Bob Vietze

I’m very happy to announce that weather permitting the club will be available for play this weekend. As of this morning the courts were extremely wet and not suitable for play this is a result of the resurfacing just being finished and the showers yesterday. The weekend forecast is not to promising but we are ahead of schedule opening this year. That being said please be mindful of the soft early season surface if your shoes make an impression please do not play. We will make it a point of emphasis to have the courts closed sign up when conditions are too wet. While on the subject of shoes please wear appropriate tennis shoes (no running shoes please). If you haven’t already, please review the club’s protocols on our website. www.madrivertennis.com

If you have not returned your membership and liability waiver, please do so at your earliest convenience. We have had our operating costs spike the past couple of years due to an increase in the lease, surface material, new posts/nets, lines and labor to set up the playing surface. Our goal is to elevate the playing experience while keeping membership affordable for everyone going forward. A new addition is a shoe brush which will be installed shortly by the shed. If our financials look solid, we hope to add new court benches along with a new table, umbrella and chairs.

Welcome to our new members and welcome back to our returning members!

I hope everyone is looking forward to this season as much as I am!

See you on the courts!

Thanks to everyone for the great season which ended on November 2nd. Before we start planning for the 2025 season, I have a couple of questions to hopefully improve on the experience at the club. Feel free to answer all or just a couple of questions that pertain to your experience in 2024.

Please reply to my email [email protected]. You can copy and paste the questions below into the body of an email. A reply to this address will not come back to me. Your replies are confidential and will be summarized for our next board meeting. Remember ” Feedback is a Gift “.

1) How often do you visit the club?

2) Do you find reserving a court when you are able to play available? 

3) How would you rate the quality of the tennis courts?

4) Do you participate in club tournaments, events, clinics or doubles groups? If not, why?

5) How satisfied are you with your overall experience at the club?

6) What improvements would you like to see at the club?

7) Do you have any additional comments or suggestions for the club?

The club spends between the Dry Fast material and labor for set-up of the courts over $5,000. Woody also pours blood, sweat and tears into maintaining the surface. Yesterday I played at 1:30 and both courts were littered with footprints. If you set foot on the playing surface and you leave an indent the courts are too soft to play on. Once the surface is compromised like it has been it is next to impossible to restore it. Be prepared for bad bounces the balance of the year. It is beyond frustrating.

Please check after you sweep both courts had mounds of material on the playing surface after being swept.

I’m happy to report the repair on the court 1 post has been completed. The post needs to set for today and tomorrow. On Friday the net will be tensioned and court 1 available for play.

Thanks for everyone’s patience…enjoy the season!

I should have a definitive answer tomorrow on when we will have the courts operational. The net post that was dislodged is partially repaired and they are returning tomorrow to finish up. One silver lining if you call it that is it has been too wet to play. I’ll provide an update tomorrow.

Good news and bad news…The surfacing of the courts was completed last night. The bad news is that when the net was being installed on court 1 a post dislodged from its mooring. Woody and I met with the contractor this morning and it will be repaired in the next couple of days. Court 2 is available for play. Will advise once court 1 is available.

I know everyone is super excited about the club opening and getting on the court. Unfortunately, it’s not in the cards for this weekend. The courts are just about scraped, new material will be added starting tomorrow, the lines on Sunday then nailed Monday. Dee and Scott do a really nice job setting up the surface they want do to it right and I’m sure you all want the same. Once I know the date of completion will send notification.

First off thanks to all that participated in the workday on Saturday. A lot of prep got completed and Scott’s job for laying the surface will be much easier this week. The new net posts are in, they look fantastic. The goal is to have the courts ready at the end of the week. Keep your fingers crossed the weather cooperates. As soon as I get the thumbs up on completion will drop a note to you all.

Now that the weather has turned in the past couple of days, I’m sure everyone is curious when the club will be open for the season. We are scheduled to have new net posts installed starting Wednesday the work was scheduled for earlier in the month, but persistent wet weather prevented the work getting started. In order for the posts to get installed the sprinklers and piping need to be removed for the installation. Scott is preparing the courts this week for the material application and based on all the moving pieces my best guess is the courts will be open early next week. While it is a bummer to lose this coming weekend the addition of new posts, nets and center straps will vastly improve the playing experience. Just think that second serve that just clips the top on the net on game point will now be going in.

As soon as I have an accurate date for opening will post as soon as possible.

The courts were finished last evening by Dee & Scott Barker. A shout-out to their hard work over the past ten days. We did add additional material to the surface this year which should make a big difference in the quality of play. It is early in the day and the courts are soft so a word of caution especially if there is moisture in the surface. Remember to always sweep after play.

Please take time to go to our website and read the 2023 season overview that Darlene put together. There are additional offerings for play this year.

Enjoy!