Padel Questions & Answers

Hi [[firstname]]

I look forward to seeing you at our Padel Meeting at 7.30pm on Thursday 17th October in the Studio.

The purpose of the meeting will be to share information with you and to hear your thoughts and questions about the Padel project.

This will not be an opportunity to vote yes or no, that'll come later once we have a clearer idea on the specific financial commitment that the Board would like to make.

In the meantime, I have gleaned a number of questions from members to which I have provided answers below.

This is clearly not an exhaustive list, so I look forward to hearty discussion on 17th.

Best Regards
Steve Chilvers
Club Chairman

Questions & Answers

Q Can you play singles?
A We will not have a singles court (narrower) but it will be possible to play singles on a doubles court.

Q Will there be an option to join as a Padel member only?
A No, we have a single membership that covers all activities

Q What colour will the courts be?
A Probably a dark blue, but yet to be decided.

Q How confident are we that it will at least pay for itself?
A Confident, all the available data that we have, plus feedback from the LTA suggests that Padel continues to grow in popularity

Q When are we likely to build them?
A If we get members approval to the financial commitment then it is likely that building will start in Spring 2025

Q Who will be Head of Padel/Court Management?
A Court management will be on MyCourts. Padel is a tennis activity so in the longer term it will come under the remit of the Tennis Committee

Q How much coaching are we expecting?
A One of the reasons for opting for 3 courts is so we can make time for individual and group coaching sessions.

Q Will the coaches be charged for court hire?
A Yes

Q Will we insist on coaches being LTA Padel qualified?
A The LTA offer a 5-day course to become a qualified Padel coach. It will be beneficial for us if our coaches choose to become qualified, but we will not insist.

Q How will the money be raised to payback the loans?
A Through a combination of a) member booking fees, b) non-member booking fees, c) New members, d) Non-member group bookings (ie RAF) and e) Sponsorship

Q Can we have 3 further indoor courts or 3 hard courts with a bubble instead?
A Not an option, a) because the cost would be 3 times the cost of Padel courts and b) because they would not generate as much additional revenue or interest.

Q What are the risks of not doing this?
A Despite our club success and all the good work invested in attracting new members it has been hard to grow our adult memberships. Padel offers a golden opportunity to put new life into the club. If we miss this opportunity we risk seeing a slow decline.

Q What is the orientation / location on the site?
A The 3 Padel courts will be located on current grass courts 7 and 8. We have two options of layout. The final decision will be dependant on whether we opt for the installation of overhead canopies at a later date.

Q What is the difference between Padel Tennis and Pickleball
A A Padel court is 10×20 meters surrounded by glass walls and metal mesh. The court is separated by a net with a maximum height of 88 cm in the centre and 92 cm at the sides. A padel racket doesn’t have strings and it’s made of a composite material with holes in it. A padel ball looks like a tennis ball but is softer as it has lower pressure. Padel originated in Acapulco in 1969. The founder didn’t have enough space to install tennis courts. Instead, he built smaller courts surrounded by walls.

A A Pickleball court is 6.1x13.4 metres. It uses a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a 0.86 m net. Pickleball is best played indoors, and we will be setting up courts indoors. It was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game in the United States.

Q Will we keep a grass tennis court
A Yes, the plans provide for us to keep court 6 as a grass court. Eventually we want to be able to offer members the opportunity to play tennis on 4 different surfaces as well as offering Padel, touchtennis and pickleball. That will complement our squash and racketball facilities.

Q How much will the Padel project cost?
A We have 4 quotes that are being reviewed to ensure that all are offering like for like options. The range of quotes is circa from £180k to £240k.

Q Will subscriptions be increased to pay for Padel
A No.

Q Will non-members using Padel be able to use the changing rooms?
A No. We want to protect the benefits that members enjoy for their membership fee, and so whilst non-members will be able to use the Padel facilities, that’ll be it. Other than the bar of course where non-members already pay a premium.

Q How will courts be booked
A MyCourts has an additional package that can be used for non-member bookings. Members will have an advantageous booking window over non-members. So the theory being, all the prime courts will be taken by members/classes leaving the off peak ones for non-members for which they will pay a sizeable premium.

04/10/2024

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