IN BETWEEN THE LINES... TCD NEWS - MARCH 2019
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I think the Perfect Storm hit us this past week. As reported in the
Ft. Worth Star Telegram
, “A strong cold front that blew through late Wednesday turned out to be stronger than expected, sending the freeze line south of Ft. Worth when it was originally predicted to stay well northwest of the Metroplex…and bringing about a
surprising
dose of freezing drizzle Thursday morning.” Suffice it to say, TCD was one of several agencies and organizations that found themselves unprepared for the extreme cold and drizzle, and with geographic boundaries that span a distance of 55+/- miles both east to west and north to south, the Board had to scramble to study the situation as it was taking place, where it was taking place and to what extent our 325 teams and 65 facilities were affected.
Yes--We were late in communicating the decisions we made to help ameliorate the negative impact surrounding our players and our matches, but early morning real life has a way of intruding itself into our volunteer life demands, and although we did the best we collectively could,
we sincerely apologize to everyone who was inconvenienced Thursday morning
. Not only will we do better from this point forward, we have already made that very start! We read your emails, texts, Facebook posts and messages left on our phones and at our Board meeting this past Tuesday, we addressed the issues important to you (See "Rule Changes" below). The entire Board of Directors thanks you for your helpful suggestions, the information from other tennis leagues and outdoor fitness and recreational groups you have shared, and, always, for your understanding, patience and kind words of support.
Thankfully, we are all in this wonderful world of TCD together. Keep making your voices heard---we are here to listen. Have a safe, sunny, and most enjoyable Spring Break!
At YOUR Service,
Jinky
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WHAT’S NEW IN MIXED?
Recently a survey was conducted in the Mixed Doubles League for captains, players and facility coordinators. We understand players have many pulls on their time over the weekend including family, friends and other tennis obligations or sporting events. As a result of the survey, teams will now be allowed more flexibility in scheduling their Sunday matches.
EFFECTIVE FALL 2019
Article IV. B. SCHEDULING
- b. Mixed Doubles will play on Sunday. Matches are allowed to be scheduled between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. only BEFORE Home match times are posted, BOTH captains agree and courts are available. If not in agreement, the match start times are between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
WHAT ABOUT THE WEATHER?
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
Article V.J.
4. Extreme Weather Conditions
a. Day of match protocol: The HOME captain determines the conditions at the match site and is responsible for notifying the VISITING captain no more than (3) hours prior to the match start time on the SCHEDULED DAY OF THE MATCH. BOTH captains must verify through
www.weather.com
if the weather conditions listed below exist. Either captain may choose to reschedule the match.
1.
www.weather.com
Hourly “FEELS” OR “FEELS LIKE” reading based on the zip code of the home facility, at the start time of the match, is 32 degrees or lower.
2.
www.weather.com
Hourly “FEELS” or “FEELS LIKE” reading based on the zip code of the home facility, at the start time of the match, is 105 degrees or higher.
RESCHEDULING DURING SPRING BREAK
Article V.K. 4.
If Spring Break falls within the three (3) week reschedule match period, an additional one (1) week extension will be allowed.
ANY ADDITIONAL CHANGES? (yes, changes indicated in “
red
”)
Article IV.B SCHEDULING
- Matches will be scheduled on designated days and times unless postponed due to rain/extreme weather conditions, …
- Any TIME and/or LOCATION changes must be agreed upon by BOTH captains, reported to the Flight Coordinator, and approved by the league Director…
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Update on the geographic flighting “Project TCD” taken on by SMU………………
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We met with the SMU project team again on February 26
th
, to answer questions and get an update on their direction and progress to date.
1) They have reiterated that the center point of our radius map is outdated and doesn’t match with the actual distribution of the majority of our teams. They are analyzing our map, charting distances AND drive time to and from our approved facilities, and identifying a more appropriate center point from which TCD might be able to grow (within our current 25 mile approved radius).
2) They are researching the distribution of teams for this season and the prior 3 seasons, for purposes of identifying how likely it would be to have a high concentration of same facility teams within a flight IF we were to flight geographically. This information will be used when they begin the modeling process, and may be approached from a Venn diagram perspective to keep the competition and variety of teams high.
3) They hope to have all data collection done by spring break, and if they can accomplish this, will begin the modeling and mapping process the last half of March.
4) Next meeting is scheduled for March 19
th
.
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For 2019, the TCD board is working hard to provide the best value in recreational tennis here in the DFW metroplex. Our $15 league dues, which have not increased in over 15 years, can be broken down as follows:
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In addition to providing competitive tennis leagues, your dues support a yearly handbook containing TCD rules and tennis rules of play, two end of season social events, two pre-season tournaments and awards for each flight winner.
We continue to give grants to a variety of non-profit foundations such as
The Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Aceing Autism, Children's Medical Center Foundation, Dallas Wheelchair Tennis, Dallas Tennis and Education Academy, Scottish Rite Hospital, and Special Olympics of Texas.
Please spread the word to any friends that have an interest in joining a tennis league to give TCD a try!
Have a great season!
Therese Blackburn
Finance Director
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Dear TCD friends,
We hope you can share in the excitement and joy of the USPS’s “Little Mo” stamp dedication ceremony on
Tuesday, April 23, at 11:00.
Fun plans are underway for the ceremony to be held at the SMU Tennis Complex. We have arranged for free and reserved parking in the entire top two rows of the Mustang Parking Center at 6001 Bush Ave. Also, all the parking spaces on Bishop Blvd. are reserved for us on April 23. Multiple shuttle buses from Premier Transportation will be picking up all guests at both parking places and driving them to the stamp dedication ceremony and back to those parking spaces until 1:30 since there is no parking available at the SMU Tennis Complex. We don’t want anyone to feel rushed. We encourage our guests to also use UBER that day or carpool to the dedication ceremony. My sister Brenda and I will host a reception
with light lunch fare and beverages immediately following the ceremony at the Tennis Complex. The USPS will be setting up a nice and large display where guests may purchase, if interested, the “Little Mo” stamps and stamp collector items of Mom’s stamp at the reception.
The “Little Mo” stamps will go on sale nationwide in 33,000 post offices on April 23 but you may buy your stamps directly after the ceremony if that is more convenient and if you would like to do so.
In the next few weeks, you will be receiving a digital invitation to the dedication ceremony through this E-newsletter. The USPS, Brenda and I
, and the entire MCB family so hope you can join us April 23 at 11:00.
There will be a link to RSVP on the upcoming digital invitation
, and we would appreciate you responding if you’re planning to attend.
We are so proud of TCD and the ambassadors you are for this grand game of tennis. Mom would be thrilled, absolutely thrilled, to salute you and would be humbled by this very touching honor bestowed on her by the USPS. Have a glorious rest of the month!
Warmest regards,
Cindy
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