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COAB Tennis Court Usage
Appeal from Community Tennis Players/Students
November 22, 2021
Background.
During the pandemic, the popularity of tennis has grown and the
number of people in our community playing recreational tennis, as
well as the number engaging in instruction, has increased. Continued
affordable access to parks and recreation in our community is vital to
the health of our community and part of what makes this city so
great.
Recently we've become aware the Recreation Department has been
receiving complaints regarding the use of the six (6) tennis courts at
Russell Park and one (1) court at Bull Park, resulting in the passage
of new court rules.
We feel that input from players and students on our town courts
should be considered before any new rules are implemented. Included
below are the solutions we propose to make the courts accessible to
those at all levels of the game. We believe this to be a win-win for
both the city of Atlantic Beach and players.
Current Issues and Opportunities
1. There have been a number of negative interactions and
exchanges on the courts. A common reason is the flyaway balls
from (often beginner level) lessons/clinics entering adjacent
courts. Experienced players can Another is when a walk-up does
not want to wait for a court, and tries to claim a court.
2. The current permit fee to reserve a court is relatively high at $25
per hour, discouraging players from getting permits. (The
proposed fee ($25+tax for 90 minutes) is better, but still a
significant deterrent). Most residents are either unaware of the
current permit process or ignore it.
3. The new court rules, if enforced, increases the amount of time
that courts are not in use and decreases the number of people
utilizing the courts, overall.
4. Current lessons/clinics are a great value add to our community.
These have developed organically with little to no expense or
time required by the city. Children and adults taking up the
sport for the firstkime have the chance to develop a lifelong love
of the game. This ensures continued use of the courts.
Proposed Tennis Court Rules
Ways to mitigate issues (other than building more tennis courts)
1. Install Court Dividers: Traveling balls are a nuisance and a
safety hazard. Install a tennis divider between the corners of the
courts to reduce the number of flyaway balls. Cost of materials
is expected to cost less than $1,000 to $4,000. Example:
https://floridanetcompany.com/collections/tennis-
net/products/tennis-court-divider-curtain-pro These would be
between three dividers in total between courts 1 and 2, 3 and 4,
5 and 6.
2. Revise permit process for tennis courts
a. Implement a yearly $1000 permit fee for any pro utilizing
courts (4,5 & 6 in JR and Bull Park) for coaching purposes.
Single-use permits are ineffective, under-utilized and time
consuming on the city.
b. Amend the current single-use permit fee to 90 minutes for a
cost of$25 to be utilized on courts 1, 2 or 3 in JR (or
eliminate all-together since it is rarely utilized and time
consuming for the city to implement)
c. If permits are not procured than courts are on first-come
first-serve basis.
3. Implement coaching rules that increase access to teaching
for those of all ages and work schedules.
a. Remove peak hours limits on all courts. 9 to 5 are the
traditional work hours, so there are typically fewer players
during time. The morning change allows parents to get
instruction after dropping kids off at school, and the
afternoon change allows kids to get instruction after school
school gets out at 3pm) and before dinner - a very limited
time window. A review of current court usage would note
very minimal court usage early mornings and between 3-
5pm.
b. Allow instruction at Bull park. This court is ideal for
teaching beginners and children. Bull Park is ideal for
instruction of parents and kids — no flyaway balls because it
is one court, and there is an adjacent playground.
c. Clearly define court use limit to 60 minutes when others
are waiting
i. Install a white board/chalkboard at Bull Park to show
start time of current user so anyone interested in courts
knows clearly what time court is available for use.
d. AB Recreation to host mandatory coaches meeting for
all pros to review rules and courteous conduct
guidelines
Closing
We hope that the needs of a few (making vocal complaints) does not
unduly outweigh the needs of the many. Tennis instruction includes
private, semi-private, and group lessons with up to 8 students. We are
concerned that the negativity on the tennis courts, and the court usage
rules would ultimately lead to the following:
1) Students will play less, seek instruction away from their
community, or stop altogether.
2) Students will opt to play singles or doubles instead of a group
clinic, which would add to the congestion of courts.
We feel that the solutions we propose would help the city achieve the
following objectives:
Support fair, equitable, and safe use of the courts
Maximize court usage (i.e., amount of time in use & the # of
people utilizing courts)
Reduce negative interactions and altercations on court