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What we’re about

Have you had difficulty finding partners to play racquet sports with more than once in a blue moon? Do you want to be part of a group that has regular events, particularly weekend morning ones (preferably at least once every other weekend, from mid-May to mid-September)? I understand how frustrating it can be to wait for those opportunities to play racquet sports that are, at best, infrequent. By founding this group, I hope to create opportunities for face-to-face meetings, to be able to play racquet sports year-round without having to plunk down sometimes up to $2,000/year to join a racquet sports club. As Organizer, I hope to put on tennis events at: a wide variety of outdoor courts and clubs, during the outdoor season (typically mid-May to mid-September), and welcome the opportunity for anyone looking to organize an event to post the details up on the group page.  It is not always easy to find friends to do these kinds of activities with and, furthermore, we all want to take a break from our often busy lives by having some fun once in awhile.  Whether it is tennis, badminton or squash, all are lots of fun. For more information on the policies of this group, please refer to the "Pages" section (before November 2022) although due to a Meetup policy regarding "Pages" sections to go into effect in November, I have chosen to copy what I wrote on such pages below:

Policies

It is important to know that acceptable behaviour in this group includes showing up on time to those events to which one RSVP's "yes." To foster a fun, safe tennis playing environment, I have put in place a few policies.

No-show Policy

Showing up on time is important, whether inside or outside the business world. There are situations, such as, but not limited to, serious illnesses, hospitalizations, jury duty and funerals, that may mean having to miss out on an event. It is not necessary to explain one's change in an RSVP from "yes" to "no," but please change your RSVP from "yes" to "no" if circumstances change such that you may or will not be able to make it out to an event I have organized. Alas, far too many people are no-shows, which is, in a nutshell, not showing up to an event one has RSVP'd "yes" to. Please note that 3 no-shows means you will be kicked out of the group.

Effective July 2013 to 3 June 2017

  • a 1st no-show will result in a suspension from attending further events, within my Meetup groups, up to and including the last day of the month following the no-show
  • a 2nd no-show will result in a suspension from attending events, within my Meetup groups, up to and including the last day of the 2nd month following the no-show
  • a 3rd no-show will result in a lifetime ban from attending any more of my Meetup groups' events

With the June 2017 no-shows to the Oriole Park tennis event that I had hoped would still go ahead (but could not because the only person who RSVP'd "yes", maintained such RSVP and showed up had been me), the penalties, effective Sunday 4 to Friday 30 June 2017, will be much tougher going forward, with suspensions to the end of the:

  • 2nd month following the 1st no-show
  • 4th month following the 2nd no-show

A no-show policy, effective July 2017 to 6 June 2021:

  • 1st no-show will result in a 42-day (6-week) suspension from attending tennis events
  • 2nd no-show will result in an 84-day suspension from attending tennis events
  • 3rd no-show will, like before, result in a lifetime suspension from attending any more of my Meetup groups' events

A no-show policy, effective 7-13 June 2021 (see also: https://twitter.com/davidmeetupto/status/1401334644201725952?s=20 ):

  • 1st no-show will result in a 84-day (12-week) suspension from attending tennis events
  • 2nd no-show will result in an 168-day suspension from attending tennis events
  • 3rd no-show will, like before, result in a lifetime suspension from attending any more of my Meetup groups' events

To the mid-June 2021 Moss Park that I hosted, two members of this group, both occupying top five waitlist spots, showed up. Not one of those four who signed up for non-waitlist spots bothered to do anything more. I got to warm up for the event in question but not play tennis. Just imagine if just ONE more member of this group had bothered to show up. Yet because I did not happen, anyone who, effective 14-20 June 2021, no-shows to ANY event in this group will have to sit out up to and including, with respect to events for which I am the only host, the end of the 30th week that follows any no-show. That meant, for instance, that anyone who no-shows to the mid-June 2021 Riverdale Park event that I hosted would @ a minimum have to miss:

  • all remaining 2021 events (13 weeks’ worth)
  • all 2022 events (16 weeks’ worth)
  • the early-June 2023 event

Anyone with a prior no-show will have to miss up and including the end of the 60th week that follows any no-show, but anyone who has no showed twice before, like before, being asked to leave the group in question. Any suspension, effective 14 June 2021, will carry through as many June-to-3rd-Saturday-of-September events because such a time frame during every year because usually the only time of year during which I put on outdoor tennis events.

A lifetime suspension from attending any more Meetup events within those groups I founded will remain after a 3rd no-show. Please note that any suspension from attending events within this Meetup group will apply to other Meetup groups that I run. Please note that any portion of a suspension that cannot be completely served between the 1st Saturday in June and 3rd Saturday in September of the same year will carry over into the next calendar year. This is to deter the conduct that I witnessed at the Moss Park tennis event that on 5 June 2021 could only BARELY go ahead (with 1 person who joined me vs 3 no-shows [ https://www.meetup.com/Greater-Toronto-Ontario-Area-Tennis-Players/events/cqrcgnyccjbhb/ ]).

Please note that because not ONE person who maintained a sign-up joining me at the mid June 2021 Riverdale park tennis event, The mandatory minimum suspension periods will, effective for events taking place on or after 21 June 2021 but before 13 September of the same year, for first and second time no-shows, respectively to 60 & 120 weeks. That 2 people no-showed to the September Moss Park event, vs only 1 who, among anyone who maintained a sign-up to joining me, showing up, means anyone, effective for any FUTURE event that I plan to host, will have to miss 120 weeks' worth of events (e.g. anyone who no-shows to the September 2021 Goulding Park event will @ a minimum have to miss, among events that I plan to host, all that occur up to and including 14 July 2029), 240 if having no-showed before.
That between 2 people who maintained their sign-ups to the early-June 2022 Moss Park event, 1 of 2 people honoured their sign-ups to join me, the person who did honour his sign up mentioning before the event that he would have to miss it, 250 weeks is, effective for events to take place after 4 June 2022 until further notice, the relevant mandatory minimum suspension period (doubled for anyone with a prior no-show). Please be warned that I reserve the right to cancel a series of events, like what I did in 2021, if to enough consecutive events, enough people no-show that such events either can only barely go ahead or can’t go ahead at all.

To make things easier for me administratively, anyone who no-shows to an event to take place (among those I have planned to host) after 15 July, but before 7 August, 2022, will have to sit out to the end of the 15th year after a no-show (30th if for a 2nd no-show). The suspension period effective:

  • 7 August 2022 Eastern Daylight Time rose respectively to the ends of the 30th and 60th years for 1st- and 2nd-time no-shows due to too many no-shows to the Moss Park event the day before
  • 8 August 2023 EDT will respectively rise to the ends of the 40th and 80th years due to too many no-shows to the Moss Park event during the relevant year's Simcoe Day long weekend
  • 11 September 2023 EDT will respectively rise to the ends of the 50th and 100th years due to too many no-shows to that month's Moss Park event (with more via a video I posted on 9 September of that year ET on YouTube [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGM9HM9OoQU ])
  • 19 March to 14 July 2024 EDT will, to take into account increased cooperation from members who've honoured sign-ups to events from July 2021 (5 events over 11 months [among such months during which I've hosted tennis events] ending September 2023 [vs 3 in June 2021] during which enough members have no-showed that I've felt a necessity to increase the mandatory minimum suspension period [MMSP] with respect to missing events I've planned to host), until further notice, feature an MMSP to the end of the 12th month that follows a no-show (24th if a 2nd no-show), with that MMSP not retroactive
  • 15 July 2024 EDT, to take into account 2 no-shows to the previous weekend’s Moss Park event vs only ONE who joined me ( https://www.meetup.com/greater-toronto-ontario-area-tennis-players/events/296009476 ), is the end of the 2nd calendar year following such a no-show (4th if the no-show is the 2nd within Meetup groups I’ve ever founded)

Transportation and Appropriate Behaviour

By joining this group, you accept that you will be responsible for transportation to and from any event, and that, for instance, you will not operate any vehicle, motorized or non-motorized, or machinery if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Any guest who is found to be getting drunk, being offensive or abusive, behaving inappropriately towards others or just simply being rude and obnoxious will be ejected from the event immediately. At a minimum, this will also result in a suspension from at least the next Greater Toronto Area Racquet Players event. The incident may also be reported to Meetup Everywhere.

If your misbehaviour is more serious (e.g. stalking, assault, uttering threats), however, Meetup, if not also police, will be notified, and you will definitely be expelled from Greater Toronto Area Racquet Players.

If you are asked to leave an event venue, but refuse to do so, police will be called, and you may be criminally charged. More info on termination, from Meetup's terms of use, can be found at: https://www.meetup.com/terms.

Email Communications with Other Members

Also note that it is important, when using email, to keep communications appropriate, and to emphasize that, by emailing another member of the group, you are simply doing so to find tennis partners. Remember that this is not an online dating site. A pattern of emails to other members that are deemed to be inappropriate may result in your removal from the group.

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