SCTA Newsletter 2022-9
Solano Tennis Community
SCTA Mission.
In SCTA Newsletter 2022-5, we addressed the questions: What is the SCTA? Why does it exist? What is it trying to do?
To date, we have been able to make USTA league tennis possible locally, but we recognize there are other areas needing support. To name just three – youth programs, USPTA pro engagements, and, to make those happen, access to more courts. Know that we are having ongoing conversations with the cities of Fairfield and Vacaville, Solano Community College, In-Shape, local professionals, and other agencies to expand our capacity in those other areas. This effort is done on your behalf to retain and nurture the sense of tennis family. You have yet to see any results but know that we have not given up on those areas.
City of Fairfield Update.
We were disappointed by the Fairfield City Council vote on March 1st to reduce the number of tennis courts at Allan Witt Park to three, but we will continue to work with City staff to support tennis programs on those courts. It just won’t be league play.
The City of Fairfield is doing preliminary planning for the Matt Garcia Park Project, a new 50+ acre park development near One Lake. They have invited us to participate in a Zoom meeting to identify park facility and programming needs for the new park. We need your inputs. Fairfield residents, tell us what our message should be to the consulting team to ensure quality programming for Fairfield residents. The Zoom meetings are scheduled for March 29th and 31st, so please share your thoughts with us before then.
Tennis Socials.
· SCTA.
o With both the 18+ and 55+ leagues in full swing in mid-April, it may be time to lower expectations for attendance at the SCTA Tennis Social on April 23rd.
o Although we have the Centennial Park courts set aside for the social for the first two play periods, we have many teams playing away or at home later in the day, making it difficult for their players to participate.
o We will still start at 10:00 AM and offer free food, non-alcoholic libations, fun tennis activities, and an opportunity to spend time with fellow tennis players.
o Come mix and mingle with us at this Coming Out Social.
o We may consider this a dry run for a larger event later in the year, after the 18+ and 55+ seasons end in the July timeframe.
· In-Shape.
o I have been told that In-Shape is planning to host a tennis social at Rancho Solano on Saturday, April 2nd, at 10:00 AM.
o It will be open to all Dover, Browns Valley, and Rancho Solano members.
o Look for the official notification from In-Shape.
USTA League Tennis.
The Adult 40+, Mixed 18+, and Adult 65+ league seasons all ended this weekend. Our men’s 40+ 4.0 team finished 9-1, our ladies’ 40+ 3.0A and 40+ 4.0 teams finished 8-2, and our men’s 65+ finished 6-4, in first place. Congratulations. Playoffs begin the week of March 21st.
Our three 55+ teams start play next week also. Our eight 18+ teams start play the week of April 11th. We appreciate the captains working with Tim Tieu to fit all these matches in on the courts available.
In-Shape Browns Valley.
In-Shape hosted a pickleball tournament on the Browns Valley courts last weekend, March 12th and 13th. It gave us an opportunity to speak with folks about the court renovation and plans for tennis. Two important takeaways:
· The court renovation that we hoped would be finished by the mid-April start of the 18+ league season is still planned, but will start later, perhaps in May.
· The resurfacing will effectively establish a partition of courts by function. Four courts (1, 2, 5, and 6) will be dedicated to tennis. Four courts (3, 4, 7, and 8) will be dedicated to pickleball. Court 9 will be configured for a yet to be named activity.
IT Update.
This has been a terrible week for the technology used by your SCTA.
· On Friday, March 11th, the GroovePay function of our website went down, making it impossible for anyone to join. The problem is with Stripe, with whom Groove partners for its credit card processing. If you or someone you know has been trying to join the SCTA, please do not give up.
· About two weeks ago, the ISP supporting my inreach.com email started having major problems. Email service was inconsistent, erratic, and unreliable as they attempted to fix the problem and transition to a new server. I am transitioning to a gmail.com address but that presents other challenges with address formats and contact groups. Life is a learning experience.
Mark Richardson.
Please do not forget the Richardson family’s Celebration of Mark’s Life on Sunday, March 27th, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Sunset Banquet Hall at 600 Orange Drive in Vacaville. Melanie and the family would appreciate seeing Mark’s friends there. Dress is casual, come as you are.
SCTA Membership.
As of today, or whenever GroovePay crashed, the SCTA has 149 paid memberships – 146 Adult and 3 Youth. Thank you.
See you on the courts.
Tony Mras
President, SCTA Solano Tennis Community
SCTA Mission.
In SCTA Newsletter 2022-5, we addressed the questions: What is the SCTA? Why does it exist? What is it trying to do?
To date, we have been able to make USTA league tennis possible locally, but we recognize there are other areas needing support. To name just three – youth programs, USPTA pro engagements, and, to make those happen, access to more courts. Know that we are having ongoing conversations with the cities of Fairfield and Vacaville, Solano Community College, In-Shape, local professionals, and other agencies to expand our capacity in those other areas. This effort is done on your behalf to retain and nurture the sense of tennis family. You have yet to see any results but know that we have not given up on those areas.
City of Fairfield Update.
We were disappointed by the Fairfield City Council vote on March 1st to reduce the number of tennis courts at Allan Witt Park to three, but we will continue to work with City staff to support tennis programs on those courts. It just won’t be league play.
The City of Fairfield is doing preliminary planning for the Matt Garcia Park Project, a new 50+ acre park development near One Lake. They have invited us to participate in a Zoom meeting to identify park facility and programming needs for the new park. We need your inputs. Fairfield residents, tell us what our message should be to the consulting team to ensure quality programming for Fairfield residents. The Zoom meetings are scheduled for March 29th and 31st, so please share your thoughts with us before then.
Tennis Socials.
· SCTA.
o With both the 18+ and 55+ leagues in full swing in mid-April, it may be time to lower expectations for attendance at the SCTA Tennis Social on April 23rd.
o Although we have the Centennial Park courts set aside for the social for the first two play periods, we have many teams playing away or at home later in the day, making it difficult for their players to participate.
o We will still start at 10:00 AM and offer free food, non-alcoholic libations, fun tennis activities, and an opportunity to spend time with fellow tennis players.
o Come mix and mingle with us at this Coming Out Social.
o We may consider this a dry run for a larger event later in the year, after the 18+ and 55+ seasons end in the July timeframe.
· In-Shape.
o I have been told that In-Shape is planning to host a tennis social at Rancho Solano on Saturday, April 2nd, at 10:00 AM.
o It will be open to all Dover, Browns Valley, and Rancho Solano members.
o Look for the official notification from In-Shape.
USTA League Tennis.
The Adult 40+, Mixed 18+, and Adult 65+ league seasons all ended this weekend. Our men’s 40+ 4.0 team finished 9-1, our ladies’ 40+ 3.0A and 40+ 4.0 teams finished 8-2, and our men’s 65+ finished 6-4, in first place. Congratulations. Playoffs begin the week of March 21st.
Our three 55+ teams start play next week also. Our eight 18+ teams start play the week of April 11th. We appreciate the captains working with Tim Tieu to fit all these matches in on the courts available.
In-Shape Browns Valley.
In-Shape hosted a pickleball tournament on the Browns Valley courts last weekend, March 12th and 13th. It gave us an opportunity to speak with folks about the court renovation and plans for tennis. Two important takeaways:
· The court renovation that we hoped would be finished by the mid-April start of the 18+ league season is still planned, but will start later, perhaps in May.
· The resurfacing will effectively establish a partition of courts by function. Four courts (1, 2, 5, and 6) will be dedicated to tennis. Four courts (3, 4, 7, and 8) will be dedicated to pickleball. Court 9 will be configured for a yet to be named activity.
IT Update.
This has been a terrible week for the technology used by your SCTA.
· On Friday, March 11th, the GroovePay function of our website went down, making it impossible for anyone to join. The problem is with Stripe, with whom Groove partners for its credit card processing. If you or someone you know has been trying to join the SCTA, please do not give up.
· About two weeks ago, the ISP supporting my inreach.com email started having major problems. Email service was inconsistent, erratic, and unreliable as they attempted to fix the problem and transition to a new server. I am transitioning to a gmail.com address but that presents other challenges with address formats and contact groups. Life is a learning experience.
Mark Richardson.
Please do not forget the Richardson family’s Celebration of Mark’s Life on Sunday, March 27th, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Sunset Banquet Hall at 600 Orange Drive in Vacaville. Melanie and the family would appreciate seeing Mark’s friends there. Dress is casual, come as you are.
SCTA Membership.
As of today, or whenever GroovePay crashed, the SCTA has 149 paid memberships – 146 Adult and 3 Youth. Thank you.
See you on the courts.
Tony Mras
President, SCTA