SCTA Newsletter 2022-3
Solano Tennis Community:
USTA League Tennis
The season opened for our SCTA sponsored league teams this past weekend. Beautiful weather and great tennis!
Six 40+ teams hosted matches on the Centennial Park courts on Saturday and Sunday. Fun to see so much activity again!
· Our Women’s 3.0A and 3.0B teams, as well as our Men’s 3.5A team, pulled out victories.
· Our Men’s 3.5B and 4.0 teams, as well as our Women’s 2.5 team, played well but dropped close matches.
Two other SCTA teams, our Women’s 40+ 3.5 team and our 18+ Mixed 8.0 team, both dropped away matches.
We were fortunate with the weather. But tennis is back in the new year!
USTA Hosting Requirements
Last spring/summer, when we were scrambling to find courts to make league play possible, we were challenged by two USTA/NorCal requirements - restrooms and water.
· (NorCal LLAR) Water. Due to COVID-19 restrictions which vary by county, players should bring their own drinking water as access to drinking fountains at facilities may be limited or unavailable.
· (NorCal LLAR) Bathrooms. Bathrooms must be accessible and on site for players to use during the entire match.
· Access to a rest room became the major disqualifying factor for most of the courts we evaluated.
· Thus, we settled on the Centennial Park courts in Vacaville, with the restroom located in the middle of the baseball field complex.
Everyone playing league tennis on the Centennial Park courts should know where the restrooms are located and ensure that this information is shared with the visiting team. We recognize that it is a short walk to the restrooms, but they have always been clean and open.
Tiebreaks
It seems there are always questions about tiebreaks. Thanks to Carol Kim for her inputs to this recap.
There are two different tiebreaks:
· Tie-break Game. A tie-break game is used to determine the winner of a set tied at 6 games apiece. The first player/team to win seven points wins the “Game” and “Set”, provided there is a margin of two points over the opponent(s). If necessary, the tie-break game shall continue until this margin is achieved.
· 10-Point Match Tiebreak in lieu of a Third Set. The 10-Point Match Tiebreak is used to determine the winner of a match tied at one set apiece. The first player/team to win ten points wins the “Set” and the match, provided there is a margin of two points over the opponent(s). If necessary, the tie-break play shall continue until this margin is achieved.
NorCal LLAR says that a Match Tiebreak In Lieu of a Third Set is mandatory under the following conditions:
· When mandated by the host facility
· When an individual match starts play with 2 hours or less of available court time (facility closing, another match scheduled on the courts, daylight, etc.)
· When a match tiebreak is not mandatory, the home team decides whether to play a full third set or a match tiebreak and must notify the opponent at the beginning of the match.
Because of limited court availability, SCTA policy is that all third sets played on Centennial Park courts be 10-Point Tiebreaks in lieu of full third sets.
Coman Format for Tiebreaks.
· The player whose turn it is to serve shall serve the first point. The following two points shall be served by the opponent(s) (in doubles, the player of the opposing team due to serve next). After this, each player/team shall serve alternately for two consecutive points until the end of the tie-break (in doubles, the rotation of service within each team shall continue in the same order as during that set).
· Players/teams shall change ends after the first point and thereafter after every four points, and at the conclusion of the tiebreak.
· The player/team whose turn it was to serve first in the tie-break game shall be the receiver in the first game of the following set.
· The home team shall decide which tiebreak format will be used and must notify the opponent at the beginning of the match.
· NorCal recommends using Coman, for both singles and doubles, in local league play since USTA uses the Coman format for both set and match tiebreaks at all Championships.
Tax Exempt Status
The IRS has approved the SCTA request for exemption from federal income tax. Our Exemption Request to the State of California was submitted today.
SCTA Election
Ballots have been sent via email to all active 2022 SCTA members.
· If you have paid your 2022 dues and have not received your ballot, tell me now.
· The membership rolls are updated daily.
· All members are offered three ways to vote: in person at our January 22nd membership meeting, by proxy, or by absentee ballot.
· Arne Salvesen has agreed to chair our Election Committee, responsible for collecting, verifying, and counting ballots at the meeting. Can you help?
SCTA Social/Membership Meeting
· We are aware of the continuing COVID challenge and restrictions.
· Our intent is to host the Social and Meeting in a safe and supportive way.
· State policy calls for masks to be worn indoors.
· Saturday, January 22, 2022, at the Trinity Baptist Church, 401 West Monte Vista Avenue, in Vacaville.
· Social starting at 11:00 AM and Meeting at 12:30 PM.
Search for More Courts
We know that our tennis community needs access to more courts to continue and grow. Our outreach has identified many alternatives. In fact, no one has said “No, you cannot play here.” The limiting factor has become the cost to do so.
· Initial outreach to the Fairfield and Vacaville school districts revealed that their courts were available for $15 per court per hour.
· The City of Vacaville asked for $15 per court per hour for our 2021 matches on Centennial Park courts but have since negotiated an agreement with the SCTA allowing court use for a nominal fee in 2022.
· The In-Shape clubs will allow guests (read visiting team members) into the clubs if they pay a $20 guest fee per visit. Your SCTA Board is in an ongoing conversation with In-Shape leadership.
· SCC has approved our use of their courts on a space-available basis. The usage fee would probably be waived but they still require a Custodial Fee of $57 per hour (minimum of 3 hours) for each night/weekend match.
· Annual SCTA dues of $25 were based on forecasts for the city’s nominal fees and insurance premiums. Obviously, those dues are not adequate to cover the costs currently required to play elsewhere.
· Your SCTA Board is working to find a path forward.
See you on the courts.
Tony Mras
President, SCTA