Data obtained from Tennis Australia’s Book a Court online booking system has shown a sharp increase in tennis participation compared to this time last year. NSW in particular has shown a rise of 230%. There has never been a more prominent time for tennis clubs to consider the implementation of an online booking system to allow ease of access for the community and an increase in participation. A record 32,234 bookings were made across the country using this technology just in May alone.
Reflecting on the 173 tennis venues that have been using the Book a Court system for over 12 months, the data shows that bookings have more than doubled from 10,912 in May 2019 to 22,569 in May 2020. Tennis Australia CEO, Craig Tiley is not surprised by these increases.
“The increase in bookings we’ve seen across the country is not accidental. Safety and trust have been the most important factors as clubs and coaches across the country have prepared for the return to tennis and the team has done a remarkable job to give everyone the information and bio security protocols they need to get players back on court as safely as possible. And our clubs and tennis venues are seeing the rewards as a result of their efforts,” Tiley said.
Having your club easily accessible to your local community will assist in securing new pathways for sustainable operations. During this unstable time, there is an opportunity to provide innovative membership and casual play offerings. Tennis is uniquely positioned as a low contact, social community sport that can thrive through this phase of the COVID-19 crisis. In considering these factors and implementing an online booking system to create an ease of access to our sport, it can only support the increase in participation of our sport during this time while ensuring that your club is not left behind.
In the current environment maintaining an insular member-only policy and reducing interactions with community may feel like a safe option. However, through local marketing, improved accessibility and new technologies such as Book a Court, together we can create new and exciting ways to grow our wonderful sport and reinforce the resilience embodied by the tennis community.
Please get in contact with your Club Development Officer if you would like further information on implementing an online booking system at your club or for general support.
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