Kincardine Tennis Club Newsletter
Kincardine Tennis Club Newsletter 2021-4 19 June 2021
On the Courts
Relaxation of Ontario pandemic restrictions as of June 11, means the club has resumed full operations.
This means that 10 people are allowed per court (not that this ever happens), and mixing is allowed between courts for group events. However, 2 meter separation between players is still required.
The group events are Sign-up doubles Mon, Wed, and Fri. from 10:00 to 11:30 AM, and Drop-in doubles on Tuesdays from 6-8 PM.
So far, Sign-up doubles has had attendance of 4 to 8 players per session. Email Jerry Dvorak to join the group at jsdvorak77@gmail.com.
The first Drop-in doubles session June 15, had 6 players. Now that most restrictions have been lifted, participation rates should increase.
Pickleball and the Tennis Courts
The Municipality of Kincardine (MOK) had negotiated with the Kincardine Tennis Club (KTC) in March to have pickleball on the tennis courts for June, July and August of 2021, as a substitute for the times taken away at the Davidson Centre. The pickleball times and conditions were described in the May 29 KTC newsletter.
The first pickleball session was held June 2, and the sessions for that week were sold out, with 10 players signed up per session. However, only 8 players actually showed up to the initial sessions.
During the second week attendance dropped to zero by Friday’s session, and nobody played the week of June 14.
New pickleball sessions are still listed on the Municipality of Kincardine website, and the pickleball equipment is still in the KTC shed. The Recreation Office declined to cancel the program.
As a result of the lack of participation, the Recreation Office announced on June 10 that pickleball players were unhappy with the conditions of the March agreement, and that a Recreation Office Staff Recommendation would be made to paint permanent pickleball lines on Tennis Court 3. The Recommendation is to also include a directive for the Kincardine Tennis Club to accept pickleball players as equal members for 2021.
Since the KTC was not consulted about this drastic change to the March agreement, the KTC issued an objection, and requested an immediate meeting to discuss the situation. The Recreation Office has yet to respond to the meeting request.
The KTC also requested a copy of the Staff Recommendation, and the basis for the Recommendation, but has not received a response.
It appears that the issue will go to Kincardine Town Council for consideration. Except for one Councilor, Council was unaware of the issue until this week.
Court Maintenance
KTC contracted a weed management company to spray around the perimeter of the tennis courts, in order to stop grass from advancing under the coating on the edge of the courts.
A request has gone to a local company to replace the center light on the east side of Court 1.
KTC is paying for these maintenance activities.
The benches were returned to the courts June 14. The umbrellas will not be set up until after the pandemic is over.
Membership
New memberships are still being sold, and the total membership is now 57. This surpasses last year’s total.
As of July 1 the club email distribution list will be adjusted to include members only, however, the newsletters will still be posted on the website.
Summary
There has been increased use of the courts for tennis this year due to the overwhelming desire to get out and exercise after the worst of the pandemic. Enjoy this special time of year.
Regards
Dean