Courts will open soon in city
Some outdoor facilities reopen Friday, remainder in city OK’D for next week
Tennis players in Saskatoon are about to get back in the swing of things.
With the green light coming from the provincial government, some outdoor courts in Saskatoon will open as early as Friday. The remainder of the City of Saskatoon courts should be opened next week.
“We are now planning to get our courts open earlier than expected,” confirmed Andrew Roberts, director of recreation and community development for the City of Saskatoon.
“We’re thrilled about this opportunity to again have another outdoor recreational facility be open to the public so they can go out there and enjoy our beautiful summers. Just a little added signage and some few requirements that never existed in the past, but it’s a good-news story.”
The city’s tennis courts had been shut down, along with other sports facilities and sports fields in Saskatoon, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Golf courses were the first to open.
“Realizing that the government’s and health authority’s reopening plan is an ever-fluid and changing plan, we are planning on opening our tennis courts beginning Friday, May 29, based on full compliance with the outdoor recreation guidelines and restrictions that are required by the chief medical health officer in the government’s plan,” Roberts said.
“Our facility crews will be out there working this week to get the courts cleaned up, get the nets out and get some signage up there, just detailing some of the requirements and restrictions that we hope everybody’s going to follow.
Those have been developed with co-operation with Tennis Canada.”
The Riverside Badminton and Tennis Club is preparing to open its outdoor tennis courts as early as this weekend.
The Lakewood Indoor Tennis Centre has yet to get the green light as an indoor facility.
“We continue to wait for a reopen date,” said club general manager Brandon Smith in an email.
Saskatchewan is the last province in Canada to reopen its tennis courts.
Tennis enthusiast Margaret Pulfer was pleasantly surprised to hear that Saskatoon’s courts will open soon.
“That’s amazing,” she said Wednesday. “It’s wonderful. We’re just really, really pleased by this idea.”
Provincial government officials released a statement on Wednesday announcing that outdoor tennis courts will be allowed to reopen “at the discretion of the facility operator as an individual outdoor activity following the (physical distancing and other safety) guidelines” listed on Page 44 of the Reopen Saskatchewan Plan.
“This includes the postponement of tournaments/lessons/ leagues, the closure of the clubhouse and observations of the limitations of group gatherings.”
INDOOR TENNIS YET TO FOLLOW
The government continues to work with Tennis Saskatchewan on guidelines to support a return to all tennis facilities in Phase 3, slated for June 8.
Rory Park, executive director of Tennis Saskatchewan, said he’s cautiously optimistic.
“We’re still meeting with government to sort of officially (make final plans) so everybody can go out and play,” Park said. “Right now, our clubs and municipalities are able to get onto the courts basically from (following) outdoor recreation guidelines of the Re-open Plan.
“We’re in the final (stages). Yes, it’s encouraging, but I’d rather wait for (official approval). Hopefully I’ll know by Monday sort of where (exactly) we’re going to fit in.”
Questions remain about leagues, lessons and tournaments.
Park has been dealing with the COVID-19 fallout and its ramifications since April, when Tennis Canada issued a statement advising players from across the country to refrain from playing the sport to help reduce the risk of transmission and that it was “in the best interest of our society to take a collective break from tennis during these uncertain times.”
Based on consultation with experts, Tennis Canada officials shared concern that the virus responsible for COVID -19 could be transmitted through the sharing and handling of tennis balls, door handles, benches, the net and possibly the court itself.
Tennis courts across the country have since opened for public play with various restrictions and guidelines.
However, Tennis Canada cancelled all of its sanctioned tournaments for the summer.
One of them, the women’s Challenger Circuit pro event in Saskatoon, was supposed to be held from July 13-19 at the Riverside Tennis and Badminton Club.
“We are obviously disappointed, but we understand that we must cancel the 2020 edition of the Saskatoon Challenger due to the COVID -19 pandemic,” tournament director Landon Grubb said in a Tennis Canada release. “The players, officials and fans are our priority; therefore, we must take into account their health and safety.”