Junior member playing times
Juniors may use the courts from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Adults have priority after 6:00 p.m. Juniors may use the courts after 6:00 p.m. when playing with an adult or when there are no adults waiting.
Junior players, 16 years or older, wishing adult playing privileges (evening hours), may apply for Student membership by paying the appropriate fees.
How do I register on-line?
Click on the word "Membership" at the left column index. A chart showing the registration categories appears. Click on the highlighted category under Membership for the registration page. For example, click on FAMILY for the family membership page.
Fill in the required information, click on the We Agree box to accept the condition of membership. Remember indicate everyone's full name especially when members of the family have different surnames.
Click on the SUBMIT button to complete and then be linked to the payment page.
When can I pick up my tag and key?
Please allow 24hrs to have these ready as your personalized tag need to be printed and laminated.
Where do I pick up my tag and key?
Tags and key are conveniently available at the Club on OPEN HOUSE dates, drop-in or round robin Tennis/Pickleball times, or other scheduled events (eg. Clinic dates).
Alternate arrangements can be made by contacting the President via link at the bottom of the index column on the home page or to the Membership Director by the highlighted link at the bottom of the Membership page under Keys & Tags.
Can I get another key or shoe tag if I lose mine?
An additional key or tag would cost $5each.
Are there washroom facilities at the Sheridan Tennis Club?
The Club does not have clubhouse and does not have a washroom. The Club does provide for a Port O Let from the end of April to mid October. Running tap water is available but it is not for intended for drinking.
Where do people park?
On weekends and evenings, people may park at the Homelands public school or St Francis of Assisi Catholic school and David Ramsay outdoor pool parking lot. On weekdays, people park along Homelands Dr, Barcella Crescent, or Vineland Rd. There is a walkway between the houses near Winthrop Crescent to get to the courts. Be sure to observe the City parking signs. During the summer when school is out of session, their parking lots are available.
Do I need a separate membership for Pickleball and Tennis?
No. Your membership fee allows you access to both games and participation in the FREE clinics.
I am a single parent with two adult children attending post secondary schools. Can we join as a family?
In this case the parent and one student may join as a family (as the FAMILY is defined to include 2 adults and up to 3 children under 18 yrs). The second adult student needs to join separately under the STUDENT category.
Can my fiance(e) and I join as a family?
If you are both living at the same address then you may join as a family. Proof of residency may be required.
Looking for a game
One of the best ways to meet other members and find playing partners/opponents is to join our socials, ladders and round robins, and to volunteer at the club. Privacy laws prevent us from publishing members contact information.
Can I wear a tank top while playing at the Club?
Men are required to wear a shirt, with or without sleeves, shorts, and non-marking shoes.
Women are required to wear a shirt or tank top, shorts, tennis skirts or dress, or leggings, and non-marking tennis shoes.
Do I need to be a member to play in the Pickleball house league?
Participation in the house league, inter-county teams, tennis lessons, and pickleball lessons are for members only.
How long do I have to wait for a court?
If you arrive and all courts are in use, go to the reservation board hung near the inner doorway between the courts and reserve the next court. When busy, each court changes at a different time:
Court 1 at :00 minutes of the hour
Court 2 at :15 minutes of the hour
Court 3 at :30 minutes of the hour
Court 4 at :45 minutes of the hour
Example 1: If you arrive at 6:51pm and all the courts are full and no-one else is waiting, hang your racquet on the board to reserve court 1, which is the next court to change at 7:00pm. At 7:00pm, without interrupting play on any other court, go to court 1 and say their time is up. If they are playing a point, please allow them to finish first. You do not have to wait for a game or a set to finish.
Example 2: You arrive at 8:12pm and there are people already waiting for courts 2 & 3. Hang your racquet up for court 4, which will be yours for one hour at 8:45pm.
Some rules to keep in mind:
- A) If a court comes free, you should take that court – no waiting around when an empty court is available in an attempt to game the reservation system.
- B) If you have reserved a court, you should not be absent from the courts as you may lose your reservation (see scenario 3 below). Be present at least 15 minutes before your court comes available.
- C) To determine the time, refer to your smartphones, as they are set to a common time on the network and should be in very close agreement with each other.
- D) A single lone member cannot use or reserve a court for purposes of this system, while there are members waiting for a court. If you wish to practice serving or use a ball machine, you need to find a less busy time. That means if all other courts are busy, 2 or more players can ask a lone member to leave immediately.
This system is simple, straight-forward, and requires no administration or supervision to operate. It is not perfect and simplicity can be harsh, so there are situations and scenarios to keep in mind.
Scenario 1 (Short time): You arrive at 7:05pm and see court 2 is open so you go on court and start to play. Another group of players arrives at 7:11pm, sees the courts are full and hangs their racquets up for the next court which is court 2. At 7:15pm, they tell you your time is up and you should leave the court although you have only played for 10 minutes and may feel this is unfair. What should happen?
- Strictly by the rules, you should surrender the court. The players arriving have no idea if you played for 10 minutes or 55 minutes. If you want to keep playing, hang your racquet for court 3, which will change in 15 minutes. You will have court 3 for one hour starting at 7:30pm.
- Tennis, especially at a club like this, is a social endeavour and most people want to be fair. If you can convince the new players, or if other courts confirm you have just arrived, it may be that the new players take this into account and decide to reserve court 3 instead and leave you to continue play. Please note they are not obliged to do so. If they do not choose to defer to court 3, you should surrender court 2 to them without complaint.
Scenario 2 (leaving early): It is 10:22am with the courts full and racquets hung for courts 3, 4, and 1. The players on court 4 leave early, at 10:29am. What happens?
- The players that have reserved court 4 (lucky them) can move onto court 4 early and will now have more than an hour of playing time. The players waiting for court 3 get court 3 at the regular time, 10:30. The players waiting for court 1 remain waiting for court 1. They should not move up their racquets to reserve court 4 in 15 minutes as they know what the situation is and should not penalize the players now on court 4 for getting lucky. For any newly arriving players, they should explain the situation and that court 4 is not available at 10:45am and the next court available is court 2 at 11:15am.
- There was no group waiting for court 1 when this happened. A group arrives at 10:40am and hangs their racquet for court 4 at 10:45am. (Here is where this gets tricky.) See scenario 1 above. Ideally, the other courts have seen the scenario and explain the situation to the new group so they understand hang their racquets for court 1, but the rules for scenario 1 apply – they don’t have to do that.
Scenario 3 (late for your reservation): The courts are very busy and racquets are hung for all courts with people waiting to play. At 5:45pm court 4 comes up for change but the group that hung that racquet are not at the court to claim their time slot. What happens?
- There is a 5 minute grace period for claiming your court as we recognize with longer wait times people may go grab a coffee or a snack. Once that 5 minute grace period expires without at least 2 members of that group present to claim the court, the reservation is forfeit. The racquet should be removed from the board (gently please, this is someones' property) and all other reservations shuffle forward. The people waiting for court 1 can now instead start on court 4. They have lost 5 minutes playing time but are starting 10 minutes earlier.
- The people who forfeited their reservation do not move to the next 15 minute time period. They move to the end of the reservation line.
- What if the people waiting for court 1 are not available to start early on court 4. Then their reservation for court 1 remains in place and the reservations do not shuffle forward. Otherwise, we are penalizing the group waiting for court 1 for not being present when the court 4 group forfeits. (See rule B above).