Tennis South Africa has today confirmed that all TSA sanctioned events will be suspended for at least the next 6 weeks - until the 20th April at the earliest.
This follows Sunday evening's declaration by our State President of a national state of disaster in South Africa. Within the declaration there are three key considerations that immediately impact on the activities of tennis in South Africa:
- Travel - All non-essential international and local travel should be avoided.
- Public - Public gatherings of more than 100 people are prohibited.
- Schools - Schools will be closed from 18 March 2020 until after the Easter weekend.
The postponed events will include but are not restricted to:
- The Growthpoint Super 8 due to take place from the 20th March.
- The Growthpoint Junior Nationals due to take place from the 26th March.
- The Primary and High Schools InterPro events due to take place from the 9th April.
- The Young Seniors InterPro due to take place from the 16th April.
TSA is hoping to reschedule as many postponed events as possible for later in the year. The TSA office are busy working on an amended calendar for 2020. A refund policy for tournament entries is in place for all affected events. TSA will communicate directly with affected players/parents/coaches about this policy.
For transparency please see below the notes from the TSA Risk Committee call that took place on the morning of Monday 16th March:
TOURNAMENTS AND EVENTS:
- All TSA sanctioned events will be postponed for at least the next 6 weeks – until the 20th April at the earliest. This time-frame is in line with the ITF and ATP suspension of tournaments globally.
- These postponed events will include, but are not restricted to:
- The Growthpoint Super 8 due to take place from the 20th March.
- The Growthpoint Junior Nationals due to take place from the 26th March.
- The Primary and High Schools InterPro events due to take place from the 9th April.
- The Young Seniors InterPro due to take place from the 16th April.
- TSA is hoping to reschedule as many postponed events as possible for later in the year. The TSA office are busy working on an amended calendar for 2020.
- A refund policy for tournament entries is in place for all affected events. TSA will communicate directly with affected players/parents/coaches about this policy.
- As this is a national state of disaster and the prohibition on events has been decreed by national government, TSA will not be able to compensate affected players, parents and coaches for travel or accommodation or other related expenses incurred.
- The TSA office are currently modelling the financial impact of these decisions – from a budget and cash flow perspective.
- Mini Tournaments: This postponement policy will also apply to all provincial junior mini tournaments scheduled for the above mentioned time period.
- Club Leagues: A decision around the postponement of club tennis leagues will be the prerogative of the relevant district or province – however should club tennis proceed then that relevant provinces and/or district will need to comply with the necessary health and safety guidelines as outlined by national government.
COACHING:
- The national coaches conference due to take place in Bloemfontein in late March will be postponed.
- All TSA coaching courses between now and the 20th April will be postponed.
- TSA is hoping to reschedule as many postponed events and courses as possible for later in the year.
DEVELOPMENT CENTRES – including WHEELCHAIR TENNIS DEVELOPMENT CENTRES:
- Will be aligned to the closure of schools and will be closed until after the Easter weekend.
- All coaches will be paid coaching fees during the period of closure.
TSA OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATION MATTERS:
- The office will still remain open until further notice – a comprehensive hygiene solution is being put in place.
- However staff will be allowed to work from home,
- TSA staff will not be allowed to travel outside of Gauteng on business – until further notice.
- The board meeting – scheduled for the 24th March – will be postponed and provisionally rescheduled for the end of April.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION:
- The TSA office will communicate the above decisions to all key stakeholders ASAP today.
- The TSA office will engage with all provincial structures this week to discuss the implications of the above decisions.
- The TSA risk committee will review the situation on a weekly basis and will provide regular updates to key stakeholders.