There is occasional confusion about the two entities – the Cupertino Sports Center (CSC) and the Cupertino Tennis Club (CTC). Why are there two and why you should join both if you play tennis.
Like other cities, Cupertino provides recreational facilities for its residents. The Sports Center is one such facility and although tennis courts are a big part, it is not just about tennis. There is also the Teen Center, handball, racquetball, table tennis, workout equipment, classes, etc. The CSC is the facility and the city allows the Club to use the facility for USTA matches and other Club activities that promote tennis in the community.
The Cupertino Tennis Club organizes club activities, interclubs and teams that participate in USTA Leagues. The club is run by a board of directors and has a constitution and bylaws.
In summary, if you want to play tennis at the CSC you must be a Sports Center passholder. If you want to participate in CTC activities you must be a member of the Tennis Club. And if you want to play tennis on a Club-sponsored USTA team at the Sports Center you must belong to the CTC and also be an annual passholder of the CSC. The annual CSC membership is a requirement from the city of Cupertino.
The recent growth in club membership and number of league teams is approaching the limit of court availability during some league seasons. This “suddenly” came to our attention when 22 captains registered teams for the 2009 Adult season. The lighting upgrade is also reducing the number of courts at this time.
Each league will have its own form and period in which to use it. Each sign-up period will be announced by email and on the website.
To do the best job of scheduling, we need the most up-to-date information possible. Lots of things can happen during a year: Vacation plans can change, jobs can change, injuries happen (suddenly), ratings get changed, personal interests can change, etc.
Of course! The process is not meant to exclude anyone, but your question highlights the reason why everyone needs to use the form: A small number of people can be added to teams if necessary, but if a lot of people ignore the process, it could lead to there not being enough teams registered for everyone to play on a team of reasonable size.
Oh, no. That would only happen in the small number of cases where a new member wanted to play but didn’t know anyone.
The intent is to determine how many teams we need to support the level of interest expressed by the members. Some captains know they already have full rosters before the season starts, and others are looking to fill open spots. Hopefully, we can get the uncommitted players in touch with the captains who need people. Or we can form new teams of players who are not committed to a particular team.
Not necessarily. We really have no way to keep players from registering on teams once the team has been registered, but we do feel obligated to help find spots for all of our members to play somewhere.
That is a possibility. The city effectively limits the number of teams we can field for USTA by some of their policies. The growth in membership puts us in jeopardy of exceeding those limits. These procedures are intended to maximize the number of members who get an opportunity to play USTA while not exceeding the court usage capacity.
The “level” on the form refers to the League combined level of play for each doubles partnership. For example, players in the 7.0 league can combine as two 3.5 players, or a 3.0 player and a 4.0 player. (All of the Norcal leagues are “combined” leagues except Adult, Senior, and Super Senior 65.)
To ask a question or voice a concern, please email the club USTA Coordinator.