Howard Park COVID-19 Updates

Reopening Update

You may have seen today’s City of Toronto announcement with details about the reopening of many City of Toronto park amenities.

Public tennis courts in Toronto will open, in phases, starting Saturday, May 23. We don’t have a specific date for when Howard Park courts will be open or our permit date, but we will provide an update as soon as we learn details.

We’re getting closer!

The board met (virtually) following the provincial announcement about tennis courts and would like to share the updates below.

Permit and Court Access

We’ve been in touch with City of Toronto staff who have confirmed that the courts are closed and that no decisions have been made at this point on when community tennis clubs will be given the green light to open. They expect a timeline update in the coming days and will notify all tennis clubs. In the meantime, our court preparation work is on hold since we don’t currently have a permit or access to the courts.

Physical Distancing

To keep all staff and members safe, physical distancing measures will be introduced at the club this season. They will be along the lines of social distancing measures we’ve all become accustomed to from shopping in grocery stores.

The Province, Tennis Canada and other bodies have issued guidelines and we expect the City will as well. We are incorporating these recommendations into our planning and will share details with members once we are able to finalize with any City-specific guidelines.

Club Opening

We’ve developed a framework for what we’re referring to as Phase 1 of our season. Once the club opens, and we have a chance to assess what is happening in our community and at the club, we may be able to make adjustments.

Phase 1 Preliminary Details:

• The clubhouse will be closed to members
• Only singles play will be permitted
• All club programs and events are suspended
• Our usual court booking procedures will be in place with two-metre distancing between members waiting to book courts
• The club will continue to issue tennis balls as usual but we recommend that members bring their own
• The CMs will not be accepting payments and all payments must be made online

We are working with ACE Tennis to assess the impact on lessons.

Opening Day and Memberships

We are sorry to report that our traditional Opening Day will not be possible in light of group size restrictions and so as not to draw the crowd that typically comes out to line up for the 50 Opening Day memberships. Given this, and the impact the physical distancing measures may have on court time, we’ve made the necessary decision to close off membership sales for the 2020 season. The usual 50 adult memberships sold on Opening Day will no longer be available.

As we mentioned in a recent update, current memberships will be pro-rated. We’ll be able to finalize the refund amount and details once we know how long our season will be. Since this will be a manual process for hundreds of member accounts, it’s important that we get it right and do it only once!

We continue to monitor the situation and will reach out to members with updates. We look forward to getting outside and thank you for your patience as we work out details.

Reopening Plan Update

Today, Premier Ford announced that tennis courts can reopen on Tuesday, May 19 as part of the Province’s reopening plan. While this is great news, we will first need to find out what this means for our club before we can share opening details with members.

As you know, all permits were cancelled a few weeks back until June 29 and the City placed locks on all tennis courts. We hope that the City of Toronto’s timeline will follow suit with the Province, but we haven’t received an update yet.

Once this decision is made and the locks are removed from the courts, we’ll be able to install the nets. We’re also working diligently to review safety guidelines provided so that we can finalize protocols for the health and safety of staff and members.

The board is committed to reopening the club as soon as possible and we will provide further updates as soon as we know more!

The Board would like to share a few updates while we wait to find out when we’ll be able to open the club for the season.

Membership Updates

Given the delayed season start, we’ve reviewed membership fees and policies. Changes are noted below.

We’re hopeful that we’ll have a tennis season this summer. If this changes, we’ll revisit the membership fee discussion and provide further updates.

Existing Members:

• 2020-2021 season membership fees will be pro-rated as a result of the club’s delayed opening due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Details on membership fee adjustments will be finalized once the club is notified when it can open for the season by the City of Toronto. The current potential date is June 29, 2020.

Refunds:

• Due to these extraordinary circumstances, the Howard Park Refund Policy is temporarily amended for the current season, as outlined below.
• Existing members may request a refund up to and including Opening Day 2020 (date TBD).
• The $25 refund administration fee will be waived during this period.
• To request a refund, please send an email to our Membership Director, Peter Carrington, at: membership@howardparktennis.com
• Note: Members who proceed with a refund request and who wish to join next season will not have Returning Member status during the 2021-2022 membership registration period.

Opening Day Memberships:

• Typically, Howard Park reserves approximately 50 adult membership spaces for Opening Day, which will be the case once again this season.
• The fee for adult memberships sold on Opening Day will be the pro-rated Howard Park adult fee mentioned above.

Program Updates

The program lineup for the season, including the ladder, weekly round robin and teams program, to name a few, will depend on when we’re able to open, the length of the season and the plans of the team leagues. Once we know more, we’ll be able to revisit our programs and update members.

Lessons

The ACE Tennis team is standing by and ready to kick off the season with us when the time comes. A revised lesson, clinic and camp lineup and schedule will be shared once we have an opening date and they are able to finalize details. In the meantime, please reach out to our Head Pro, Craig Mercer, with any questions: craig@acetennis.ca

We will continue to provide updates as they are available. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this evolving situation and stay safe!

Howard Park COVID-19 Update – Season Delayed

Dear Members:

We’re reaching out with additional information about the upcoming outdoor tennis season at Howard Park.

The club received official word from the City of Toronto that facilities will be closed until June 28, 2020, with the potential of opening on June 29, 2020. These closures are part of the city’s work to maintain the health and safety of the public. We will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.

In the meantime, the Board will be meeting (virtually) over the coming days and weeks to review what this new timing means for our season dates, programs and membership fees. Given that the June 29 date is not firm, confirmation of some details may be delayed.

We appreciate that this news is disappointing, but the Board is committed to picking up where we left off last season as soon as we are cleared to access the club by the City.

Sincerely,

Board of Directors
Howard Park Tennis Club

Dear Members:

We hope you and your loved ones are managing during these challenging times and we look forward to the day when we can open the club for the season.

As you know, Opening Day was scheduled for April 18 and our program dates flowed out of this timing. The world has changed in a short period of time and it seems likely that we may have to adjust our calendar for the season.

We continue to monitor the situation and await direction from the various levels of government that have issued directives around public gatherings, city facility usage and more. We will provide an update on plans for the upcoming season once we know more.

Until then, please note that the tennis courts are closed by the order of the City of Toronto as part of the effort to curb the spread of the virus.

As these difficult circumstances place pressure on us and our families, and distance us from loved ones and colleagues, we encourage you to connect with fellow Howard Park members on Facebook via the club’s public page or the private community group that was started by members over the winter. You can find the group by searching for “HPTC Community Forum” in Facebook.

Stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,

Board of Directors

Howard Park Tennis Club