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02/21/2006
orindawoodstc@sbcglobal.net
Ball Machine And Court Reservations
Greetings From Tennis Land! (aka Orindawoods)

There are a couple of items I want to bring to people's attention.

Ball Machine Club
First of all, if you are a frequent ball machine user, then renewal for our Ball Machine Club is March 1. Once again the price is only $100 for the entire year (March 1-Feb 28), unlimited use (when the court and machine is available). We keep the price for this service much lower than other clubs (Harbor Bay is $75 per month, if you can believe that) because we want you out there playing and practicing. One of the great joys of sport, and tennis in particular, is improvement. The ball machine is a great tool for helping you become the player that you want to be. I will be changing the keys for the shed on March 1, so please sign up soon and we will give you a new key.

Remember that there are no ball machine reservations in Prime Time (without special permission). That means, please use the machine before 9 in the morning, or after 11 a.m. (12 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday). Nighttime use is also not allowed, unless it is clear that no one else is going to be using the court (check with Keith, Patric or Philip, usually on the same day you want to use it for an exception).

Speaking of Reservations
Reservations are for one and one half hours. A few people have been making reservations for 2 hours, and that is a "no no". We understand that the program sometimes defaults to 2 hours, please change your reservation to 90 minutes. If I see a reservation for more than 90 minutes, I will delete everything over the 90 minute mark, but I don't feel like it is necessary for me to be a policeman here. We all know how to be fair to each other.

Court Use Philosophy
The goal is that people will have 1 1/2 hours to play, minimum (singles, doubles, man, woman, child, Martian, doesn't matter). If you get to play more than 1 1/2 hours, it is your lucky day, but you can't hold a court for longer than 1 1/2 hours if people are waiting. It doesn't matter if you had a reservation or you were a walk on, the limit is still 1 1/2 hours. And there are no back to back reservations allowed (same people or person playing on the same court for consecutive 1 1/2 hour blocks).

Please use some common sense about this. For example, if you played 90 minutes, and got bumped, you don't have the right to go over to the next court and bump someone else who has played 90 minutes (and then they go bump someone, blah, blah, blah). Without using some common sense and courtesy, we could end up with a rule book a foot think, and a large police force to enforce it. I think we are all mature enough to not need to go there.

There are some things we, as management, know, like it is hard to play 3 sets (a match, or 3 sets rotating partners) in 1 1/2 hours. Lots of members take advantage of our wonderful courts to play their WCRC matches, for example (2 out of 3 sets). These people would love to have the court for more than 1 1/2 hours. We know this for a fact.

What to do?

What we have had to do is weigh that against the fact that we need to share, and that on a busy morning or evening, more people want to play than we have room for. Since this is a shared use facility (not your own private court), and everyone is paying the same dues, it has been decided that the 1 1/2 hour limit is the fairest way to do things, even though you will not be able to play an entire match.

If you need to play a complete match, then it is your choice to either 1) run the risk of not being able to finish, or 2) play at a time when no one will want to play after you (a start time around 11 usually does the trick here).

Using a court is a privilege, not a right. Enjoy, and treat your fellow members fairly.

The Orindawoods Senior Championships
The Orindawoods Senior Championships will be played at the Club on March 27-April 2. There will be very limited court availability that week, and no daytime reservations. Mark it on your calendar so you can plan ahead. Thanks for supporting this great event, and relinquishing the courts for a week out of the year.

Stunningly Beautiful
The weather has been beautiful, and lots of people are out playing these days. It is exciting to see the Club so active, alive, and full of fun. Enjoy your tennis!

--Keith