WRAC BOARD UPDATE

Dear Member-Owners,

We’re excited our plans for a dedicated indoor pickleball building are moving forward rapidly:

Our permitting process with the City of Wenatchee is underway and we anticipate receiving approvals by mid-summer.
Our architect Complete Design will have renderings to share with our members in May.
Our contractor Cascade Central Construction has placed the order for our steel metal building and will begin construction as soon as our building permits are approved.
We are working with Peoples Bank and anticipate funding approval soon.

The decision to build a dedicated indoor pickleball building is the first step in a larger ten year capital facilities plan that has been developed by the board the past two years, and includes:

A six court dedicated indoor pickleball building to meet the demand we have experienced while juggling court time for tennis and pickleball the past two winters.
Rebuilding or relocating our 63 year-old outdoor tennis and pickleball courts. These require inordinate and costly repair and maintenance, and need to be replaced.
Building a new aquatic facility on our upper property. Membership input and partnership opportunities will determine the scope and scale of this project.
Fitness and wellness equipment to meet marketplace demands. For example, we recently ordered a portable body scanner that will enable our members to receive valuable feedback to create a customized fitness/wellness plan.

The Board must balance the needs of the entire club when planning for future capital expenses. While pickleball has exploded in popularity, peak winter participation represents approximately 20% of our 2000+ members. We believe the six court dedicated pickleball building strikes that proper balance, and will allow us to be first to enter the marketplace. While we have heard feedback requesting a larger structure with more courts, we also have received criticism for our decision to borrow money to build anything at all. Somewhere between the enthusiastic “Build it bigger and they will come”, and the cynical “Do nothing” is where we’ve attempted to plan for the future.

The WRAC is successful because of the synergy of its offerings, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Many of our individual offerings alone would not be viable businesses, but together, they are. The WRAC is tennis, pickleball, racquetball, squash, fitness facilities, fitness classes, wellness programs, aquatics, summer camps, and more! Most importantly, it’s where we come together to pursue an active and healthy lifestyle.

Sincerely,

Your WRAC Board of Directors

REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW FOR ALL

SPRING & SUMMER GROUP PROGRAMS & CAMPS!

SPRING PROGRAMS

SUMMER PROGRAMS

MAY

4 Apple Blossom Parade, Club Hours: 7 am-noon

6 Lifeguard Training Course starts

7 Jr Tennis Session Begins

8 Racquetball Beginner Clinic; 6 pm

11-12 Jr. College Jamboree Tennis Tournament-OD

15 Board Meeting; 12:15 pm

27 Memorial Day Hours; Monday, 7 am - 7 pm

JUNE

1 Pool - Tentative Opening Date

1-2 WRAC Pickleball Summer Splash tournament

8 USTA Jr. Level 5B, 6G Tennis Tournament

15 Cusick Cup Tennis Doubles Tournament

17 Swim Lessons Session #1

17 Summer Swim Team Begins

17 Camp WRAC Session #1 / Jr Tennis #1

24 E. Wenatchee Youth Tennis Camp

24 Lil' Explorers Camp #1

24 Camp WRAC Session #3 / Jr Tennis Session #2

25 Summer Bash - All Club BBQ/Party

25 Annual Club Meeting 5:30-6:00

29 USTA Mixed Doubles 55+

JULY

1 Swim Lesson Session #2 (no class 7/4)

1 Camp WRAC Session #3 / Jr Tennis Session #3

8 Lil' Explorers Camp #2

8 Camp WRAC Session #4 / Jr Tennis Session #4

12 LocalTel NCW Jr. Tennis Tournament

15 Swim Lesson Session #3

15 Camp WRAC Session #5 / Jr Tennis Session #5

22 Camp WRAC Session #6 / Jr Tennis Session #6

22 Lil' Explorers Camp #3

29 Swim Lesson Session # 4

29 Camp WRAC Session #7 / Jr Tennis Session #7

FITNESS

EXPECTATIONS!?

Many of us expect some return on our investments. We invest in our future, our retirement, our kids education and we spend lots of time researching where we want to go on vacation so we can get the most out of our time away, a mental health investment. Generally we expect successful investing to take a long time to achieve, many years in most cases. Yet we often expect the opposite when it comes to exercise and results, return on investment in yourself! It seems we are expecting a huge return on a short time investment. Two days this week, one the next, gone on business the following week but I’ll get 5 days in when I get home. Probably not. Then comes the big question...”Why am I not seeing results?”

Advertisers want you to believe that you can make serious changes to your body by taking a

specific nutritional supplement or doing some new 11-minute workout twice a week. Reality is that we need to exercise and be good to our bodies every day to see results. Anyone reading this is thinking, “I don’t have time to workout everyday”, possibly true, but you do have time to take the stairs between floors instead of the elevator, you do have time to eat a chicken breast instead of a cheeseburger, you do have time to drink 8 glasses of water a day, and you do have time to park far from the front door of the grocery store so you have to walk farther instead of driving around for ten minutes to get the spot 10 feet away. It is the daily focus on our health that will provide great returns for our bodies. For those in the financial world you should see exercise working the same way as compounding interest. Your money would not grow as fast if the interest only compounded 6 or seven days a month.

Contributed by Keith Baier, CSCS

CLICK FOR GROUP EX CLASS SCHEDULE

May is Mental Health Month!

TAI CHI boosts your memory! Practicing Tai Chi when you're older may help stave off dementia, reports NPR.org.

TENNIS

CLICK FOR SPRING PROGRAMS & JUNIOR TENNIS INFORMATION

Transitioning to Outdoor Play:

As the weather starts to improve, those outdoor courts start to look inviting to go play on. Whenever transitioning to outdoor play after an indoor season, here are a couple reminders:

Pace of play: The courts play slower outdoors, so make sure to still keep your feet light and active while waiting or moving towards an incoming ball.
Wind: If the wind is strong, pick up a few blades of grass and see which way the wind is blowing. If you are hitting into the wind, remember to drive through your shots to create depth. If the wind is at your back, either use your topspin to keep the shots inbounds, or lower the height you hit over the net.
Sun: If you are serving into the sun, take a few practice tosses first to get used to where the sun is. Additionally, you can try starting your service motion already with your racquet up by your head (trophy position). This will allow you to use a lower toss, limiting the negative effect of the sun.

Most of all, enjoy the opportunity to play the sport outside and have fun!

USTA 55+ MIXED DOUBLES EVENTS - June 29-30...at the WRAC!

It's time to get your team together for this 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0 team event!! If you need help, talk with Sam asap, sam@wrac.org.