Trinity Tennis Club rush to find new nets after marquee erected at Botany Bay

The Botany Bay marquee is one of several new socially distanced student spaces on campus

Trinity Tennis Club has needed to move its training sessions off-campus the erection of a marquee over the tennis courts in Botany Bay.

The marquee, which was set up under plans to create “student breakout spaces” for students to use in between lectures to eat and rest while social distancing, is occupying the space in which the club would usually train.

The club is moving to new courts in Sportsco, Ringsend while the marquee remains in Botany Bay.

Speaking to Trinity News, a spokesperson for the club said that “unfortunately the marquee over Botany Bay means we can’t train on campus this year as we would have liked”.

“We had a bit of a rush to find new courts in the past week or so,” they said.

The club intends to welcome new and returning student members on their new training premises from October, as sports clubs are adapting to Covid-19 and government restrictions.

The arrangement between Trinity Tennis club and Sportsco has been put in place until Christmas, although the arrangement depends on government-led College policy, and changes in the infection rate could see the arrangement extended into 2021.

 

As part of the Healthy Trinity Initiative, College has stated that “groups of up to 15 can exercise, train, and play recreational activities outdoors providing there is no contact”. 

Trinity Meteors (Women’s Basketball 1st team), Men’s 1st Rugby team, Women’s 1st and Men’s 1st Hockey teams, and the Women’s 1st Volleyball team, have all been granted exemption from the Level 3 non-contact restriction.

 

During an online orientation presentation on September 24, the President of Trinity College Dublin’s Graduate Students’ Union (TCDGSU) Gisèle Scanlon, suggested to postgraduates that non-contact sports such as cycling, badminton, and tennis, might be arranged between small groups on a more informal basis during the academic year.

 

“We are yet to confirm all our training times for this year but the update is coming shortly,” said the Tennis Club spokesman.

The Botany Bay marquee comes under eight spots around campus designated as student breakout spaces to spend casual time between lectures in a socially distanced setting.

Other new spaces under the plan include a marquee in New Square and the old Bank of Ireland space in the Hamilton Building.

Elsewhere, Goldsmith Junior Common Room (JCR) area and lobby, the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI) student spaces, undergraduate and postgraduate spaces in the Old Stone Building by St James’ Hospital have been designated as breakout spaces.

The new and existing spaces are to be managed by student stewards and accessible through advance bookings.

The 1937 Reading Room will also be managed by postgraduate student stewards, but is to continue to operate as a library space.