This code of conduct is mandatory for any player at Stratford Padel Club (SPC), member and non-member. By playing at SPC, players are giving consent to adhere to it.

Not following these rules will lead to the player being banned from playing at the club, with no recourse to have the membership refunded, if they were a member. The decision regarding whether any of these rules have been violated, as well as the appropriate measures to take, will be solely and exclusively taken by the management of the club, with reasoning being provided in writing to the player in question.

1.Matches, socials and tournaments

   a. The Open matches set up by the club are open to all players of the set levels. No player has the right to ask for the removal of one of the players who joined the match. Bullying and divisive behaviour is not tolerated, on and off the court, and will lead to immediate expulsion from SPC.

   b. Players are expected to show respectful, supportive behaviour on court. Matches need to be conducted in true spirit of fairness and sportsmanship, win or lose. Complaining directly or indirectly about the match performance of another player is not tolerated and will lead to expulsion from SPC.

   c. Any attempts to undermine another player will not be tolerated and will lead to immediate expulsion.
   d. If players of lower level are added to certain matches by the management of the club, please respect this decision as it may be part of testing if a player should be upgraded to a higher rating. Refusing to accept management decisions on the matter will lead to expulsion.

   e. It is down to the management of the club to utilise court capacity in the most efficient way to meet  demand. This may mean that matches may need to be moved or cancelled if they are not complete and there’s a full booking that can take the same slot. Court allocation for all activities is the club’s decision. The club cannot accommodate players’ preference for certain courts. Please be respectful and understanding of these decisions.

   f. All players have equal rights on court and at the club, and this is not driven by their spend. Please be mindful of using your spend as a negotiation or bullying tactic when dealing with the staff at the club. It is down to the management of the club to offer rewards to certain players, but our staff and coaches should not be put in a difficult position, by being asked for extra favours because of your own spend with the club.

   g. If you sign up to a tournament without a partner, and delegated the responsibility of choosing a partner to the club, please follow through with your decision and respect the choice made by the club for you; these decisions are made in the fairest way to ensure the most appropriate player available is allocated to you.

   h. Sexual harassment, racism, sexism, derogatory comments related to someone’s nationality, race, sexual orientation, or any other inappropriate comments towards or related to any of our players will not be allowed on premises and will trigger an immediate expulsion.

2. Levels

Levels are decided by the SPC coaching team, based on the club’s level rating matrix and proprietary player rating system. The coaches have the ultimate decision on players’ levels and will take the appropriate actions to ensure players have allocated ratings in a fair manner, reflective of their progress and performance.

   a. Tournament performance in SPC, LTA and FIP tournaments is taken into consideration.

   b. Players who win or reach the final in the Level Up Showdown are highly considered for a level review. Please be mindful that the upgrade is not guaranteed, coaches will still base the assessment on the Player Level Matrix.

   c. Active players who take lessons and/or play more than once a week are likely to maintain their level and if they receive active coaching, it is down to their coach to discuss a player development plan and implement with clear goals on what to improve and by when. The coach can submit their proposal for upgrade to the rest of SPC coaches and the player will be reviewed.

   d. Players who do not play regularly at SPC can submit a video of their performance or ask the club to record their match to be reviewed.

   e. Players who do not play often enough and believe they should be reviewed, can ask SPC for their match to be recorded and submit this form to the SPC team specifying how they look like in the video and why they think they should be upgraded.

Other players’ view of your own level is irrelevant and should not be used as an argument to coaches to ask for an upgrade.
Players who have been reviewed will not be reviewed for another 4 months, unless they have trained harder, taken lessons, improved their fitness, played more frequently and addressed the points provided in the previous feedback. Level improvement is about on court performance improvement and should be treated as such by players, and it only comes with training, effort and application.

The SPC team will not engage in any attempts from players to negotiate their level based on self-assessment and/or commercial reasons, such as threats to no longer play at the club if the level is not adjusted.

3. Sign up and payments

   a. It’s the player’s responsibility to pay for membership, matches, lessons, tournaments, socials on the app/online or at the club when booking. Putting the staff in the unpleasant position to chase players for not making payments will lead to players being banned from the club for 4 weeks as a minimum.

   b. In order to speed up the payment process through the app, players can add credit to their account and use it for bookings or at the bar. It’s the players’ responsibility to check if they have enough balance to make payments.

   c. SPC staff cannot create private matches for players (members or non- members) and do not deal with private bookings: it is the player’s responsibility to book a court on line arrange the payment with the other players.

   d. Players can join and withdraw from matches and lessons/trainings up to 24h in advance. Once the deadline has passed if they want to get removed from the match they have to find a replacement by sending the link in the appropriate WhatsApp group. For lessons/group classes/social they can send a message to the WhatsApp group and see if any other player is able to take the spot. If the player hasn’t been replaced following a substitution request, they are liable to turn up to the match, or they will incur penalties.

   e. Substitution links should only be used for emergencies, when the player is really unable to come to the activity booked.

   f. Players can withdraw from tournaments and get a full refund 96h in advance to avoid disruption to staff and other players: draw and order of play are sent out 72h in advance.

   g. Late cancellations and no shows will lead to £50 penalty fee plus a written warning. On the second occasion: £50 penalty fee and at least 1 month suspension. The third no show within 6 months will trigger suspension for at least 3 months. The penalty is non-negotiable and refusal to pay it will trigger suspension from the club. The club will apply judgement on emergencies and will show understanding.

   h. If you wish to leave the club and get your balance refunded, we will accommodate your request but we will retain the additional balance given for free plus an admin fee of £2.

4. Engaging with our staff

   a. If you have asked one of our staff questions via WhatsApp or similar, please wait for them to answer, rather than contacting in the same time all the other staff members you have direct access to. Most of the matters are not urgent, and we do provide answers within 2h most of the time.

   b. Players are kindly requested to contact the club via the club’s contact details, and not contact SPC team members on their personal phones for club related matters.

   c. If you have a preference for a certain coach, you need to be flexible around their rota. Being inflexible on the timing of the lesson as well as the choice of coach are simply incompatible, and the club will not be able to accommodate your preference.
   d. Our coaches have clients allocated based on the level of the player and their learning style. It is the management decision to allocate coaches to lessons being mindful of players’ preference. Please do not put the coaches in a difficult position, by contacting them directly and asking them to change their shifts to accommodate your preference.

   e. The club will not tolerate players’ arguments that they do not like a certain staff member and therefore they do not want to deal with them, without providing reasoned rationale for the club management to assess whether the staff member has behaved inappropriately in any way. If a certain staff member has provided inappropriately, please complain directly to the club management at info@stratfordpadelclub.com or in person.

   f. Inappropriate questions to our staff, judgements, or gossip related to the SPC team being spread around the club will lead to expulsion of all players indulging in this kind of behaviour. This is an inclusive sports club, and divisive and undermining behaviour will not be tolerated.

   g. Any attempts to sexual harass our staff will lead to immediate expulsion. Attempting to trigger a personal relationship with our staff members, of a sexual nature, during their work hours and while on site, will lead to expulsion.

   h. Any inappropriate comments towards our staff, related to their nationality, gender, or sexual orientation will lead to expulsion.

   i. Any attempts to sow division between our staff members or between the management of the club will lead to immediate expulsion.

5. Facilities and common areas

   a. It is the players’ responsibility to throw their rubbish in the provided labelled bins (glass, mixed recycling, general waste) and clear their tables of food leftovers, empty bottles, used overgrips, other packaging etc.

   b. The players are required to ensure the court is cleared from all used balls at the end of their match (baskets provided outside each court for old/used balls).

   c. Members using the gym are required to tidy up the equipment used at the end of their training session.

   d. Lockers are for daily use only and must be cleared before closing time.

   e. Be respectful of other players when using toilets and changing rooms.

   f. Lost property found by staff members will be kept secure and returned upon request. If not claimed, all objects will be disposed of after 1 month.

   g. Limited parking is available on site and reserved for blue badges holders, we kindly suggest getting to the club by public transport or cycling. Leaving the car parked outside opening hours is strictly forbidden.

6. Operating hours
   a. The club has an operating hours licence. Not respecting this will lead to the club getting fined and potentially closed down. Players are expected to understand that and should not put the management of the club in a position that triggers a liability.
   b. Please ensure you have left the club at 11.30pm on a weekday and at 10pm during the weekend and no later than that. By not doing so, you are being disrespectful to the staff members who must spend extra hours on site, outside their working hours.

Thank you,

SPC Management
Anka Mandleson and Javier Fernandez Aguirre