Goodbye to the 2022 Tennis Season!

The 2022 Season has come to an end and the nets will be coming down this week.  Thank you to everyone for making it a great year.

Your Executive Committee is already planning for next year and wants to ensure the Almonte Tennis Club offers every member a great tennis experience in 2023.

Please help us out by completing the linked survey. Participation is voluntary, but it would be very helpful and is greatly appreciated. It should only take about 5 minutes to complete. Your responses are very important to us. This is a member based Club so please ensure your voice is heard.

Survey link

Thanks so much for taking the time to complete the survey and supporting your volunteer Executive Committee.

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The Municipality of Mills – Public Consultation Survey

The Municipality of Mississippi Mills has launched a public consultation survey, for residents only, to better understand what recreation, cultural and childcare services are being delivered well and to identify areas for improvement. Your input will help set municipal budget priorities, evaluate existing programs, and enhance programs/services to improve quality of life in Mississippi Mills. An independent consulting firm, Goss Gilroy Inc., has been hired by the municipality to administer this survey.

The Almonte Tennis Club is encouraging all members to complete the following survey offered by the Municipality. The survey will be open and available until October 14, 2022. The survey can be found on our municipal website or through this direct link.

Survey Link

Participation is voluntary but it would be very helpful and is greatly appreciated if residents would take the time to complete the survey.

For those who do not have internet access, paper copies of the survey are available at the Almonte Old Town Hall (14 Bridge Street) during regular business hours.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Calvin Murphy, Recreation Manager, Municipality of Mississippi Mills, at (613) 256-2064, ext. 601 or email cmurphy@mississippimills.ca.

The Municipality of Mississippi Mills would like to thank you in advance for your time.

THANKS FOR SHARING

Hearing from Members helps the Club Plan Programming

Earlier this summer we conducted small surveys about member’s interests in a Round Robin, using a Ball Machine, participating in a Ladder, and sharing their email to find a playing partner.

We had 34 people respond to the survey. 

  • 16 people indicated they were interested in participating in a Round Robin on July 16th.   As a result, we held a very successful Round Robin event in memory of Hyacinth Chatterton. 
  • 22 respondents said they were interested in using the Ball Machine for individual practice.  A training session was offered and a few keys distributed for access to the ball machine which is kept in the black metal box at the Courts.  The Ball Machine has not been well used, so if you are interested in learning how to use it and to access the Ball Machine, please contact us.
  • 20 members said they would like help finding a playing partner and would like to include their email address and playing level in a list for members only so they could organize games during Open Play.  The ATC is working on setting this up for next year.  As a first step, watch for the posting on Tennis levels, so you can self-assess your level of play.
  • Finally, 18 people indicated they were interested in participating in a Tennis Ladder.  The Executive Members haven’t had time this summer to coordinate this. If you are interested and would like to volunteer to coordinate a Ladder for this Fall or next Spring, please contact us.

In an earlier survey we had a number of families express interest in a Club Play Drop In time slot for Families and Youth.  We tried a few different things with limited attendance and are hoping that next year a volunteer will step forward to help promote Youth and Families participation.

We also had verbal requests for lessons for beginning or newer players. Beginning in August, the ATC offered 90 minute small group lessons to beginning or newer players in partnership with Tennis Canada certified Instructor Janet Morrison.  There have been a few interruptions to the planned weekly sessions (darn that rain and other circumstances); but we had pretty good interest and have been able to get some of our newer players on the Courts for a positive learning experience. 

August was probably not the best month for a survey, as it is later in the Season and prime holiday time for lots of folks, but hopefully next season we can put something in place earlier next year. 

ATC Fall Wrap-Up Postponement

The ATC fall wrap-up event this Saturday 24, 2022 will be cancelled.

All members will be advised if this event will be rescheduled to a further date. This will be dependent on weather and availability.

The Club encourages all members to still get out and enjoy the rest of the tennis season and to continue participating in either one of the club drop-ins.

CLUB PLAY MORNING DROP IN
Weekly Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8:30 to 11:30am

CLUB PLAY CLUB NIGHTS
Weekly Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 9:30pm

All members are advised to check the schedule prior to heading to the courts.

ATC Fall Wrap-up Event – September 24

September 24, 2022

9:00am – 12:00pm

Gemmill Park, 182 Bridge St., Almonte, ON

Save the Date! Almonte Tennis Club is offering a no-charge Round Robin to wrap-up a successful tennis season; as well as the OTA will be providing a smash cage to measure the speeds of participants tennis serves. The event is free for members, and no registration is required. Snacks and drinks will be provided. However, participants are encouraged to bring bagged lunches to enjoy together.

Note: this is NOT the closing of the courts for the season.  The courts will remain open until October 31st, and potentially longer if weather permits.

Did you know #3 – Follow the Money Money Money

Who does what:

Until 1970 ATC members covered all costs associated with the construction, maintenance and operation of the courts.

It wasn’t until 1990 that the ATC turned to the Municipality for financial support due to poor condition of the courts and the Club’s inability, despite valiant repeated efforts, to obtain grant funding for resurfacing from the Province.

Consequently, the ATC entered into a formal Maintenance and Management Agreement with the Municipality that stipulates specific Club and Municipality responsibilities with respect to management of the Club and courts.

This Agreement has the ATC fully responsible for operation of the courts and tennis programming as well as all routine day to day property management including smaller scale purchases such as nets, screens, signage etc.

The Municipality’s primary responsibility is for the courts themselves including resurfacing, fencing and lighting. However, the ATC is obligated, under the Agreement, to make ‘significant contributions’ toward those major capital projects

Who pays for what:

The ATC currently invests more than 40% of annual revenue in routine court maintenance. These costs vary from year to year.

In addition, since 1990, the ATC has been expected to put $2,000 annually into a reserve fund to support future capital projects. It has traditionally contributed up to 50% of costs incurred by the Municipality for major court improvement projects.

A number of significant expenditures have been made since 1990, with both the Municipality and the ATC relying on provincial grants to fund large projects like court resurfacing, which can be very costly. 

This year, the Municipality has funded a court surface structural integrity study as the foundation for a proposed grant application to address necessary court resurfacing, fence repair/replacement as well as a new lighting array. 

The study results are not yet available to date, but it is expected court resurfacing, fencing and lighting will carry a significant cost to which the ATC is expected to provide a major contribution. 

Tennis Canada – 50/50 Draw

The Almonte Tennis Club is sharing information on a 50/50 draw on behalf of Tennis Canada. The proceeds go towards community tennis across Canada.

The Grand Prize is equal to half of all ticket sales. Plus, there are Bonus Prize draws EVERY FRIDAY. Tickets start at only $20, and the raffle is open to all Ontario residents 18 years of age or older. Grand prize Draw date is August 14!

BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY – Winner takes home half the pot – it’s growing every day!

Order Early for Your Chance to Win More! The sooner you get your tickets the more prizes you could win. And with all tickets entered to win all prizes, you could win more than once.

Bonus Prizes every Friday! Order your tickets now to be entered to win this Friday’s Bonus Prize draw!

Visit TennisCanada5050 to:

·       See the full line-up of Bonus Prizes

·       Follow the growth of the Grand Prize

·        Buy your tickets to win

Your ticket purchase makes a BIG difference. When you buy tickets for the Tennis Canada 50/50 Raffle presented by National Bank, you are directly supporting community tennis programs – proceeds from ticket sales will support community-focused programs and infrastructure to help increase access to the game and give everyone the chance to play. These programs benefit players of all ages, abilities, and skill levels; helping to lead the growth of tennis in Ontario; and improving wellbeing through sport. It truly is a win-win!

Thank you for your continued support of Tennis in Canada and good luck! 

Family and Youth Club Play: Parent Volunteer Wanted!

The Almonte Tennis Club is looking at ways to engage our member families with younger players and to encourage more youth from the community to join the Club. So far our efforts have had a moderate response.

We need your help.  We are looking for a Parent volunteer who would like to plan and organize a Club Play event(s) for Families and Youth.  

If you are interested in promoting youth play and tennis programming please email lizrootham@bell.net and rabramenko@gmail.com.

In the meantime, families and youth are encouraged to continue coming out to the Courts especially Sundays 6:30-8:00pm.  Given recent turnout the Courts will not be reserved specially for Families and Youth so Rule#5 on wait times will apply. If participation increases the Club will reinstate scheduled Club Play for Families and Youth. 

Learn to Play Small Group Instruction Now Available

The Almonte Tennis Club, along with our OTA Certified tennis instructor Janet Morrison, is offering small group instruction and coaching for beginners and less experienced tennis players.

Sessions will be scheduled Wednesday nights 6:30-8:00pm starting August 3rd. You can sign up for a single night or for the full series of three evenings. 

There will be a $10.00 fee per session with a maximum of 8 participants each night so sign up early! 

A minimum of 4 people are required for each session to run. 

Adult Members, paying guests and older teens are all invited to register by emailing lizrootham@bell.net

Hyacinth Chatterton Memorial Round Robin Results

WHAT A GREAT DAY!

The Round Robin Event on Saturday July 16th was a great success. Participants all enjoyed the “competitive” play and shared many heartfelt memories of Hyacinth. Everyone played 5 rounds of 4 games with varying partners and opponents. In the end there was a 3-way tie for first place.

Congratulations to Paul Scissions, Karin Crawford and Rick Skinner who each scored 13 of a possible 16 points, and had first dibs on the array of prizes offered for all participants.

Thanks to all the folks who participated in recognizing the contribution Hyacinth made to the Almonte Tennis Club over many decades. Special thanks to our Program Coordinator, Rob Abramenko, and especially to member volunteers, Janet Morrison and Rhonda Meloche for their work planning and coordinating the day.