SCTA Newsletter 2022-19

Solano Tennis Community

Happy Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. Enjoy your family on this special day!

Centennial Park Master Plan (CPMP) Rollout

The City of Vacaville has announced two Community Meetings to solicit comments about the draft CPMP:

• In-Person at the Ulatis Community Center on Saturday, December 3, 2022, from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM.
• Virtual on Zoom on Wednesday, December 5^th, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.

We have not seen the draft document but a quick look at the overview diagram gives some clues. The current four tennis courts go away in this plan, replaced by two (maybe four) new courts along the Allison Road extension into the park, with a skate park being built at the current court location.

How does the City conclude that this plan optimally satisfies the needs of its citizens? Several factors:

• The City has changed the planning standard for tennis courts from one court per 5,000 residents to one court per 7,500 residents. Translated, that means 3 or 4 of our current 17 city courts are excess to requirements.
• The starting point for Vacaville park planning is the 2013 Recreational Needs Assessment (RNA), which concluded that “It appears there is not a substantial tennis playing community within Vacaville...”
• The RNA acknowledged the existence of the Browns Valley sports club with its 9 courts but did not recognize that it hosted a very robust tennis community.
• The RNA would have been more accurate if it simply concluded that there was not a lot of tennis being played on the city courts at that time.
• The Vacaville Parks and Recreation Master Plan engagement process “was designed to review and confirm the findings from the 2013 RNA and identify any changes or new priorities.”
• The draft CPMP now being presented is built upon community outreach data gathered before the spring of 2021. Therefore, it does not identify the major changes that emerged post-pandemic:
• The In-Shape corporate decision to walk away from organized tennis pushed the three tennis communities (Browns Valley, Rancho Solano, and Dover) onto the City courts. The four unlighted courts at Centennial Park have become the de facto home for tennis activities once supported on 27 lighted In-Shape courts.
• The growth in the popularity of both tennis and pickleball during the pandemic as these are outdoor non-contact activities.

How should the tennis community respond? Right now, it appears the best course is to educate the folks putting the plan together.

• Our message has been that the tennis community needs a home base, 8-10 courts in a single location, with an assigned pro, to fill the needs for entry-level and continuing instruction, organized activities like league play, and unstructured recreational play. Centennial Park appears best positioned to meet that need. This draft CPMP does not take us in that direction.
• Plan to attend the December 3^rd meeting and share your personal story.
• We know that the City sponsored courses offered through Solano Tennis for kids and adults have been maxed out, with large waiting lists.
• We have been challenged scheduling court time for all the league matches in the time available on the austere CP courts.
• We have heard your stories of hitting groups traveling from park to park looking for courts to play on.
• Ideally, we do not need more tennis courts in dispersed neighborhood parks but rather a central location that tennis can call home. Centennial Park has the size to support this dream, but the first step is to have that vision accepted in the plan.

SCTA Ladies Doubles Round Robin

Tim Tieu organized and managed a ladies doubles round robin tournament for 2.5/3.0/3.5 players on the Centennial Park courts on Saturday morning, November 12, 2022.

• Format was three rounds of play, one set each round, with partners and opponents determined by random draw.
• The registration fee was $25. Funds remaining after expenses were donated to the SCTA.
• Twenty-four players participated. Amazing on four courts! Thanks for your patience.
• The total number of games won determined the final standings, with awards going to the top three finishers. Linda Dangtran finished first, Wendy Duncan second, and Amy Whorrall third.

Registration just closed on the next offering – a Mixed Combo 6.5 Round Robin tournament on Saturday, December 10, 2022 

Future planned events include the following:

• Men's Doubles Round Robin (3.5, 4.0, and 4.5) – Date TBD
• Ladies Doubles Round Robin (3.5, 4.0, and 4.5) – Date TBD
• Mixed Doubles Round Robin (3.5, 4.0, and 4.5) – Date TBD

USTA League Tennis.

Seven SCTA sponsored teams just completed their regular season play. Four of those teams earned spots in the league playoffs; three won and will compete in the NorCal Sectional Championships in Sacramento January 13-15, 2023.

• Our men’s Combo 7.5 team, captained by Rommel Bautista, finished with a 7-3 record and defeated NVTA/Vintage 2-1 on November 19, 2022.
• Our women’s Combo 6.5A team, captained by Cynthia Oanes, finished with a 9-1 record and defeated NVTA/Vintage 3-0 on November 19, 2022.
• Our women’s Combo 7.5A team, captained by Monica Ravanello, finished with a 5-5 record, and lost to our women’s 7.5B team 1-2 on November 20, 2022.
• Our women’s Combo 7.5B team, captained by Laura Manelia, finished with a 5-5 record, and defeated our women’s 7.5A team 2-1 on November 20, 2022.

Kudos to all captains who made play possible and to the three teams moving on to the NorCal Sectionals in Sacramento in January.

The team registration period for upcoming leagues closes December 5^th and we already have 12 SCTA-sponsored teams registered to play in seasons starting in January. That’s three 18+ mixed teams and nine Adult 40+ teams.

Year-end NTRP ratings are due out December 1^st. Stay tuned and then sign up for the teams.

Coordination with the Pickleball Community

• Members of the local pickleball and tennis communities have met three times recently, once with City of Vacaville P&R staff.
• At its November 16^th meeting, the SCTA Board of Directors considered a proposal from the local pickleball community to establish a Pickleball Division within the SCTA per Section VIII of our by-laws. The Board formed a working group to study the proposal and to make a recommendation at our next meeting on December 14, 2022.
• If the Board agrees with the proposal and drafts/approves an amendment to our by-laws, that amendment will be presented to the general membership for approval at the upcoming Annual Membership Meeting in January 2023.

City of Fairfield Update

• We met with City staff on November 15, 2022, to discuss ways to increase organized tennis activities, including USTA league play, on the three remaining tennis courts at Allan Witt Park.
• New Frontier Tennis, headed by Cal McCullough, already offers a series of programs through the City, similar to those offered by Solano Tennis (Aaron King) in Vacaville. Cal’s passion is growing the sport of tennis by reaching out to kids and beginning adults.
• The SCTA will follow up on the possibility of using AWP courts for USTA league play.

Napa Valley Tennis Association (NVTA) Update.

• The target date for the new agreement between the NVTA, the NVUSD, and the City of Napa has been slipped to December 2022.
• In the interim, activities continue as before.

Annual Membership Meeting.

• The SCTA Annual Membership Meeting (AMM) is scheduled for Saturday, January 21, 2023, at the Crossroads Christian Church in Vacaville. More info to come.
• Since we are a membership organization, members’ approval is required to elect directors and approve by-law changes, so your vote is important.
• To be eligible to vote, you must be a 2022 adult member on December 31, 2022, or a 2023 adult member on the date of the AMM.
• Four directors’ positions are up for election/reelection.

SCTA Membership.

• The SCTA has 158 paid 2022 memberships – 154 Adult and 4 Youth.
• As of today, there are eight paid adult 2023 memberships.
• CY 2023 memberships are available on our website scta.tennis.
• 2023 adult membership dues are $40.
• 2023 youth membership dues are $20.

Family Support.

Life can be harsh. Families can play a role in helping members cope when faced with devastating challenges. That said, this is a message from Jim Tatka:

To all of our friends and fellow members of the SCTA community. It is with great sorrow to inform all of you that my wife Linda has contracted a serious disease called Prion Disease. Through this difficult period in our lives, we would like to deal with this situation with privacy, hoping that you will keep Linda and myself in your thoughts and prayers. To all of you, Linda and I wish you safe travels and good health throughout this holiday season. 

See you on the courts.

Tony Mras

President, SCTA