline" does not count as one of your 2 (indoor) / 3 (outdoor) sessions.
- The first ones to fill up available spots get to play. You can also sign up for the waiting list. If someone cancels their spot, you might get to play after all. We highly recommend doing as there often are players who cancel close to the session.
- It will be possible to sign up for practices/courses 5 days in advance.
- Common practices are usually run with a maximum of 4 players per court. They will usually have 4 or 8 spots available, depending on if it’s played on one or two courts.
- A coach might be present on sessions to help the players (typically beginner common sessions and serve practices). The specific Spond-event will tell you if there is planned for a coach to be there.
- Practices and courses might get canceled for various reasons.
- Cancelling your spot: Players are not meant to cancel their spot when they have signed up. However, we do recognize that unexpected situations may arise, and in this case, players are allowed to cancel if done according to our guidelines:
- 24-hour Rule: If there are at least 24 hours until the practice starts, you may cancel your spot without further notice. This gives other members a chance to react if they are given your spot through the waiting list, or if they are browsing our practices for free spots.
- Strikes: If you fail to follow the 24-hour rule for cancelling, and don’t show up when you are signed up, you will receive strikes. If you get three strikes in one semester, you will be suspended from all tennis activities for the next 2 weeks. (As for courses, you will need to pay for the course if you fail to follow the 24-hour rule). See section "Strikes and rules" below for more information.
- Illness: If you suddenly become ill (within the 24 hours prior to a session you're signed up to), make sure to notify people on Facebook and Spond that you can't make it. We might consider not giving you a warning if your spot gets utilized by another player. However, hangovers, sleepiness, etc. are not valid excuses.
- What if I'm the only one signed up?
- If you see that you are the only one signed up to a session a little while before session start, it is a good idea to encourage people to join you. Maybe you have some friends who are members as well that you can ask (?), or you can try to ask in the Facebook group.
- It is also a good idea to go by yourself and practice your serve (don't pretend you don't need it ;). If the session is at Hasle, OTA, it is also possible to rent a ball-machine for 100 kr./hour. This is a superb way to hit a lot of balls even if you're there alone.
- If you see that you still are the only one signed up right before start, you don't need to show up if you don't want to.
Strikes and rules
To ensure that members fully utilize our practices and court time, we have implemented a strike system to keep track of players that don't show up for practices they signed up for and other similar situations. Three strikes in one semester will suspend you from participating in practices for two weeks.
- Arriving less than 15 minutes late to a practice: 0 strikes (unless this is a repeating issue)
- Arriving later than 15 minutes to a practice: 1 strike
- Cancelling your spot for a practice less than 24 hours before the session: 1 strike
- Cancelling your spot for a practice less than 24 hours before the session, but another player takes your spot: 0 strikes*
- Not showing up for a practice you're signed up for without letting the other players know: 2 strikes
- Signing up for more practices than the allowed maximum per week: 1 strike
- Playing at the wrong level repeatedly: 1 strike
*Makes sure to alert the players on the waiting list for a session if you suddenly cannot make it. If someone takes the spot, you will not receive a strike.
Whenever a member receives a strike, they will be alerted via an automated message in Spond or email/SMS from the club, reminding them of the rules. 3 strikes will lead to a two-week suspension of participation.
Playing on the wrong level: If a player repeatedly attends trainings on a higher level than their own skills permit, the board will address the issue with the player. If we can't resolve it, the player might lose access to certain levels of play. If a player attends practices below one's skill level, it is required to adjust the level to fit that practice.
It is important that players let us in the board know (send message to host in Spond) if other members don't show up for practices or otherwise violate the rules. This will help us provide a more efficient service and fewer spots will go to waste! Please do not hesitate to contact us.