Sports, Cards & Crafts

The Columns | 21

www.TWHOA.net • 941.349.0194 • January 2021 • Island Visitor Publishing, LLC

SPORTS, CARDS, and CRAFTS

BE SURE TO CHECK THE TENNIS BULLETIN BOARD ON A REGULAR BASIS FOR UPDATED INFORMATION ON WHAT IS GOING ON WITH TENNIS ACTIVITIES.

TENNIS ASSOCIATION Nothing new to report this month. – Ed Sandre

MISC. NEWS

We now have clean, white net tops thanks to Greg Girard. With a bottle of special cleaner and a little “elbow grease” Greg got the net tops looking good. Thanks, Greg.

The wind screens should be put up sometime soon and the coverings over the bleachers should be put up also.

For people new to Tara Woods, we have what we call “open tennis” from 9:00 – 10:30 AM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. If you have an interest in tennis, stop by the courts and check it out.

TENNIS LEAGUES Men’s League

There is nothing new to report this month for any of the Men’s League teams, as there is no league activity because of the coronavirus.

TWIT (Tara Woods Inter-Community Tennis)

Since we are not having league tennis competition this year, we have decided to create an internal weekly schedule of tennis for both men and women. Several years ago, Dick Heffron created a game called TWIT

With the holidays behind us, it’s time to look ahead to a new year. In this transition year, let’s hope we can ring in the new with an open mind as to how our world has been changed and accept the new reality with less fear and trepidation as the virus is slowly eradicated. It was a difficult and scary 2020. Soon we will have a chance to start over. At this time, we don’t know what changes will come or what the Tara Woods parties and activities will look like. We are a creative group of seniors and I’m sure there will be some outstanding events in our future.

Thank you to Frank Millette, Lou Dunning and Bill Black for leading the Christmas Golf Cart

TENNIS NEWS

(Tara Woods Inter-Community Tennis). We will be playing TWIT in Tara Woods every Thursday at 10:30 AM.

The concept is simple. There will be 4 players assigned to each court. Each player gets to play 8 games with each of the other people on that court, for a total of 24 games. Within each foursome, each player will get a point for every game they win. At the end of each match that day, the player with the most points moves up to the next level the following week, and the player with the least points moves down to a lesser level and plays with a new foursome.

Currently we have 16 players for the 4 courts. If others decide to join, we can add additional courts for every 4 players.

This is strictly social tennis; no prizes, no fees. – Dick Heffron and Mike Renzulli

Women’s League Women’s Team – Angels

There is nothing new to report this month for the Women’s League, as there is no league activity because of the coronavirus.

Please note that the women still play tennis on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 – 10:30 AM. If you are new to Tara Woods and want to learn about our team, come on out to the tennis courts on one of those days.

In last month’s issue of The Columns, I gave you a little recent history on the Women’s Tennis Teams from Tara Woods since I joined the team in 2010. I thought it would be interesting to go back further to see just how the Angels tennis team was formed in Tara Woods. The following is from information I received from the collective memory of Jane Maher and Dawn Benjamin.

The Women’s Tennis Team was organized in 1996 by Jane Maher. The team name of the “Angels” was

ACTIVITIES, ACTIVITIES

suggested by Jackie Sullivan, as she was very fond of Parade through the community, safely and orderly. Thank you also to Santa (Bob Clark) for all his work upgrading the trailer for the sleigh and to his little helper, Sue Clark, for sprucing up the sleigh for its journey through the community. Thank you also to everyone who participated in the parade and to those who watched and waved and shared Christmas greetings along the way. It was a fun time, and I was especially glad to see everyone adhering to the mask and social distancing rules. I’m glad we could continue this Tara Woods tradition safely.

I am pleased to welcome Peggy Gamble as the new head of the outside decorating committee for 2021. angels of any kind. Jane Maher was the first Captain. Mary Ann Craig took over as Captain for a few years and then Dawn Benjamin became the Captain.

Some of the team members, as recalled by Jane Maher and Dawn Benjamin, included: Dawn Benjamin, June Buer, Mary Ann Craig, Jane DeGuire, Mary Helen DeLang, Martha Ewing, Addy Fratantuono, Marge Hosek, Florence Jacobs, Henri La Liberty, Jane Maher, Jackie Sullivan, Ann West, and Elaine Wood.

Jane Maher indicated that the team’s tennis tops were designed by the mother of Dave St. Laurent. She also said that they had great fun playing on the team.

If more “history” information is learned over the next few months, I will try to publish it here. – Linda Engel

ROUND ROBINS

Our new January 2021 tennis season is here. We had the opening of Round Robin events with a gettogether on November 22nd. We did have a small turnout with just 12 players – 3 courts with 3 sets played on each.

We do not know if more players will take part in future events. We have 3 more Round Robins scheduled for this season. We did suspend the snacks and drinks we used to arrange for everyone; we have asked players to provide their own.

As more members return to Tara Woods, we will consider any changes that can be made which will be set in place and hope more players will participate in future matches.

The next Round Robin is set for January 24th. Watch the Tennis Bulletin Board for the sign-up sheet and any information we have to pass along. – Dale Holat, Round Robin Coordinator

Submitted by Linda Engel

She and her husband, Dave, were instrumental in gathering a group of people and decorating this past December. She has a lot of new ideas and is eager to implement them for the coming holiday season. We all look forward to what’s in store for December 2021.

Stay well. Please continue to follow safe procedures, which are designed for the safety of everyone around you, as well as yourself.

Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have questions regarding the parties and events.