The court is located at the back of the University Club in Mansfield Road (see the map).
To get to the Keble court go out of the back of the University Club (using the basement exit next to the changing rooms) and walk across the sports field to the courts building (top-right hand side of the field). For ordinary OUC Squash Club members, you will need to get the keys from the University Club reception to open the gate from the sports field, and the door into the court building. Show your OUC Squash Club membership card to reception to get the keys.
For those who are Keble College Squash Club members only, and have not paid the OUC Squash Club membership fee (which is another £36 on top of the £10 Keble Squash Club membership, plus a £20 key deposit), you must get the keys from Keble College lodge. Without full membership of the OUC Squash Club, and a valid membership card, you cannot get the keys from the University Club reception, and they will not give them to you.
Please switch the court lights off when you have finished your game (and the heater if using it). Lights left on will fail all the sooner, and require replacement, resulting in court downtime.
Remember to return the keys the University Club reception after your match, or to the Keble College lodge if you are a Keble College Squash Club member. Please return the keys straight after your match has finished. Leaving it till the next day (or later) may cause problems for other players who wish to use the court.
There are changing rooms (with showers) and toilets in the basement of the University Club. You can also change and shower at the court itself, although the changing room there is smaller and probably less comfortable. Most people change and shower at the University Club.
To avoid getting dust or dirt on the squash court, or the University Club changing rooms, players are requested to wear their normal street footwear when crossing the sports field (especially if it is wet and muddy), and change into their squash shoes at the court. Alternatively put on shoe-covers to cross the field. To avoid marking the court please wear proper squash shoes when playing.
There are key-lockers in the changing rooms at the University Club, where you may leave stuff you don't want to take with you to the courts. If you do decide to take valuables to the courts, make sure that you take them on court with you. Don't leave valuables in the changing room at the court, as thefts have occurred there. Leaving belongings on the floor outside the court is also not advisable, as the area is not secure. Regrettably, the door to the court building is sometimes left open, as is the gate to the field, permitting unauthorised access. It is to prevent this that it is requested that the court building door, and the field gate, be kept closed.
To book a court, login to the system using the login box in the sidebar (from any page). You should already have set up a login id and password by registering on the OUC Squash Club site. Note that your barcode (login id) needs to be set up on the site by the system administrator before you can register and set your chosen password.
When logged-in you will see your current booking credits displayed in the login box in the sidebar. The first time you access the system you will be automatically be given 3 booking credits (Keble College Squash Club members 2 credits).
Once logged-in, if not already there, go to the booking pages. The pages there display a table divided up into time-slots of 40 minutes each, with days of the week labelled across the top, and time-slots labelled down the left-hand side. If a slot is bookable it will have a clickable 'book' button in it. Slots with no 'book' button in them, or no name, are reserved for the use of Keble College and are not available for booking by OUC Squash Club members. These are mostly in the morning and afternoon.
If you wish to book a slot, click the 'book' button in the time-slot you want. After a few seconds the page should reload, and the 'book' button will be replaced with a button with your surname in it. A message confirming the booking, and showing how many credits you have left, will appear above the top-left of the table. Once the slot has your name in it it cannot be booked by anybody else, unless you cancel your booking. There is a key explaining what each icon appearing on the page means in the top right of the page.
You can book 3 slots (Keble members 2 slots) before your credits are used up (except if the slot is a weekend booking, see below.). As you play the games you've booked, and the bookings expire, your credits will be credited back to you one by one. You can book up to 3 weeks in advance. Use the navigation bar at the top and bottom of the table to move between the pages for each week.
If for some reason you cannot play a game, please cancel the booking so that someone else can use the slot. Cancelling a booking is as simple as booking. You just login to the site, go to the booking page and click the button with your name in the slot you wish to cancel. The page will refresh with the slot now showing a 'book' button, indicating that the slot is bookable again. A message above the table (top-left) will confirm the deletion of the booking, and that your booking credits have been re-credited with one credit. You can also use this procedure if you wish to change a booking to a slot on a different day, or a different time. Apart from freeing up the slot for other members to book, cancelling a court has the benefit that you will get your booking credit back, and can therefore book another court.
Please note that all slots bookable on weekdays have a credit charge of one unit. Currently the slots bookable at the weekend have no credit charge, so you can book those without affecting your available weekday booking credits. You may have 2 'free' weekend slots booked at any given time, which can be used up in one weekend, or spread over two weekends. As you play the games and the bookings expire you'll be able to book more slots, as with the slots booked during the week.
As a general rule try to avoid booking consecutive slots, particularly on weekdays, as this is unfair to the other members, who may only be able to play at certain times, be it at lunchtime or in the evening.
The demand for slots during the week is such that it is rarely reasonable to book two slots together as a block . Demand is also probably less at the weekend, although the Keble court is only available up to lunchtime on Saturday and Sunday.
Some work has been done so that the site will display reasonably well on a mobile phone, using the phone's 'mobile view' (single column) mode. More capable hand-held devices may display the site in full browser mode.
Testing using the Opera Mini mobile browser (version 5) has demonstrated that login to the site does work via a mobile phone, and courts can be booked in this way. No testing has been done with other mobile browsers, though, so results may vary according to the specific device and/or browser.
It is suggested that people familiarise themselves with the rules of squash, and observe them. If in doubt as to whether you will hit your opponent, with either racket or ball, always err on the side of caution and ask for a let, to avoid risking an injury being caused.
It is a good idea to wear eye-guards, as a squash ball can cause serious injury in that area, as can a blow with a racket.
Please remember to logout from this site when you have finished. Enjoy the games!