There are several important items here that affect your STC experience. Please read carefully. You may want to “star” or save this email.
Court Reservation Pilot
At the beginning of the season we conducted a survey, and the membership indicated a high level of interest (>75% positive) in the club piloting a court reservation system. It’s here.
For the month of August we will be using a booking system for Courts 4 and 5. We chose August because it is typically a slow month due to vacations. The Pilot will start Mon Aug 5.
Here are the rules for the pilot:
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Courts 4 and 5 are reservable
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Reservations can be for up to 90 minutes.
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You may make one reservation per day, and five reservations per week
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You may book 7 days in advance.
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For the first week of the pilot, you cannot book during prime time (M-F 5-7pm, Sun 9-11)
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If you make a reservation and cannot honor that reservation, please cancel your booking as soon as possible. No-Shows will lose their booking privileges.
We will be using an app called Skedda, which is very easy to use and runs on phones and tablets as well as in a browser. To get going:
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download the Skedda app from your app store.
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click on this link: https://bit.ly/STCReservationInvite
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set up your account
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book away!
Suggestions: (these are not mandatory)
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Please use the system, even for casual tennis on days that you know won’t be busy. We need your feedback.
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If you arrive at the club and decide to play on Court 4 or 5, reserve it right then. It only takes a couple of taps. That way you know that you will get to hold the court the whole time. It also let’s others know when you started.
Misc: Drop-In-Doubles is pre-booked for Wed 9-11 and Sat 9-11 each week. Clinics will be booked on Court 5. I will contact leaders of large groups (Karen, Russ, Dena, Ace) separately about arrangements for your groups.
I will send out a survey at the end of the month to understand your experience. If it is positive, we will most likely extend the pilot. In the meantime, if you have any feedback or suggestions, please use the Suggestion Box on the Members Only page of our website (password: “redclay2024”). If you have any technical problems or need help, please email me directly. (dsmith9.stc@gmail.com). If you would like to report a No-Show, please use the Suggestion Box.
Mixed Doubles Tournament.
Fresh off of a successful Doubles Tournament, we eagerly look forward to the annual Mixed Doubles Tournament, scheduled for the weekend of August 17-18. This event is open to all STC members. Similar to the Doubles Tournament, there will be separate A, B+, and B level draws if there are enough teams entered. The biggest challenge that we typically face is a dearth of A-level women players, so we will open the tournament to female guests for the A-level. Please help us to recruit teammates, so that we can maintain a separate A-level division. Up until the final, matches will be set in a round robin or group play, so you’ll get to play at least two or three matches. The B and B+ divisions will likely start earlier in the morning than the A division, at least on the Saturday. Before signing up, players should ensure that they are available both days.
Please sign up by Sunday, August 11th by emailing Scott Zenack at sazenack@comcast.net
If you have difficulty finding a partner, let us know. We'll help, but we cannot guarantee that we'll be able to match players up. The tournament entry fee is $10 per person ($20 per team). Tennis balls, snacks, and drinks will be provided.
To help ensure a competitive and fun event, the tournament directors reserve the right to make any final decision if there is a question on the division / level of a player or team.
Tennis Ladder
When we issued the survey early in the season, the most requested new activity was a tennis ladder. If there is still enough interest, I’d like to set up a singles ladder for the rest of the season. This would be an challenge ladder, so you could manage your participation and schedule. If you think you would like to participate in a ladder, please follow this link: https://bit.ly/STCLadderSurvey to indicate your interest. This is not an official sign-up; at this point we are just gauging if there is enough interest. (And just think: you’ll be able to reserve a court for your match!)
Clinics.
Andy Nnewihe is running two clinics each week in August.
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Sunday 6-7:30 PM: Adv Beginner Tennis Clinic (Level: Beginner, Intermediate)
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Thursdays 6-7:30 PM: Drills & Skills Tennis Clinic (Level: Intermediate, Advanced)
Clinics are 90 minutes and cost $35. If you want to try it out, your first two clinics of the season are just $15.
If you would like to sign up for a clinic, please go to https://calendly.com/nnewihe. You can also reach out to him for private or semi-private lessons or for other questions at nnewihe@gmail.com. There is no Sunday clinic tomorrow.
Automatic Court Report Notifications.
As you probably know, every day Mark Brass posts court conditions – specifically which courts are open and which are closed – on the home page of the website. He also posts these to our main TeamReach group (“Sharon Tennis Club”, group code = “STCTennis”). I have had several members ask if there is any way for them to receive an alert or notification when Mark posts an update, without having to check the website and without receiving alerts for all of the other posts on the main TeamReach group. In order to facilitate this, we have set up a new TeamReach group, “STC Court Report” (group code = “STCCourtReport1”), which will only contain Mark’s court updates. If you join this group and turn notifications on for that group, you will receive an alert every time he posts an update. You do not need to join the main TeamReach group – although I encourage you to – in order to receive these notifications. Go to the Members Only page of the website if you need more information about TeamReach.
See you on the courts!
Dan Smith
President
dsmith9.stc@gmail.com
info@sharontennisclub.org
