Regular matches
Box leagues
Five to a box, four weeks to play everyone. Win your box and you go up, finish last and you go down. Included in membership.
A box league is the easiest way to get regular matches. You get four names and four weeks, you arrange the games between you, and the results go on the wall by the kettle.
There are about eight boxes, each with five people of a similar standard. Three points for a win, one for losing but taking a game. At the end of a round the top player goes up a box and the bottom player comes down. If you did not play your games, you come down too, and we do not need excuses.
Boxes suit people who work odd hours because you arrange your matches to fit. Tuesday from 6pm is club night, when courts are held so that box matches can happen with people watching from the gallery.
We also put out two teams in the Bay winter league, picked mainly from the top two boxes. Home matches are on Mondays, and there are always sandwiches.
What is included
- A new box every four weeks, by email and on the wall
- Courts held on Tuesday evenings for box matches
- Promotion and relegation without ceremony
- Two league teams in the winter for anyone who gets that far
What it costs
Included in full and off-peak membership. Balls are on you. Every price is on the prices list, and the courts page tells you peak or off-peak for any hour.
Questions about box leagues
What if I cannot play all my games?
Do what you can. Any match not played by the deadline counts as a loss for whoever failed to offer a time.
How is that different from the ladder?
The ladder is one-off challenges and you can play as often as you like. The box is a set round of matches. Plenty of people do both.
First game is on us. Bring shoes that do not mark.
Ring or send a line and someone from the club will give you a game at about your level, lend you a racket and tell you honestly what you are doing wrong.