Board present:  Trevor, Richard, Matt, Anita, Jacquie, Eric, Alex, Chris, Kim, and Tom

ACTA’s involvement in Girl Scout Katherine Kasischke’s project:  Alex reported that he hadn’t heard from Katherine lately in her efforts to promote tennis in South Arlington through the use of a clinic.  He’ll follow up with her.

10-year capital improvement plan and how to give tennis visibility in the plan:  Alex met with several County people.  Ideas discussed include the County’s partnering with ACTA to increase participation of children in tennis activities, possibly by establishing a league.  Alex will contact Eric who was involved in children’s activities while he worked for the County.  There was also discussion about the Board making recommendations to the County on tennis, but they were not finalized at the meeting.

Winter Social:  Kim reported that plans for the social on February 25 and the annual meeting on March 31 are under way at the Arlington Y.  She reported that there is now a new requirement for a liquor license for each party at the Y when alcohol is served.

Eric will contact Rhonda at the Y to discuss ideas of how the Y and ACTA can enter into a partnership that would be mutually beneficial, including among other things discounts for ACTA members and use of Twitter to announce court availability.

Treasurer’s report:  Trevor circulated profit and loss statements.   If there are any leftover funds, one Board member suggested that they be used for outreach.

It was confirmed that the league’s liability insurance had been paid.  The name on the policy needs to be updated to reflect the new officer responsible -either Trevor or Alex.

Doubles update:  Tom is updating the rules on our website, and will circulate any changes to the Board for comment.  He asked about adding another 5.0 player to A league teams; the individual captains will be canvassed for their views.  The Board also discussed limiting the size of teams, but no decision was taken.

No membership updates were reported.

New ACTA Board members:  The website has been updated with the names of the current officers.  We have one vacancy for the ladders coordinator.

Board present:  Alex, Tom, Trevor, Richard, Umang, Kim, James, Jacquie

Guest:  Eric Samuel

Alex called the meeting to order at 7:30pm and requested the previous month’s Minutes be approved as edited to show that James Henretta was present.  They were approved unanimously.

Kim: Socials

The consensus was not to hold a social in December, since it has not been well attended in the past.  Instead focus on a late January tournament at the Y and the Annual Meeting in March at the Y, which is a social as well as the award ceremony.

Kim will check with Matt and look into possible dates for both January and March events.

Tom: Doubles

Tom will be ordering T-shirts for the finals and will provide the Board with design choices.

Tom advised that the Open League, initiated this Fall, was not a success and has been abandoned.

Re: Rain notification: discussion was had regarding Twitter and providing a direct link/instructions on how to set up Twitter on the Home Page.  In special cases only, Tom has provided a number for people to call.

Clarification of the rules is needed regarding lateness to the second matches.

Players for the 11:30am (Fall) (4:30pm Spring) matches are expected to be at the courts no later than 11:45am (4:45pm Spring) regardless of whether the courts are still in use or not.  After 11:45am the opposing team is entitled to a forfeit. If any other court at the same facility becomes free, players may use that court

Open courts can mean either the reserved courts or adjacent nonreserved courts at the same facility.

Tom proposed a rule regarding the number of forfeits a team can make in a season.

Discussion was held regarding unsportsmanlike behavior.  Tom will follow up on a complaint.

MOTION:  If a team forfeits more than 5 matches in a season that team is ineligible to play in the playoffs.

The motion was carried unanimously.

Umang: Ladder

Discussion was held regarding “bumping”.  Alex has sorted out the software issue.

The Ladder has seen consistent activity throughout the season, the only significant drop being in September due to all the rain.

James: Court Conditions

James reported that there is a plan to improve Tower Courts but the money is not available until 2013.

He also reported that Carver courts are in bad shape.

Lack of numbering of courts continues to be a problem.  Per Alex, the County would allow ACTA to post signs indicating they are sponsored by various businesses.

Alex: General

Discussion was held regarding the YMCA proposal to be sent to all ACTA members.  The current proposal is to offer one month’s free court time for ACTA members who join for a full year paying an inititiation fee and annual membership fee.

Trevor: Financial

Trevor reported $28,672 in Checking and $14,285 in Savings. Payment to the County for the use of the courts in the Fall will be made before year end.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00pm

Congrats to Joe Young for a great run

Elias and Sherri couldn't be happier about the season

Again, much thanks goes to Tom Smith for another great year!   Close to 500 matches were scheduled and played this season thanks to his dedication and exceptional organizational skills.

Kickin Aces take silver

Check out all our playoff pics and visit us on Facebook.

11/12
1 vs 4: Bluemont 7&8 + Bon Air 1
BrickWall vs. Kickin Ace
10:00 AM: Open1 and Women’s Doubles
11:30 AM: Open2 and Mixed1 and Mixed 2

2 vs 3: Ft Scott 1&2&3
Gold vs. Nguyeners (Anbinder)
10:00 AM: Open1 and Women’s Doubles
11:30 AM: Open2 and Mixed1 and Mixed 2

Bs
11/12
1 vs 4: Gunston Park 1&2&3

Hafer vs. Roberston
10:00 AM: Open #1 and Women’s Doubles
11:30 AM: Mixed1 and Mixed 2 and Open #2

December 3rd, 7:00PM – 11:00PM

Sign up to participate in our complimentary match play that evening. (Space is limited so don’t delay, sign up today!)

Call 703-522-1700 or email Rhonda Ballute to register.

Enjoy refreshments in our viewing lounge, while learning the benefits of becoming a member at the YMCA Arlington Tennis & Squash Center. (Those in attendance will be given a special offer if they join that night!)

Attendees:  Kim, Chris, Alex, Jacquie, Trevor, Tom, Matt

Alex asked Tom to brief the Board on the start of the Doubles League season.  The County is enforcing a rule that ACTA cannot use all the courts in a given location for match play.  One court must be kept free.

New this season is two 5.0 teams – they will not be charged a fee for this year.  Tennis balls will be distributed on Saturday, the first day of matches.

There was nothing new to report regarding the Ladder.

James reported that the courts are generally in good condition.  Several have been resurfaced.  He will be putting up notices on the courts re: times of ACTA matches.

Trevor reported that the checking account has $28,584 (v. $25,174 in 2010) Wachovia is now Wells Fargo.  Fall season payment to the county has not yet been made.

Matt reported that the Singles Chartity Tournament was a success and thanked Chris and Kim for their help in organizing.  There were 60 participants and the event raised $2400, of which $950 went to Arlington Homeless Shelter, $1,670 to Doorways for Women and  Families and $1705 to Arlington Food Assistance Center.

The Board heard an appeal from a player and ruled on same.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00pm

Twitter is a great way to find out what Oprah is having for lunch. It’s a good way to organize a coup and overthrow a Government. It’s also an efficient way to simultaneously notify 200 anxious ACTA members of a rain out.

Remember the Fall of 2009 when every weekend match had a questionable status? Trying to call the ACTA rain line yielded nothing but a fast busy signal. Did you end up driving to a facility and waiting for a team not knowing whether there was an official rain out?

By following ACTATennis on Twitter, you and everyone else subscribing to ACTATennis will receive text messages whenever our doubles coordinator posts an alert. Picture yourself getting ready to leave the house and your mobile phone beeps. After receiving the message that the match is canceled, you go back to watching the rest of that baseball game, football game or whatever on the couch. How cool is that!

One more positive aspect to getting ACTA tweets: eliminating the rain out line will save ACTA $700 a year. Expect better beer at the next social!

Here’s how to sign up and receive ACTA alerts:

1. Create a Twitter account
2. Find ACTATennis (click follow button)
3. Hook your Twitter account to your mobile phone

Twitter does not charge for this service. Standard message and data rates may apply.

Denis returning serve at the Hall of Fame Championships (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Arlington resident Denis Kudla is starting the season off right beating 127th ranked Ivo Karlovic and 60th ranked Grigor Dimitrov before losing in the quarters in the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, RI.

This performance earned Denis a Wild Card spot in the Legg Mason Draw this coming week.  He’ll be matched against the current 87th in the world Tobias Kamke from Germany.   This match will take place on Sunday or Monday.  Good luck Denis!

A free ACTA water bottle to any member who submits a picture of their good self with the elusive Denis.

At the beginning of the season, Arlington’s Tom Mitchler and Vernon Henderson from Parks and Recreation (PRCR) met with an ACTA delegation led by James Henretta to discuss the state of the courts in Arlington.

James came to the meeting prepared having already visited every court and assessed playability and maintenance needs.  The ensuing conversation helped Arlington County plan for the year and prioritize based on good information.

Mid Summer Court Status

James used a simple rating system to evaluate the courts at the beginning of the season. Each facility was assigned a grade, A-D:

• A Excellent condition
• B Good or very good condition
• C Playable condition
• D Barely playable

Following are the original grades along with 2011 improvements in bold:

D venues: (7 separate courts)
Carver (3 courts)
Lyon Village (2 courts) COMPLETELY RESURFACED IN 2011
Jamestown Park (2 courts) COMPLETELY RESURFACED IN 2011

C venues: (33 separate courts)
Bluemont Park (7 courts) (resurfacing planned in 2011)
Bon Air Park (2 courts)  RESURFACED IN 2011
Jennie Dean Park (2 courts)
Maury Park (2 courts)  RESURFACED IN 2011
Quincy Park (6 courts)  COURTS 1-6 RESURFACED IN 2011
Stafford Park/H. B. Woodlawn School (2 courts)
Swanson School (2 courts, sort of)
Thomas Jefferson School (4 courts)
Towers Park (4 courts) (capital improvement plan for 2012)
Virginia Highlands Park (courts #2-3)

B venues: (19 separate courts)
Fort Scott Park (3 courts)
Glebe Recreation Area (3 courts)
Langston-Brown Center (1 court)
Wakefield High School (7 courts)
Walter Reed Center (3 courts)
Williamsburg School (2 courts

A venues: (23 separate courts)
Barcroft Park (2 courts)
Gunston Center (3 courts)
Hayes Park (2 courts)
Kenmore School (4 courts)
Madison Manor Park (2 courts)
Marcey Road Park (3 courts)
Tuckahoe Park (2 courts)
Virginia Highlands Park (courts #3-6)

In summary, at the beginning of the season, 51% of our courts were rated A or B. Mid season, this has improved to 68%. Once Bluemont is resurfaced, 79% of our courts will be rated A or B!

How ACTA Members Can Help

Thanks to Tom, Vernon and James for their work improving Arlington's courts

Throughout the summer nets wear out, windscreens break free of their ties and gates can malfunction.  While playing our ladder and doubles matches, ACTA members are in a great position to take note of these maintenance issues and communicate them to PRCR.  To help with the process, we have a court maintenance page that is monitored by our facilities board member.

Please let us know what’s broken and we’ll help get it repaired.