eTennis: Digitisation of Tennis Clubs & Facilities

Digitalization is picking up speed. There are some tools for tennis clubs and sports facilities. They differ in price, but above all in functionality, user-friendliness and trustworthiness. For a long-term cooperation it is worthwhile to take a closer look – who buys cheap, often buys twice!

We looked around clubs and came across a system that scores with a very good price/performance ratio: eTennis.at

Enormous relief for officials

Member administration with automatic billing of membership fees, automatic processing of claim applications and club tournaments as well as the billing options for paid (guest) hours save valuable time for club officials.

More tennis through interactive competitions

For demanding and tournament competitions, registration via the eTennis club platform is not only child’s play, the entry of dates is also made via the reservation module. Thus all dates are always current and are entered by the players, exactly the same as finally the results. Grids or pyramids update automatically.

More visitors, more revenue

Clubs report that due to online reservations, visitors now come to the tennis court without playing tennis to watch demanding or tournament games or simply because they know who is at the tennis court. Play dates, whether in a competition or as training, can be arranged more easily and increase the workload. Due to the high access rates, the advertising spaces are also very attractive for sponsors and are ideal for refinancing.

eTennis leaves nothing to be desired with the modules public relations/homepage, online reservation, claims pyramids and tournament system and is therefore different from other providers. From light control to access control, cash register, member administration with automatic billing of membership fees or online payment, numerous interesting options are still hidden.

From Dornbirn, via the Zillertal, Kitzbühel, Zell am See, Melk to Eisenstadt. The system is successfully used by hundreds of tennis clubs and facilities in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and South Tyrol.

More information about eTennis and a free demo version can be found at www.eTennis.at

Thomas Schweda, Managing Director ÖTV

“Officials do a great job for the club life in Austria. With a system like eTennis, many tasks can be automated so that officials can use the time gained for more important club activities”.

And who can best tell us about it as an association that is one of Austria’s most active. We talked to Hannes Krimm, President of the TC Blindenmarkt. The TC Blindenmarkt won the election for the most active club on tennisnet.com in 2015 and is now in its 5th year. Season with eTennis!

tennisnet.com: Hi Hannes, in 2015 we already met you, but please describe your club again!

Hannes Krimm: We are a small club in the heart of the Mostviertel/NÖ. We are located directly at the bathing lakes in the floodplain of Blindenmarkt. Our club has nearly 100 members who play on our 3 sand courts from April to October. We have been using the reservation platform via eTennis for 4 years now.

tennisnet.com: We’re right on the subject – how did you digitialize?

Hannes Krimm: At the beginning, the digitization was viewed very sceptically by older members in particular. From the classic “magnetic picker” to an innovative system, however, it was no great effort. As chairman and administrator I tested several systems in advance to find the most user-friendly interface for our club. That was clearly eTennis for me. At an annual general meeting we presented the new system to the members by means of a presentation and the test access of eTennis. Most of our members have already been convinced by eTennis. The last concerns were then eliminated in “live operation”. Thus the goal of not leaving any dissatisfied members on the track was mastered.

tennisnet.com: What were your investments back then?

Hannes Krimm: The initial purchase costs of a touch screen, PC cube and Internet access (via web cube) were manageable. Thanks to the good opportunity to present sponsors on the platform, we were able to refinance the costs within only one year.

tennisnet.com: How flexible were you in implementing your usual rules?

Hannes Krimm: As chairman and administrator I find the overview very successful. Everything can be set as desired and is open to all conceivable reservation options. I have implemented it in the club in such a way as to create a similar handling as with the magnetic cards. Of course, various rules can still be used for the desired optimization. eTennis makes working with the club a lot easier. By mobile phone or from home with the PC always an overview in the club…

tennisnet.com: Are there other possibilities you don’t use?

Hannes Krimm: I think even bigger clubs can benefit even more from eTennis. Lighting control, access controls e.t.c. are not needed with us but are possible with eTennis. It really leaves nothing to be desired. We have also learned about automatic billing of membership fees and an event and course management function. We’ll take a closer look and then decide if we’ll use it this season.

tennisnet.com: Thank you for your answers. What can you recommend to other clubs and facilities?

Hannes Krimm: We are now going into the 5th season with eTennis. season and the club life can no longer be imagined without it. Especially for the recruitment of new members, eTennis is a must in every club. I can only recommend it to every club!

Jakob Langer, Advisory Board UTC Melk:

“In spring 2016 we started with the eTennis reservation module and the claims pyramid. After the system has proven itself, we have been completely designing our online presence via eTennis since the spring of 2017. We have been dealing with the subject for a very long time and have recognized that eTennis is one step ahead of the competition in terms of service and offers”.

DI Mag. Robert Rassinger, USI Klagenfurt:

“The challenge competition motivated many of our players to hold matches with new opponents. The main advantage of online receivables assessment is that the rules of the game can be better communicated and limited”.

Matthias Wieser, Clubmanagement Kitzbüheler Tennisclub:

“We have been using eTennis since the beginning of May 2017. We use the reservation system for 7 open spaces and 3 indoor spaces (incl. Lighting Control and Online Payment). We are very satisfied with the new reservation system. The eTennis team is always available to answer various questions and suggestions. We also hope that we can win even more sponsors with the new advertising space in the system.”

Herwig Kreidl, Chairman Deputy Chairman TC Zell am Ziller:

“We have been using eTennis at our facility in Zell am Ziller (indoor courts, outdoor courts and bowling alleys) for several months now and are delighted. The system is easy to configure. The team behind eTennis is always at your side with advice and practical help. Our players understood the system right away and are already using it eagerly. Thank you again!”

Otto Majer, Chairman of TK Breitenfurt near Vienna:

“We have been using the eTennis reservation system since 2013 and have received only positive feedback. Since we do not have a canteen and also no continuous place support, our members had to come so far particularly into the club house around a reservation to make. Now anyone can easily reserve a seat over the Internet, whether they are at home, at work or on the road. In addition, you can immediately see the capacity utilization of the courses and whether a championship match or training takes place. This also promotes sociability and communication among the members. We see this reservation system as a great enrichment of our club and can only recommend it to others”.