POST OAK RECREATION TENNIS RULES
Use common sense, common courtesy, social decency, be kind and have fun!
Court Access – The 4 tennis courts are only to be used by PORA Members, accompanying guests as well as approved seasonal paid teams and summer camps specifically associated with PORA. The center gate is the only accessible entrance to the tennis courts. Players will be required to use an Access Card to pass through the tennis gate and enter the tennis courts. PORA Members should maintain possession of their Access Cards; Access Cards are not to be shared amongst PORA Members, accompanying guests and team members. Failure to comply with this rule could result in membership privileges being revoked for that member or Team Member.
Court Usage – It is always recommended to use the ReserveMyCourt web app to make court reservations, however PORA Members may attempt to play at will on courts that are vacant provided they understand the risk of being bumped by players that have properly reserved the court or have been assigned the court time by the PORA Tennis Coordinator for PORA Team use.
Court Reservation – All courts must be reserved prior to play via the ReserveMyCourt phone app or online.
Reservation Duration – Courts reservations can be made for a maximum period of 2.5 hours of continuous singles or doubles play.
Early Reservation – Courts 1-4 may be reserved up to 7 days in advance.
Court Hours – Daylight to 11:00 PM. The lights will automatically turn off at 11:00 PM.
Restroom Access – Each Captain is assigned a unique green access key for the restrooms. The possession of the access key is the responsibility of the captain. The gate MUST not be propped open at any time.
Ball Machine Usage – Battery operated ball machines may be used on courts 1 and 2 with the divider screen closed. Ball machines requiring an electrical outlet are not permitted.
Member Guests – Up to three guests may accompany a PORA Member to complete two doubles teams for one court. A guest is defined as any individual who is not a resident living in the Post Oak Square or Post Oak Springs communities. Residents residing in Post Oak Square and Post Oak Springs that are not active PORA members do not qualify as a guest.
Lights – The overhead lights can be utilized at the discretion of any player. The last player remaining on the courts is responsible for turning off the lights before exiting the tennis gate. Lights should be manually turned on and off. Lights not manually turned off will be automatically turned off at 11:00 PM.
PORA ALTA and USTA Teams
PORA Teams – PORA Teams are permitted to use the PORA tennis facilities as their Home Courts. Refer to www.postoakrecreation.com for a list of current PORA teams. PORA Members interested in joining a team must contact the Team Captain directly to determine roster availability. All PORA Teams must be approved each season by the PORA Tennis Coordinator. Returning teams are not guaranteed court usage. Captains should submit their requests to the Tennis Coordinator ASAP.
Captain’s Meetings – The PORA Tennis Coordinator shall have a Captain’s Meeting at the beginning of each season. The Captains will be informed of the current PORA Tennis Rules and Captain’s Responsibilities.
Team Roster – Captains must submit to the PORA Tennis Coordinator an entire list of players on their team. Rosters may be comprised of paid PORA Members and Team Members that have paid the Team Member season dues. PORA Members are not required to pay additional team dues. Unpaid Team Members cannot be included as an active player on the team roster until the dues are collected by the Team Captain and turned in to the PORA Tennis Coordinator.
Team Member – Is defined as anyone living outside Post Oak Square and Post Oak Springs that is not a PORA member and has joined a tennis team for one season. Residents of Post Oak Square and Post Oak Springs must be paid PORA members to join a team. A Team member that is not a PORA Member will be required to pay a $30 non- member non-refundable fee before he/she is allowed to participate in any tennis activities. Team members can only use the tennis courts during specifically assigned court time approved by the Tennis Coordinator for the season he/she is participating. If a Team Member is using the courts outside the approved Practice Night, Match Play or Match Make-Up the player is to be reported to the Tennis Coordinator. The Team Member in violation of the Tennis Rules will be cut from the Team Roster. It is the Captain’s responsibility to insure all Team Members comply with the PORA Tennis Rules. Misuse of approved court time will jeopardize the entire Team from being removed from the PORA for future seasons.
Practice or Lesson Nights – Practice and Lesson times shall be fairly and equitably assigned. PORA Members can refer to the website for specific team practice/ lesson nights, times and court assignments. Two courts will be reserved for each Team Practice or Lesson Nights for a 2 hours time slot. The courts will be reserved and blocked out on the website for the entire season by the Tennis Coordinator to prevent double-booked reservations by PORA Members. A typical regular season last approximately 8 weeks.
Match Play Court Assignment– The PORA Tennis Coordinator shall create a schedule assigning courts for every Home Match for every team in every season of play. The schedule will be provided to every Team Captain. The court assignments will coincide with the normal day and time of play for every team. The starting reserve time will be 30 minutes prior to the ALTA or USTA scheduled start time.
Courts 3 and 4 will be the primary courts assigned for all Mach Play. In situations where PORA has two Home Teams scheduled to play on the same day, the Captain’s will be responsible for insuring their team matches are played on the courts properly assigned by the Tennis Coordinator.
Prior to the start of the season the PORA Tennis Coordinator will determine which Home Team gets to use Courts 3 and 4 versus Courts 1 and 2 when two Home Teams are in scheduled to play at the same time.
Priority will be determined as follows:
- The team having a PORA member as Captain.
- The team having the greater number of PORA Members on the Team Roster.
- The team having the most completed seasons played as a PORA Team.
- The Tennis Coordinator will decide.
Match Play Using Three or More Courts – Teams attempting to play Home Matches on more than the two assigned courts are at risk of being bumped by already reserved court time by PORA members or court assignments approved by the Tennis Coordinator. Any additional courts desired for Match Play need to be approved by the PORA Tennis Coordinator 48 hours prior to the regularly scheduled matches.
Make-Up Home Match – Inclement weather and holidays will create Make-Up Matches. A Make-Up Match is defined as any regularly scheduled match that cannot be played on its originally scheduled day/time. Make-Up Matches have no priority over regularly scheduled weekly practices. No court time priorities will be given to teams attempting to schedule matches prior to the day/time they are normally scheduled. The rules for Make-Up Matches due to inclement weather are as follows:
- It is permissible for the Team Captain to use their normal practice time court assignment for purposes of playing a Make-Up Match, for a match that they were normally scheduled to play away, or to play a match prior to the day it is regularly scheduled.
- Team Captains will be required to contact the Tennis Coordinator to request additional court time to reserve for Make-Up Matches. The court assignment will be booked by the Tennis Coordinator to insure there are no double bookings of reservations.
- In rare circumstances it may be required by the Tennis Coordinator to have a reservation previously scheduled by a PORA Member to be rescheduled in order to complete Home Make-Up Matches. The Tennis Coordinator will contact the PORA Member to get the reservation released and re-scheduled. In this situation, the PORA Member who reserved the court will be required to give up the court at the PORA Tennis Coordinator’s request. Team Captains cannot contact PORA Members or other Team Captains to request reservation releases.
- If a PORA Member reserves a court for the purposes of playing a regular scheduled ALTA or USTA match, a regularly scheduled Away match, or to play a match prior to the day it is regularly scheduled and the Tennis Coordinator contacts the PORA member to release the reservation to open court time for Home Make Up Matches, the PORA member is required to release the reservation. Failure to do so will result in the match being forfeited and the Team Captain will be notified.
Away Matches – Captains who desire to reserve courts for normally scheduled Away Matches must be approved by the Tennis Coordinator. Teams with regularly scheduled Home Matches and Home Make-Up Matches shall have priority to reserve court time over teams with regularly scheduled Away Matches or Away Make-up Matches. All Away Match reservations will be approved by the PORA Tennis Coordinator.
Captain’s Responsibilities
Team Roster – Rosters should be turned in to the PORA Tennis Coordinator prior to the start of the season. Any added team members after the initial roster is provided must be communicated immediately to the PORA Tennis Coordinator.
Collection of Non-Member Dues – All Team Member season dues must be collected and turned into the PORA Tennis Coordinator as players are added to the roster.
Court Assignments – Ensure all court assignments are strictly followed by all team members.
Team Member Etiquette and Compliance of Tennis Rules – Insure tennis etiquette and compliance of all PORA Tennis Rules are consistently followed and demonstrated by all team members.
Scheduling Make-Up Matches – Captains must notify the Tennis Coordinator via phone and email of the Make-Up requests ASAP. Email tennis@postoakrecreation.com to reach the Tennis Coordinator by email. A phone number will be provided at the Captain’s Meeting. Make-Up court assignments will be fairly and equitably assigned. The Tennis Coordinator will attempt to honor all requests but all are subject to availability.
Empty Trash Cans/ Clean Up – All trash cans on the tennis courts and along the tennis decks should be emptied, discarding the full bags into the gated garbage area. New trash liners should be installed. No glass should be left on the tennis courts. Any found broken glass should be swept up and discarded immediately. Any standing trash on the ground or on the tennis decks should be collected and discarded.
Grilling – PORA teams can utilize the outdoor grill. The grill cannot be re-located under any circumstances. The grill should be cleaned after each use and re-covered.
Alcohol – The customary alcoholic beverages served at tennis matches are not condoned by PORA. It is the responsibility of the team captain to monitor consumption and to accept the risks associated with serving alcohol and allowing individuals to drink and potentially drive.
Court Access – Captains are responsible for ensuring his/her team can access the tennis courts for practice, match play and make up match play.
Reporting – Any issues or concerns should be reported to the PORA Tennis Coordinator including but not limited to visible misuse of the facilities, equipment repair, and updates to team rosters.
Rev 3/7/2023