Tennis Time

Membership Approves Replacing Cournts 1 -4
Brittany tennis players should be playing on new hard courts by late May. And these courts will have a new set of lights as good as any in Atlanta.
A Summary of the Entire Project
  • Total Construction of our four hard courts 1-4 with new fences. They have served us for 29 years—a long lifetime for asphalt courts.
  • A new Advantage lighting system, the latest in technology.
  • A new Bakko fiberglass backboard.
  • Construction of a new covered seated area between courts 2 and 3 that will move it to the center of the hard courts.
  • New and wider granite steps to the northern entrance of the clubhouse as part of a beautification of this area.
  • Pavers that will stretch from the new granite steps around and beyond the new covered seated area.
  • ·A new concrete walking path from the parking lot to the pavers and from the pavers to the lake between the courts and pool area.
  • A new bulletin board and larger serving table
 
Construction of the new courts should be underway before or during the first week in April. The yes vote represented 87 percent of the total votes cast.
 
At the time this article was written, we were still awaiting approval of a bank loan and county authorization, but previous conversations have indicated both actions should be favorable.
 
While the new courts and new lighting system are by far the largest projects in the new construction program, there are some other needs of the club being met. All of these projects are inter-related and are appropriately being done at the same time to achieve unity and full utilization. See adjoining article for a list of all aspects of the project.
 
Much Improved Lighting
 
The new lights on all four hard courts have been described by our tennis contractor, Randy Feinberg of Southeastern Tennis, as equal to any courts in the Atlanta area. The light readings on our existing courts have been tested at an average of 21 foot candles. The new lights will have 91 foot candle readings. 
The best current readings will be the worst under the new
lighting system.
 
The light poles on courts 3 and 4 will be converted to landscape
lighting height like we have on the other four courts, but all the new fixtures will be the most modern available.
 
While the new lighting system will be much brighter, it should actually be an improvement for our neighbors because the design of the new lighting system holds the light better onto the playing surface.
 
The construction program is estimated to take about six weeks, depending on the weather. Even if it is delayed by excessive rain, we believe it will be completed in time for a big celebration and Mixed Doubles tournament over the Memorial Day Weekend.
 
Improving the Club’s Northern Entrance
 
The covered seats are being moved to the middle of the court not only to provide a better viewing experience (see drawing) for our spectators but also to provide a larger open area in front of the clubhouse. The tennis fences at the corners of courts 2 and 3 are being changed to 45-degree angles to provide additional
space as well. The goal is to make it a more attractive entrance
for members and visitors attending functions in the club’s second
level meeting room. 
 
Dealing With Inconveniences
Ways Players Can Help
  •  Players can help to adjust to the two-court limit during reconstruction by trying to rearrange their schedules when possible to help players with more limited playing time.  
  • All players who can play during weekdays should forego weekend play when the courts are crowded.
  •  All players who desire to play on the weekend should plan to play in the time of day opposite ALTA’s schedules.
  • Since weekday afternoons attract little play, that would be a good time for players to focus on who can play during that time frame but don’t normally.
                            
With Brittany’s large tennis membership, there will obviously be some inconveniences for our players since we will have only the two clay courts available during the construction period. The board realizes this will make many players unhappy, but we urge everyone to realize that all progress requires inconveniences. We will just have to work together and understand that everyone is impacted by the project. Progress often causes temporary pain.
 
Many players wanted to delay work until July and August, but we feel April and May is the ideal time to proceed with the construction. We have the momentum, we have contractors arranged for all aspects of the project, we have good price quotes, and we can accommodate our ALTA teams with April and May construction. Also, any delay could increase the cost and create other problems. Accordingly we are moving forward with construction now.
 
If construction can start the week beginning Monday, April 5, there will be only three weeks left in the ALTA adult and junior regular seasons. Brittany has three women’s teams, two men’s teams, and
two junior teams—all of them playing on the weekend with the
exception of one women’s team that plays on Thursday morning. 
The weekend schedule includes the men starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, the junior girls team starting at 1:30 on Saturday, the junior boys team starting at 3:30 on Saturday, and the women starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
            .
Plans will be drafted for team practice at night and will be announced prior to the start of court construction.
 
Future Improvements to Clay Courts
 
After competition of courts 1-4 the board will turn it‘s attention to installing new lights on courts 5 and 6 and a new smaller covered seated area (see drawing). The proposed new lights on courts 5 and 6 will include only new fixtures, not new poles.


Memorial Day Tennis Tournament
It now appears that the courts will be completed and ready for play by Memorial Day, although some work will probably remain, including much landscaping.  Thus, we are moving forward with planning for the annual Sandek Memorial Mixed Doubles Tournament over the holiday weekend beginning May 29 to celebrate opening of the new courts

The Mixed Doubles Tournament over the three-day Memorial Day Weekend, May 29-31, will be a round-robin format, with every participant playing with a different partner and against different opponents in every round.  A signup sheet is posted on the fence next to the court 5 entrance for players to enter the tournament.

We hope that all of our players who are in town will consider playing in the tournament and give us the largest number of players ever.  This is a special moment in our history, and we should join together and celebrate the moment.

If it is inconvenient to sign up at the courts, call Bill Smith at 404-252-1934 or e-mail him at williamosmith1@comcast.net. 

If it rains and the poster board notice must be removed temporarily since there is no shaded area to put up the notice, a sheet for signing your name will be located behind the box holding the signup sheets.