The club is looking a tad rustic at this point.  Endless April showers kept us from addressing some items before the club opened.  For one thing, we are waiting for the town to regrade the entry road.  We also are working on additional improvements to the entryway and the seating area.  You can expect a more attractive and functional club early in the season.  Stay tuned.

Last year we piloted court reservations.  Overall, this was a success, and we have decided to continue the policy for 2025.  The complete reservation policy will be posted on the Members Only page of the website, but the highlights are:

• During most times of the day, Courts 3, 4, and 5 will be reservable.

• A member may make one reservation per day and up to five reservations per week.

• Reservations are for up to 90 minutes.  If there are people waiting, please relinquish your court immediately after your reservation.  Allow time for sweeping the court.

• Court reservations will not be available during certain activities:

  • Club events and tournaments

  • Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 9-11am (Drop In Doubles, see below)

  • Sunday and Holiday mornings, from 9-11am (Club Doubles, see below)

  • During court watering and maintenance times (see below)

• Making a reservation and not showing up is a serious offense; offenders are subject to having their reservation privileges suspended.  If you can’t make it, please cancel your reservation

Last year we used the Skedda app for court reservations.  This year we will be switching over to YourCourts, which is used by a number of local clubs similar to ours.  It is available both as a website and a phone/tablet app. 

In addition to court reservations, we will be using YourCourts for:

• Member Directory

• Activity and Event Enrollment

• Challenge Ladders

• Meet-Your-Match

Please note that once you are set up, you will have complete control over whether or not your account is visible to other members through the Member Directory, and, if so, what information you want to share (name, email, phone #, etc).

We have made some adjustments to the Club Rules for 2025.  You can find the complete rules here, and on the Members Only page of the website.  In addition to common-sense rules about conduct, attire, etc., please note the following new/changed rules.

• Court Relinquishment – Historically the rule for relinquishing an unreserved court, if there are people waiting, has been for the first group that finishes the current set to release their court (and re-join the queue, if they wish to keep playing).  We are keeping this rule, but adding one tweak: If there are people waiting for a court and you have been on your court for more than 90 minutes, then we ask you to release your court after the current game.  This is intended to address the situation where one group of players has been playing for only 30 minutes but is near the end of their first set while another group has been playing for two hours and has just started a new set.  Obviously, the second group should surrender their court first.  As always, this is an honor system.  There is no administrator; be a good citizen.

• Drop In Doubles.  DID is a long-standing tradition of the club.  Regular participants include members who have playing DID for decades.  It has also been a great platform for new members to meet others, and we thank the DID group for being so welcoming to both new and established members.  On Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 9-11am, there will be no court reservations and DID will have priority access to as many courts as they need.  One small change is that if there is a free court (ie., not being used by DID), then any member may use that court, subject to the court relinquishment rules outlined above.

• Club Doubles.  We are adding a new pre-reserved activity to the club.  On Sundays and Holidays from 9-11am, there will be no court reservations, and Club Doubles will have priority access to as many courts as needed.  Club Doubles differs from Drop In Doubles in that pre-arranged matches are allowed in Club Doubles (whereas Drop In Doubles enforces a pickup/rotation system of team assignment).  So basically, anything goes during Club Doubles, as long as it’s doubles.  If there is an open court during this time (not likely), then members may play singles on that court, but they must immediately relinquish the court or switch over to doubles if there are members waiting to play doubles.

• So, in summary, during the 9-11am time slot on Wednesdays, weekends, and holidays, there will be no reservations, and court priority will be given to one of the two doubles formats.  On (non-holiday) Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the club will operate as normal, and reservations will be allowed.

Last fall, we installed an automated sprinkler system.  We will start to use it this spring.  The system will allow us to more thoroughly water the courts each night, and Mark will be able to roll them more frequently in the morning, so hopefully this will lead to better and more consistent court conditions throughout the year.  We will also be able to water the courts during the day, which will make a huge difference in their playability in the afternoon and evening.   We have not yet decided on the schedule for the day-time watering, but we will lock out court reservations during that likely one-hour time slot.  We have designed the system so that the courts can be watered individually.  Not only will this allow us to customize the amount of water that each court receives, it also means that members will be able to use 3 of the 5 courts even while the system is running.

Just a quick reminder about guests.  All guests must be accompanied by a member.  There is a $5 per guest per visit fee, payable by the sponsoring member.  You may pay this fee via our website.  (It is fine to bundle up your guest fees and pay once a month.)  An individual may visit the club as a guest up to five times in a season. 

A reminder that the password for the Members Only page of the website is “redclay2025″

We have two planned activities that you can put on your calendar.  The Open House is tentatively scheduled for May 31, from 12-3pm.  This will be a casual tennis event, with no need to register.  We will provide food and beverages.  This event will also be open to non-members (hence the name), so feel free to invite your friends and colleagues.

The Member-Guest Tournament is moving to the spring.  It is tentatively scheduled for June 10