| Welcome to the second installment of “Paddle Chatter!” We will try to share some of the goings on within our community monthly, to further our mission statement! Please share and encourage others become an associate as we work to build our organization to better represent the River Forest paddle community. Paddle Financials: RFPD Paddle is tracked as a standalone “Enterprise”. As such, Paddle revenues, expenses, construction costs, and capital improvements are grouped together to determine whether Paddle revenues cover all expenses, including the amortized cost of building the four courts. You will see that the financial information clearly demonstrates the success of this start up program. Here is a snapshot from the data posted on the RFPD site:  The financials show that Paddle covers all costs while generating a surplus that could be used to invest in future improvements. For the full financial breakdown provided by RFPD click here. Women’s House Leagues: A group of women pass holders recently met to discuss ways to enhance the current league format. A letter was submitted to RFPD on March 4th, with a formal request to gather to discuss the recommended changes. The women asked for a meeting with the Park District and are waiting for a reply. A copy of the actual correspondence submitted to RFPD can be found by clicking HERE. Men’s Travel League: The 18 week regular season has concluded. 5 of our 8 teams will compete in the playoffs during March. Series 5 (Josh Hinterlong Capt.) #2 seed Series 5 (Brad Hunter Capt.) #3 seed Series 11 (Chris Prouty Capt.) #2 seed Series 13 (Art Soudek Capt.) #3 seed Series 13 (T. Sullivan/Rustad Capt) #5 seed Women’s Daytime Travel Leagues: The second half of the women’s travel season wrapped up this week for our Series 9 team (Southwest League) and Series 3 team (Northshore League). For next season, we hope to have enough players to add 3 teams to our daytime women’s travel paddle program, increasing our day time travel leagues to 5 teams. The travel paddle players will host a meeting followed by social play the morning of Thursday, April 14th to bring together those who want to learn about travel paddle. Look for a separate email which will contain details. In a nutshell, the teams of similarly skilled players have matches on Thursday morning or early afternoon; the teams drill with a pro once a week; and the teams split their matches between home and local area clubs. There is a series for every level of play – including beginners! We need to understand interest levels in order to determine numbers of teams and possible series. Hope to see many of you at the meeting. Platform Tennis News from River Forest Park District: If you missed it, the RFPD emailed passholders on March 4th a copy of Platform Tennis News. Details for the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day Mixed Doubles Tournament on March 19th are included. For an image of the newsletter, click here. Laura Berendt’s Departure: We were fortunate to have had Laura Berendt as our pro for the past 4 seasons. We will miss her mischievous smile, her FYM slasher, her fun lesson music, and her “take no prisoners” attitude while playing with RFPD Passholders. We wish her the best of luck as she continues to share her love of the game with anyone on the court with her. If you would like to contribute to her going away gift, please contact/text Corina Davis at 773-289-6072 or corinadavis@gmail.com before March 17th, or contribute via Venmo at @corina-davis-0 using the above mentioned number which is associated with the account. Or you can drop off cash or check at 936 Franklin in RF. In addition, for those who want to keep in touch, Laura can be reached at 773-870-0744 or laura_chicago@yahoo.com. Welcome to our New Pro: The RFPD recently announced the hiring of Mike Stoja as the RFPD paddle pro. The new private lesson rate is now $100/hour. Spring paddle lesson information with the updated group rate can be found in the recent RFPD Platform Tennis News. Welcome Mike! RFPTA Officer Elections: Just a reminder that RFPTA Annual Elections of Officers will take place in April. Please refer to Section 6 of Article VII of the RFPTA by-laws on the RFPTA website for more information on how to nominate a slate of candidates. What Did We Miss? Let us know what else you want RFPTA to focus on. Check out the website for additional news, paddle related classified ads, and other information pertaining to paddle. |
River Forest Platform Tennis Association (RFPTA)
Mission Statement: To nurture, support, and grow the sport of platform tennis for players of all ages, skill levels, and genders in River Forest and surrounding communities.