Since tennis is an outdoor sport, they recognized the opportunity to play on courts available around the community.
Tim and Helen initially started playing with people in their bubble, like family members. After a while, they polled players from their recent past to see if they would be interested in forming a friendly mixed doubles tennis league. It would be a great way not only to stay healthy and active but also to improve their game. Since tennis was new to many in their group, the proposed league would also offer an opportunity to meet new people with different styles of play.
The initial 12 player mixed doubles league (6 males and 6 females) lasted six weeks and was a great success. So successful that they followed up with a 24 player mixed doubles league (12 males and 12 females), picking up players through word of mouth. Again, a major success.
These ad hoc mixed doubles leagues kept their group busy until USTA league play started again in 2021. Tim jumped in to captain the men’s 40+ 3.0 team and Helen was the strength of the women’s 40+ 2.5 team with an 8-1 record. Both teams (home-based at Centennial Park) won their league playoffs and competed at the NorCal Sectional Championships in Sacramento.
Thank you, Tim and Helen, for making it happen!
The clock was ticking and time was not on our side. On April 24, 2021, roughly a year after USTA/NorCal cancelled league play due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NorCal announced that USTA league play would resume. The team registration period for two of the upcoming leagues opened two days later and closed on May 10, 2021.
In-Shape corporate policy prohibiting non-member entry into their clubs at Rancho Solano, Dover, and Browns Valley meant teams could not be registered to host play at those clubs. They had been our tennis bases and were the only courts approved for USTA league play. Could we make league tennis happen again in the northern Solano County area?
A survey of other four-court (minimum) complexes in the Fairfield/Vacaville area offered many options. USTA NorCal requirements for league play were straightforward but the process took time. Access to, and availability of, SCC and school district courts was limited. The only public facility with a nearby restroom during league play was Centennial Park. Could we get those courts approved before the team registration period closed?
Elizabeth Crisante, Recreation Supervisor for the City of Vacaville Parks and Recreation Department, had been briefed on the changed status of tennis in the City on March 31, 2021. When the decision was made to pursue the use of the courts at Centennial Park for league play, Elizabeth initially cautioned that the City processes took time and the USTA NorCal deadline would be a challenge. Then, she stepped up and attacked the process. She created her profile and opened a USTA account. Then, she submitted the Non-Member Organization Request to USTA to have the Centennial Park courts added to the list of approved facilities. She worked with USTA/NorCal to put the required liability insurance in place. Finally, she developed the court reservation process to ensure court availability for league play. By May 5th, the deal was done and captains were able to register their teams for league play.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for your support and perseverance in making league tennis available for our community as we came through the pandemic. You made it possible for our players to get back out on the courts for organized tennis.
Elizabeth continues to be the SCTA’s primary point of contact with the City of Vacaville.
Our local tennis world changed dramatically in early 2021 when the USTA announced that they were restarting league play post-pandemic and In-Shape management made decisions that affected our ability to continue organized activities on club courts.
The result was a blur of activity that resulted in Centennial Park serving as our de facto home base for tennis and the Solano Community Tennis Association being incorporated as the voice of tennis for the community.
A website was key to establishing our presence for both our community and the public at large. Al Arevalo stepped forward to make that happen. Even as the association was coming together, he was developing a plan for a website. He presented that proposal to the SCTA Board of Directors at its initial meeting on August 28, 2021. The directors accepted his recommendation to commit to the Groove.cm application while it was still in beta for a one-time licensing fee.
He registered the domain name scta.tennis and then worked to build content. The Solano Community Tennis Association (SCTA) website went live in October of 2021 because of the time and effort Al expended to make it happen. He continued to develop the site and add content until early 2022, when his soccer duties severely limited his volunteer time.
Thanks, Al, for bringing the SCTA to life on the internet.
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