News

If you have any maintenance concerns, these should be directed to Jay Kearns or Ken Amann.

Note: Geordie Hall has rejoined the board.

Tennis Friends,

Please understand that the lengthy emails I send are a balancing act with the intention of not sending too frequently. Kind of ironic that there have still been numerous emails since in prior years there were few mass communications. Chalk it up to the good fortune of having new members. Please make the time to absorb the information.

CALENDAR

There has been some confusion about the workings of the Google calendar. The website link takes you there, but then you need to login and make sure you use it correctly. I strongly advise you review the process first on a computer where you can see a weekly view rather than daily as on the phone.

The biggest problem reported is that if you have more than one calendar, you can inadvertently post on the wrong calendar. Your posted “event” (reservation) needs to be the same color as the other tennis reservations, which is currently white font on gold background. When you are creating your reservation, there will be a dropdown to choose the desired calendar. When looking at the larger calendar view, there are checkmarks on the left to select the calendar on which you want to post.

Some have had trouble using their phone to make a reservation, likely because you are seeing a daily view on a small screen and cannot verify what you are doing. I will not spend the time to coach on use of phone, but will note that the “Calendar” app on Woody’s phone allowed him to access the tennis calendar as well as his personal calendar; this will only be the case if the email address you use for Google is also set up in your phone. I was invited to download an app when I attempted to use the web version on my phone, and you may be, too. So if you use an app or browser on your phone, again, choose the right calendar when you post your reservation.

Lastly, I had asked people to send me their preferred address for the Google calendar since many people have multiple addresses. If you can’t get in, you may not yet have been added. Please test NOW to see if you have access so it won’t become urgent when you want it. I’m hoping to take the weekend off from administrative tasks.

Regarding reservations, the standard reservation is for a single court for 1.5 hours. See the rules in the shed for deviations, shorter and longer times, and when people are waiting. If you need two courts, the second one must be reserved by a different member. If you have a preference on which court, specify. If you are reserving between others, check the length of their reservations and make sure there is no overlap.

VISITS

We originally requested to record your play on either the Google calendar or on the sheet in the shed. We are amending that request so that ALL visits, all members, guests and visitors, should be recorded on the sign-in sheet in the shed. $15 guest fee can be dropped in the slot in a labeled envelope, envelopes provided.

WETNESS

Although several Board members and volunteers take care of the courts by watering and rolling, we count on each member to use good sense and care as to when the courts are playable and in what condition you leave them. There are “rules” posted in the clubhouse which remain accurate (except for the guest fee which needs to be updated, $15). If your footprint leaves a depression, the courts are too wet to play. One member offers “If you step on to the sideline of the court and you can see any shoe imprint more than a light silhouette of your tread, it is too soft to play and will dig up the court.” A sign may occasionally be posted indicating the courts are too wet to play. Anyone is welcome to make a note on the Google calendar if they observe the courts being too wet to play. However, the courts are essentially self-serve and there may not be someone available to inspect when they are ready to play again, so the judgement is yours.

SWEEPING

I will be the bad guy here. I have personally observed about four times in the last two weeks sloppy sweeping and brushing. When you are done, please look at the courts and see if they look inviting–like you would like them to look when you arrive to play.

MEMBER LIST

The member list is available in the shed.

This post was edited for clarity in the Google calendar section on 7/22/20.

Tennis Friends,

I mentioned previously to reserve and/or record your play on the Google calendar or the list in the shed, primarily for contact tracing and statistical purposes. A 3rd reason of importance is that Board members occasionally water the courts and you wouldn’t want to come to play and find the courts recently watered. We will now check the calendar before watering.

If you know of anyone that still wants to join, please encourage them to do so quickly. We are tallying current members and will have a member list placed in the shed by the weekend. We won’t be posting it on the website, so take a picture if you want to have it available for reference.

Men who would like to play in the Tuesday and/or Thursday Men’s Doubles, please contact Geordie Hall.

Thanks,
Darlene

Tennis Friends,

There is much to cover in this mailing; please take some time to absorb.

The club is open! Board communications leading up to this have been numerous and somewhat bittersweet focusing on safety during a pandemic in what is our 50th year.

2020 SEASON

Please see the attached safe play recommendations adapted from USTA.

In order to minimize shared surfaces during the pandemic, table, chairs, and score tenders have been removed from the court/premises. Please bring your own chair(s) if desired and/or use your vehicle as your “home base.”

Please bring your own hand sanitizer. Clean your hands before touching common surfaces. Wipe or spray common surfaces after use.

We have not contracted a “porta-potty” this year in order to minimize shared surfaces.

COURT RESERVATIONS and ATTENDANCE RECORD

Please use the Google calendar to make reservations, https://calendar.google.com/. In fairness to other users, please also cancel your reservation if you are not able to keep it. Walk-ons are still allowed and free courts are often available.

If you believe you have access to the calendar from a prior year, please attempt to login. If unsuccessful, the error message may give insight, i.e. password reset needed. If that does not work, or if you do not yet have access to our calendar from a prior year, please send me a request to be added along with the email address you prefer to use on Google/Gmail if different from the one we have.

Please make it a point to record every player and every visit to the courts on the sign-in sheet in the shed. In the unfortunate event that someone using the courts contracts the virus, having a record will help with contact tracing. The information will also be useful for review of membership value and future planning.

WEBSITE

The Club has established a website to make comprehensive information available and streamline communications, www.MadRiverTennis.com.

In a recent mailing, I noted that we are aiming to keep our location low-key and approaching recruitment with caution this year. I have, therefore, requested search engines to not index our website for the time being.

Note about email protocol:

In this and the last email, I have blind carbon copied everyone. Sensible protocol is to blind carbon copy large group mailings so as not to expose email addresses. We have normally visibly copied our entire list thus making it easy for people to connect with each other, and that will be my intention for the next mailing, to go back to visible copies. If anyone objects to this practice, please let me know. We would then move towards using a mailing service such as MailChimp, but the switch may not be quick.

MEMBERSHIP

Lastly, thank you to all who have renewed memberships. If you haven’t yet sent your check, please do so as soon as possible. Projected revenues are still insufficient to cover operating costs. Word of mouth recruitment is encouraged. We have sent a note to the Valley Reporter noting our 50 years and that we are seeking new members. We will use Front Porch Forum if needed.

Thanks,
Darlene
Secretary

We are celebrating our 50th year! 1970-2020 qualifies as a Historic Place.

FLASHBACK

In 1969 three Mad River Glen homeowners, Bill Botzow, Leonard Burghman and Henry Meagher, organized a tennis committee to build two red clay courts on the site of the former Birchluff Lodge. They approached Roland Palmedo who allowed use of the land and set out to solicit financial sponsors.

Estimated cost for the two courts was $10,000. The proposal was for 40 sponsors at $250 to provide the initial capital. As a sponsor you could purchase a family membership for $30, or $20 for a single membership. Non sponsors would pay guest fees of 50 cents. Forty-eight members initially joined.

FLASH FORWARD

Today the Club consists of 30+ members. Fees are $225 for a family and $175 for individual membership. Guest fees if accompanied by a member are $15.

The Club is accepting new members and playing rules are in accordance with the VT State Guidance and USTA advice. While the current playing rules reflect Covid-19, and the costs reflect today’s prices (still a bargain), the camaraderie and spirit rival the enthusiasm that initially built the club.

If you are interested, you may contact Darlene McCormick, secretary, or Deri Meier, treasurer.

(Posted in Valley Reporter June 25, 2020, centerfold.)

Tennis Friends,

This email is being sent to current and past members as well as those who have indicated interest in the Club. We are still awaiting membership payments from some returning members. Please fill out the attached application and send payment ASAP.

We have been approaching recruitment this year with caution and hope that a few new members will be sufficient to cover costs.

Many of us feel that keeping our location low-key is the best approach to minimize unwanted visits to the courts. Therefore, if you see additional inquiries in Front Porch Forum, please alert me or contact the person directly and connect us rather than making follow-up postings. I will follow up.

Another mailing will be sent in a day or two with opening status and 2020 season safety considerations. We are very close!

Thanks,
Darlene