PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Let’s Keep Our Matches Fun
W
ith ALTA’s winter league season winding
interesting to me how the saying of “what goes around,
down, we are all looking forward to the
comes around” is applied so often before, during, and after
spring ALTA season and better tennis
tennis matches. Tennis is a fun game. There is nothing better
weather. ALTA has such a great team
than a great tennis match, laughing, having fun, and great
of knowledgeable volunteers who help captains and players
points. A fun match makes it a lot easier to lose as well!
resolve issues and are available to answer questions. ALTA’s
ALTA volunteers love to hear the stories of good
coordinators, overall coordinators, and league vice presidents
sportsmanship; a match where a player(s) was lost or caught
want to make your season enjoyable and fun. Please let your
in traffic and arrived past the 20-minute default time, and
coordinator know if you have questions or need any guidance
the opponents play the match regardless of the late start.
with a rule or an issue, as they are there to help you.
Who wants to “win” (not really) a match by taking a default?
We all want a fun, competitive season, where we meet
ALTA, with 70,000+ members, must follow the rules in place,
new acquaintances and leave the courts with a positive
or there would be chaos. There have been many times the
attitude and the ability to tackle the rest of the day. There
enforcement of the rule(s) has been a frustration to many
is nothing worse than a bad day at the courts because of a
a volunteer. If a player’s intentions revolve around good
player’s display of bad sportsmanship. It seems to ruin our
sportsmanship, matches will not become contentious, and
day and maybe the next day, too! Bad line calls, whether
points will be won on the court (not on paper).
intentional or not, are frustrating and somewhat unavoidable
Ask your new neighbors to join your team. What a great
as ALTA matches are not officiated. However, we must pay
way to meet new friends, to socialize while exercising and
attention to our own responses to these situations so as not
having fun! So, here’s to a fun spring tennis season with great
to elevate the problems. With issues such as rain delays, lets,
competition, great friends, new friends, refreshments, and
rule interpretations, bad line calls, and traffic, we all need to
most of all — great ALTA tennis!
remember that these issues also could happen to any of us. One of my own personal “rules” I try to always remember is:
Sandy Depa, 2020 ALTA President
How would I want to be treated? I know that several of us have
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NETNEWS MARCH/APRIL 2020
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experienced unpleasantness on the court, and it’s always
