Upcoming club event: Twilight Doubles is Back!

Registration opens today, Monday, March 20. 

Please register for this event which includes tennis and then dinner. Tennis starts at 4pm on Saturday, April 1 (no kidding) and ends soon after 6pm. Format is mixed doubles with partner rotations every 30 minutes.

Dinner will start at 6:30pm at The Tavern (formerly WaterDog Tavern). Dinner will come with iced tea or water. You are of course, free to purchase a more involved drink. 

The cost is $35 per person for tennis+dinner and $30 for dinner only. The Tavern generally has a band on Saturday nights that starts at 7pm. Non-players/non-members welcome to join for dinner-only.

Upcoming club event: 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0 Mixed Tax-Day Tournaments
Intra-club tournaments are back! On April 15th, we'll play two sessions - the first for 6.0 and 7.0 mixed pairs from 9:00 to noon, and the second for 7.0 and 8.0 mixed pairs from 1:00 to 4:00. Registration opens on Thursday, February 23 at 5:00 pm. If you're a 2.5, 3.0, or 3.5-rated player, you can register for the 9:00 session here, OR if you're a 3.5, 4.0, or 4.5-rated player, you can register for the 1:00 session here.

Upcoming club event: Team Tennis

There are still open slots for Team Tennis that runs monthly from July to December. If you aren't playing the current session ending in June, you're welcome to join either the Traditional Team Tennis (2.5 - 3.5-rated members) or Advanced Team Tennis (4.0+-rated members). Find out more and register for TTT here, and ATT here now.

Member Survey Results

Thank you to the members who completed the membership survey. We received 82 responses. Here are the consolidated results:

-Events that members would like to see more of: Club and Inter-club tournaments

-Members voted against allocation of court time for pickleball: 74 no; 8 yes

-Holiday party interest has returned: 51 would attend, 31 would not attend.

Other input for the board to consider was provided by many respondents. Comments are summarized by topic below along with a Board response in red.

USTA Teams

There were many comments about the difficulty of getting on SCTC's USTA teams, that captains are recruiting from far outside the club's playing region while refusing to accept club members. There were requests for more USTA teams.

A $100 initiation fee for new members will go into effect April 1 and guidelines for USTA minimum team size based on league have been communicated to current captains. Anyone wanting to captain a USTA team, please contact Jonathan Torrens, USTA Coordinator, at tennis@torrens.io

Social Tennis

Requests for more casual play in the evening and daytime.

A Club leagues on weeknights and the weekday and Sunday Drop-ins are non-competitive play opportunities open to all members. Weekdays until 7 pm and Saturdays until 1 pm, the Arguello courts are leased to the Silicon Valley Tennis Academy (SVTA).

Facilities

Requests for more court time for team practice and higher-quality courts.

Arguello courts are fully booked with USTA matches, club leagues and SVTA. Some years ago, the club entered into a courts use agreement with Carlmont HS which prioritizes court availability for the club with preferential rental pricing. Many courts elsewhere now fall under Facilitron, a courts-management agency that will not guarantee availability. The board is looking into availability of other courts further from our immediate playing area, as a back-up to Carlmont's courts.

The Board makes a best effort to maintain the Arguello courts which are owned by the San Carlos School District. SCTC paid for a resurfacing two years ago and power-washing is scheduled regularly. A maintenance service has been engaged. Building new courts at this time, even with agreement from the school district, would be cost-prohibitive. Carlmont HS courts are under the jurisdiction of Carlmont HS, and are accessible to the public.

Events

There were numerous requests for more singles and social events along with comments that the club used to be more fun and less USTA-focused.

There are several tournaments, both within the club and with other local clubs, now being planned.  Look for announcements about a NEW and IMPROVED Twilight Doubles on Saturday evenings. A new season of club leagues will open for registration on March 23.  

The Board makes a best effort to accommodate the interests of all of the membership. The club needs more volunteers to help in running events and in the operation of the club. Most of the Board works full-time and dedicate their personal unpaid time to the club. Board positions are not paid, and Directors do not get preferential access to any club event or activity.

Board meetings are open to the membership to attend. Meetings are virtual; dates and a link to the meeting is published on the Board of Directors page on the club website.

SCTC captains recognized by USTA NorCal

Every year, USTA recognizes stellar captains for their continued commitment and service to tennis through their ACES (Awards Celebrating Excellence in Service) awards. They recently announced their 2022 Adult League Captain winners, based on nominations from USTA members: https://www.usta.com/content/dam/usta/sections/northern-california/norcal/pdfs/awards/2022-ACES-Award-Winners.pdf

Our very own Laureen Cortez takes the prize representing the Upper Peninsula and Gillian Khoo takes hers for her San Francisco-based teams. Both have captained multiple SCTC USTA teams throughout the years, and the club extends a huge congratulations on the well-deserved awards!

Chutes and Ladders, Tennis Version

Move up and down the ladder by challenging players, plan matches on your own schedule, and meet new tennis buddies.  Instructions on how to register for the SCTC Men's or Women's ladders and other logistics are on the Ladders page. Also check out the Ladder Challenge Rules.

Contact Chris Guslani @ chris@guslani.com with questions about the NEW Men's ladder.

Contact Laureen Cortez at laureentc@yahoo.com regarding the Women's Ladder.

Safe Play Policies - Evolution Happens!

The new variants of COVID are transmissible even among vaccinated people, and we need to double-down on our precautions. The following rules apply whether or not you’re vaccinated. If you participate in club events or USTA leagues:

Do NOT play if you feel ill, even with mild symptoms.

Do NOT play if you have been exposed within the last 10 days to someone who has tested positive. Quarantine and go get tested.  Alert all those you have been in contact with if you are covid-positive.

Registering for a SCTC event or playing USTA comes with the expectation that you: 

1. Do not come onto the courts until the appointed time of event.

2. Maintain a social distance of 6 feet, including during turnovers. Do not huddle face-to-face for strategizing with your partner.  Both should face the back fence, standing apart.

3. Any refreshments need to be available in single-serving containers (like a banana!).