Non-Member Tennis Fee

Nonmembers may be permitted to join a Spalding Woods ALTA team specifically when a team is short players.  The team captain must receive approval for a nonmember to join the team – see the full rules below.  A nonmember fee of $75 must be paid by the team member before any practices or matches are played.  The fee is a per season fee.

Don’t want to pay the fee each season?  Join Spalding Woods

We recognize that due to the shifting popularity of tennis, some teams may struggle to gather enough players to field a team. Or, there may be enough players on a roster, but lack of player availability may cause excessive forfeiting of matches. At times, special circumstances may dictate that without additional non-member support, current club members will not be able to play on a team at all.  When this unique situation presents itself, we have created a vehicle to see if adding a non-member to the team is the right solution to the problem.

For adult teams, the first step is for the tennis captain to complete the Spalding Woods Non-Member Tennis Team Request. Once completed by the team captain, the form should be delivered to a Tennis Chairperson at least two weeks prior to the ALTA/USTA roster submittal deadline. We view non-member play as a ‘last resort’ in ensuring our current members can play tennis and the tennis captain should be prepared to explain why non-member play is necessary. The Tennis Chairpersons will consider the request, gain Board input, and make a final decision.

The Tennis Chairpersons will communicate the decision to the team captain in a timely manner. No non-member play should occur until

A) a formal decision has been received.  Simply completing the form and submitting payment is not sufficient action for a non-member to be added to a roster.

And B) Should the request be granted, the non-member payment of $75 must be paid before the non-member may practice or play.

Non-member play is requested and approved on an individual basis for one season only. Should non-member participation be necessary in a subsequent season, this process shall be initiated and followed again. If there is any uncertainty in the process to add a non-member to a team, the team captain should gain clarification from a Tennis Chairperson. This procedure is subject to change at any time with or without advance notification.

A member resigning from the Club is not eligible to play on a Spalding Woods tennis team as a non-member until a period of two years has elapsed from date of resignation

After approval of the non-member by the tennis chairperson, it is the captain/co-captains decision on player lineups; the tennis chairpersons are not involved in who plays. Failure for a captain and co-captain to obtain the proper approval, or a captain/co-captain who plays an ineligible player could result in any of the following: suspension of Club membership, revocation of Club membership, suspension of Spalding Woods tennis privileges.