OPEN-COURT PLAY

Our courts are open all year.  They are used in the winter months depending upon the weather.  Getting court time is not much of an issue during the winter months.  But when we get into the summer months, the Association has a lot of planned activities where the courts are made unavailable.  Our Activities and Events are for all our paid members: seniors, Adults, Teens, Kids, etc.  The members are using the courts.  So there is not much “open play” time.  This summer, we will have open court time all day on Wednesdays and Saturdays and then Sunday, Monday, and Friday from 11:15 am until dark and Tuesday and Thursday between 11:15 am and 4:00 pm and then from 6:00 pm until dark.  The best thing to do is check the calendar to ensure you can use the courts.   The Open Court Plan schedule goes into effect beginning June 28 until Labor Day.  Remember to be respectful when using the courts.

Suppose you want to go down to the courts to play or have a pickup game with your family or friends. In that case, SBIA has supplied its members a “Members” deck box located on Court #1 (shed side) with pickleballs, pickleball net, paddles, tennis racquets, tennis balls, and basketball.  The sports equipment in the Member Box is for our members and their guests (we will replace no damaged or vandalized equipment).  You will receive the combination to the lock on the Member box on your CONFIRMATION EMAIL YOU RECEIVE WHEN YOU COMPLETE YOUR MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION.

TENNIS COURT RECOMMENDATIONS

Our tennis courts are where our activities really start. Our courts are open each morning at 8 am and close at dusk.  Children take tennis lessons there, kids meet for friendly get-togethers there in the summer, folks meet to play Pickleball, Tennis, and Basketball and many of our SBIA events are held on the courts. It’s what we had in mind all along, right?

Something you didn’t have in mind is what seems to be happening with increased frequency. Members complain that folks have had a fast-food picnic overnight and left food wrappers, empty bottles, etc., lying around.

You show up to play and have to clean up the mess, and suddenly, you become aware of several other problems.  Someone has allowed their children to use one court to ride their collapsible scooters because the surface is marked. In another court, permanent black marks exist because someone has allowed their children to ride their bikes and skateboard.

The same thing that makes our Association courts great — the fact that any member or guest can use them — is the same thing that threatens them: anyone can use them (and, unfortunately, abuse them).

Having just put in the tennis courts and the fact that we are still paying on our loan, it’s impossible to hire a security force to keep an eye on our tennis courts. But we, members of the Silver Beach Improvement Association, should take a few proactive measures to try to keep the courts undamaged and safer.

Save Our Surface

A tennis court is built with specific traffic in mind, namely court shoes and tennis and pickleballs.  It’s not set up to accommodate skateboards, inline skates, bikes, scooters, and other uses, and the surface will be marked up by basketball shoes, street shoes, and so forth.

Signs have been posted stating the rules (no skates, bikes, etc., on the surface).  Unfortunately, that only works for those who read the signs and obey the rules, two ingredients often missing from those abusing the courts.

What Can We Do?

We will continue to lock the gates at night and ask that our nighttime security check the area on their rounds.  We are scheduling more activities in the daytime hours to keep the courts busy.  Courts that see a lot of player traffic are less likely to sit idle and less likely to be used the wrong way or even abused.  We ask our members to keep skates, bikes, etc., off the surface to protect the courts for future use.