TENNIS


Whilst the early presence of Coronavirus in the east was cause for concern, we simply could not imagine the impact it would go on to have. We were still gearing up for a ‘normal’ season


The week we had the covers delivered (w/c Monday 16th March) turned out to be the last week that we were open as a club. When we were arranging to have the covers delivered to site, the number of UK deaths was in single figures. Just over a week later, that figure had moved into the hundreds. This was an obvious indication that our season, albeit a minor concern in the grand scheme of things, was undoubtedly going to be impacted, although


we still had no idea how.


On 18th March, as a club, we moved to reduced opening hours, with much of our ‘indoor’ operation being put on hold or moved outdoors, and by Friday 20th March, in line with the advice of the UK government, the club closed its doors completely. At this point, our role was very clear; we still had a job to do. Whilst we had seen all our pre-planning as something which would hopefully not be needed, the bottom line


was that we had carried it out under the assumption of a worst-case scenario. This meant that ultimately, we had prepared ourselves to continue working in some form, unless government advice was to stop. As testament to this, we even had plans in place for the grounds team to live on site in order to continue working, and be isolated from the rest of the population!


Realistically, at the point of lockdown, we understood that the Birmingham Classic was


   


 


    PC June/July 2020 93


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