To visually “open up the club” and to enhance the viewing of matches by spectators, the committee have agreed that we will follow the lead of clubs like Maidenhead and Windsor, and partially lower the side fencing on the side of courts 3 and 4 closest to the clubhouse (with lower fencing similar to our existing court 7).
Advice from other clubs with lower side court fencing suggests that very few balls actually exit the court from the middle section, and if they do, they travel at a low velocity that is not a risk to spectators. However, this is a trial, so we will decide at a later stage whether to lower the fencing on other courts or if we need to reinstate the higher fencing.
The initial plan is that the entrance to the courts will still be via the existing gates in the corners of the court, and that we will also be removing the court padlocks (which are no longer needed now that we have the secure entrance gates). A small mid-court entrance gate might be installed at a later stage.
Photos below from other clubs with lower side fencing including Windsor and Maidenhead
