The best way to handle rain cancellations is to decide everything before the season starts. Set a clear time for the call, tell families in one message, and give make-up credits by default instead of refunds. Let weather credits sit outside your usual make-up limits, and process them all in one step. That way a washout costs you a few minutes, not a week’s revenue.
It’s 3.10pm on a Tuesday in March. The radar shows a band of rain arriving around 4. You’ve got eight classes on from 4pm, about 70 kids, and four coaches who want to know if they should drive in. By 3.40 you’ve had nine texts from parents. By 4.15 it’s stopped raining, but you’ve already cancelled. Now you need to work out who gets a make-up, who already has two, who wants a refund, and how to fix eight invoices. That takes the rest of the week.
The rain wasn’t the problem. Not having a plan was.
Key takeaways
- Write your rain policy before the season, and send it to families at enrolment.
- Pick a fixed time to make the call, such as 90 minutes before the first class, and stick to it.
- Give make-up credits by default. Refunds empty your bank account; make-ups use spots you already have.
- Weather cancellations are your call, not the family’s, so they shouldn’t count against a family’s make-up limit.
- Process the whole washout in one go: cancel the sessions, adjust invoices and issue credits together.
Why do rain cancellations cost so much?
Most owners think the cost of a washout is the lost session. It isn’t. The bigger costs are:
- Admin time. Answering messages, updating rolls and working out who’s owed what.
- Refunds. Cash going back out the door for a class you planned, staffed and paid for.
- Coach pay. If coaches get paid for cancelled sessions, you pay twice for one class.
- Goodwill. Families who feel the process was confusing or unfair start to wonder if you’re worth it.
A clear policy fixes all four. It doesn’t stop the rain, but it stops you making the same decisions under pressure every time.
When should you call a rain cancellation?
Pick one time and announce it. Families and coaches will work around it once they know it’s coming.
A good default is 90 minutes before the first affected class. That’s late enough to have a decent forecast and early enough for parents to change plans before school pickup.
Then set your rules for what counts as “too wet”:
- Surface. Hard courts and synthetic grass drain differently to natural grass. Know what your surface can handle.
- Lightning. Any lightning nearby means everyone gets off the court, regardless of the rain. Follow your sport’s governing body or association policy.
- Light rain. Many programs run through light drizzle. Say so in your policy, so families don’t expect a cancellation for every shower.
- Mid-session rain. Decide in advance how much of a class needs to run before it counts as delivered. Half is a common line.
If you’re unsure, it helps to look at what your sport’s association recommends. For tennis specifically, we cover wet weather and heat planning in how to run a tennis coaching business in Australia.
What should families get when you cancel for rain?
When you cancel a class, families have paid for something they didn’t receive. They should get something back. Your choice is what form it takes:
| Option | Good for you | Good for families | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Make-up credit | Keeps revenue, fills spare spots | They still get the lesson | Credits nobody uses |
| Account credit | Keeps revenue | Comes off their next invoice | Building up big balances |
| Extra week at end of term | Simple to explain | Keeps their regular slot | Needs a free week and venue |
| Refund | Clean | Money back | Hits cash flow, adds admin |
For most academies, make-up credits should be the default, with a refund or account credit available if a family can’t use a make-up before the term ends.
Remember that you can’t take away rights families have under Australian Consumer Law. If you cancel and can’t offer a reasonable replacement, they’re entitled to a remedy. The ACCC’s consumer guarantees page explains the basics.
Should weather make-ups count towards a family’s limit?
No. This is the mistake that causes the most arguments.
Most make-up class policies cap how many make-ups a family can bank, say two per term. That limit is there for absences the family chooses, like a birthday party or a sick day. A washout is your decision, not theirs.
If a family has already used their two make-ups and then you cancel for rain, they should still get a credit. Otherwise you’re penalising them for the weather. Write that into your policy in plain words:
Weather cancellations. If we cancel a class because of weather, every enrolled student receives a make-up credit. Weather credits don’t count towards your make-up limit for the term.
How do you tell families about a rain cancellation?
One message, sent once, to everyone affected. SMS gets read faster than email on a weekday afternoon.
Keep it short and answer the three questions every parent has: is it on, what happens now, and do I need to do anything.
Washout SMS template
Hi [first name], due to rain all classes at [venue] from [time] today are cancelled. Every student will get a make-up credit, which you can book in the app. No need to reply. See you next week. [Academy name]
A few habits that help:
- Send it from your system, not your personal phone, so replies go to the right place and there’s a record.
- Tell coaches first, or at the same time, so they don’t drive in.
- Post it on social media too if you have a lot of families checking there.
- If the classes go ahead, say so. A short “we’re on” message at the decision time stops the flood of questions.
What about coach pay for cancelled sessions?
Decide this before it rains, and put it in your coach agreements. Common approaches:
- Paid if cancelled after a set time. For example, coaches are paid if the call is made less than two hours before their first class, because they’ve already planned their day around it.
- Paid for make-up sessions instead. Coaches aren’t paid for the washout but are paid when the make-up runs.
- Minimum engagement. A short payment for coming in, even if the session is called on court.
Whatever you choose, make sure it meets your obligations under the relevant award or agreement, and apply it the same way every time.
A worked example: what a washout costs
A tennis academy runs eight group classes on a Tuesday evening, 70 students in total, at $28 a session.
| Refund everyone | Make-up credits | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue for the night | $1,960 | $1,960 |
| Money going back out | $1,960 | $0 |
| Spots used | None | Spare spots over the next 3 weeks |
| Admin | 70 refunds | One bulk action |
Not every credit will be used, and some families will ask for a refund. But defaulting to credits keeps almost all of that $1,960 in the business, and fills spots that would have been empty anyway. If your make-up classes are filling up, that’s also a good time to look at filling empty spots more widely.
What about heat and other weather?
Rain gets the most attention, but heat, smoke and storms cancel classes too. Your policy should cover them the same way.
- Extreme heat. Many sports have heat policies based on temperature and humidity. Pick one, usually your governing body’s, and use the same decision time as rain.
- Bushfire smoke and poor air quality. Check your state’s air quality readings and decide at what level you move or cancel outdoor sessions.
- Storms and lightning. Treat lightning as a hard stop, even mid-session. Get everyone off the court and under cover.
- Indoor programs. Even indoor academies lose classes to power cuts, flooding and venue issues. The same credit rules should apply.
The point is that families shouldn’t have to learn a new set of rules for each type of cancellation. Weather is weather. Your response should be the same.
Rain cancellation policy template
Copy this into your enrolment terms or onto your website and adjust the brackets.
[Academy name] wet weather policy
We run most classes in light rain. We’ll cancel if courts are unsafe, if there’s lightning nearby, or if heavy rain is forecast for the class time.
When we decide. We make the call [90 minutes] before the first affected class and send an SMS to every family in those classes. If you don’t hear from us, your class is on.
What you get. Every enrolled student receives a make-up credit for each cancelled class. Weather credits don’t count towards your make-up limit and can be used until [the end of next term].
Rain during class. If rain stops a class after [half] of it has run, the class counts as delivered and no credit is given.
Can’t use your credit? If you can’t book a make-up before your credits expire, contact us and we’ll give you account credit or a refund for that class.
This policy doesn’t affect your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
Your pre-season checklist
Before the wet season starts, run through this list:
- Write or update your wet weather policy and add it to your enrolment terms.
- Decide your call time and tell families and coaches.
- Set up make-up rules so weather credits sit outside your normal limit.
- Save your washout SMS template so it’s ready to send.
- Agree coach pay for cancelled sessions and put it in writing.
- Check your make-up classes have enough spare spots to absorb a busy washout week.
- Pick who makes the call when you’re on court or away.
That last one is easy to forget. If the owner is the only person who can cancel, the system breaks the first time they’re coaching or on holiday.
How does Outcoach handle weather cancellations?
Outcoach handles a washout from one screen. Mark a session as Weather Cancelled or Cancelled, and in the same step:
- Cancel the invoice for the affected session
- Give make-up credits to every enrolled student
- Apply your policies, including letting weather credits go beyond the normal absence limit
Each program can have its own make-up rules. For example, two credits per term for personal absences, while weather-cancelled classes still earn credits after that limit. You can set notice periods, the absence reasons that qualify and whether an absent student’s spot opens up for someone else. To tell families, you can message a whole class at once, and with Ask AI you can type something like “send a washout SMS to all classes after 3pm today”.
Read more on make-up classes or see the attendance and make-ups help guide.
Frequently asked questions
Not necessarily. You can offer a make-up class or credit instead, as long as your policy says so and families can reasonably use it. If they can’t, they may be entitled to a refund under Australian Consumer Law.
Pick a fixed time and tell families about it, such as 90 minutes before the first class. A set time stops the flood of messages and gives coaches and parents time to change plans.
No. Make-up limits are for absences the family chooses. A washout is your call, so weather credits should sit outside the normal limit.
Keep it to three things: which classes are cancelled, what families get instead, and whether they need to do anything. Send it by SMS to everyone affected at the same time.
That’s your decision, but make it in advance and write it into coach agreements. Many academies pay coaches if the call is made late, or pay them for the make-up session instead. Check the award or agreement that applies to your coaches.
