By Kind Permission of the Rossmoor Pickleball Club ... [RTC emphasis]
Our RPC Board of Directors is still hearing rumors regarding singles vs. doubles pickleball restrictions. This week I couldn’t stand it anymore and decided to go to the source to confirm the facts.
On Monday, June 22, I emailed County Supervisor Candace Andersen asking for confirmation of County pickleball restrictions. On Tuesday, her office called me. They recommended that I call the County Covid-19 hotline, (844) 729-8410, which I did.
I was very impressed. The woman I spoke with was well versed on the County’s pickleball and tennis restrictions. She immediately knew the clause # in the public order where they were referenced.
She confirmed that the public order (dated 4-29-20) that originally opened tennis and pickleball courts with restrictions is still in effect. She also confirmed the following:
The County public order permits singles only. As long as the County requires social distancing, singles will remain the restriction.
Doubles can be played only when partners are from the same household.
Clubs and private communities, like Rossmoor, can institute rules that are more strict than the County restrictions. Here at Rossmoor, GRF is stipulating singles only. No doubles.
A city, club or community cannot institute a rule that is more lenient than the County restriction. For instance, a city cannot allow doubles across the board at this time.
The County hotline employee has received many inquiries about restrictions for pickleball and tennis. She was well aware of the lack of enforcement at municipal Rutgear (Walnut Creek) and Willow Pass (Concord) courts. She was not aware that some, if not most people were playing doubles at those parks when they were not members of the same household, thus not complying with the County public order.
Please see the links for the Walnut Creek and Concord pickleball restrictions at the end of this email.
So what caused the disconnect and how did the rumors get started? Who knows. I think part of the problem is there was no specific reference to pickleball or tennis in the public order that ‘opened things up’ (dated 6-5-20) or in the County’s Nixle messages. People probably assumed that the openings applied to pickleball, but they did not. Also the CCC Openings at a Glance chart on the County website shows ‘Open’ across the board. People might have assumed ‘open’ meant pickleball went back to normal, but again, it did not.
I asked the County hotline employee to consider changing two things. She said she would pass the ideas to management and the County Supervisors since the topic has received so much attention:
Have future County public orders, summaries, and Nixle announcements reiterate the pickleball/tennis rules since people are making incorrect assumptions. (The County needs to keep the restriction in the public eye.)
Review and consider altering the County website’s Openings at a Glance chart listing all the activities, because the all-open line for tennis/pickleball is misleading.
The County's confirmation doesn't change anything for RPC, but at least we have the facts that we can relay to you. Please spread the word.
For your reference, I’ve included a few links below. As a resident of CCC, I recommend you read the public orders as they are issued, but be forewarned, reading them is like reading IRS documentation! (Okay, maybe not that bad…)
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we go through this difficult time. Please keep things in perspective and realize that we are very fortunate that our courts are open and we can play pickleball. That’s a good thing.
An excited group of tennis fans showed up at the Buckeye courts May 5 after a seven-week hiatus due to the coronavirus restrictions. Players are required to follow the United States Tennis Association (USTA) COVID-19 Guidelines, as well as Contra Costa County and Rossmoor rules. There is no seating available at the courts but players may bring personal chairs for their own use only. Face masks must be worn outside the courts. Hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed on every court. Each player brings their own marked tennis balls and only their own balls are touched by hand. Social distancing rules must be observed at all times. Marian “Cinnamon” Renvall was part of the early crowd and expressed her thanks to the Rossmoor Tennis Club board, who merged and implemented all the rules, and to the players for following the new guidelines. The weather May 5 was perfect and everyone agreed it was great to be putting on tennis skirts and shorts, being outdoors, and having fun on the courts. Pictured are Jerry Quinlan (left), Facilities Director and Dave Blanchard, President modelling best practices and proper social distancing.
Recently, Rossmoor Tennis Club (RTC) was asked to remove various tournament plaques and service awards from Dollar Clubhouse.
The plaques date back to 1975 and, seeing all the names and dates, started a discussion about who among current and retired club members might be the most senior.
Club President Dave Blanchard sent a note to current club members and there was a flood of responses from members stating when they joined, who might have more “seniority” and relating wonderful tales of club history and activities.
Among the many surprises was S.Y. Huang, who is still living in Rossmoor. He joined the club in 1987, over 30 years ago. He says he enjoyed hearing his female tennis friendscall him “Sigh.”
Marie Hoge, a club member since 1993, has roots dating back to the club’s beginning in 1965. In 1995 she married Charley Hoge, who formed the club in 1965, and was its first president. Hoge fought to get the first tennis courts built in Rossmoor, in part by noting that the Rossmoor developer’s advertising materials showed courts that didn’t exist.
Marcia Perry, another early club member, is still a Rossmoor resident. There is a plaque that shows Perry winning a tournament, partnered with Art Kaiser, almost 30 years ago. Perry has been a very active member over the years playing, coaching and most recently being the MC for holiday tennis tournaments.
Many members who are still playing joined about 20 years ago. Among them are Joe Potozkin, Al Schwartz and MaryKay McClure.Potozkin continues to play and is the most consistent spectator at men’s team matches. Schwartz is like a walking history narrator for club activity in the last 20 years and remembers when the club sponsored two USTA teams.
McClure, who joined the club in 1999, is another great historian and has contributed much to the club, organizing social events, serving on the board and playing on the team that won the Northern Cal USTA Senior Women’s championship in Alameda in 2010.
Kerin Baker, another active member, kept scrapbooks with photos and history of members going back to the ’70s. These can now be seen on the club’s website at www.rossmoortennis.com.
She is justly proud of it.
Blanchard’s simple question revealed that RTC certainly has a long rich history, not onlyof tennis but picnics, dinners, dances and fun dynamic people. Much of it is captured on the website under the “About” tab.
Sadly we lost one of those dynamic people on April 1 when Barbara Schwartz passed away unexpectedly. Schwartzserved on the club’s board as treasurer for the past nine years. She played on the Buckeyes’ women’s team for many years and helped set up lunches for their tournaments for the past several years. She had many friends in the club and will be greatly missed.
Singles matches only. Limit to 60 minutes for match. No rotations, no substitutions, only two people can move onto a court during the hour. No doubles,
Those waiting for court time must stand a minimum of 6’ apart. No use of benches or bleachers.
[Can bring your own chair provided you do not share it and you remove it after play]
No gatherings before or after matches.
No sharing of club or personal equipment.
Players must bring two set of differently numbered balls to play. Each player will only touch, with their hand, their own “individually labeled/numbered” tennis balls. If players’ balls can’t be easily distinguished from each other, they must leave the court
No tournament play, league play, or group instruction.
No handshakes or contact.
BBQ area will remain closed. It is a Picnic area under GRF rules.
RTC rule:Gate latches will be wired open.Gates to courts are to be opened onlywith purified hands, racquets or feet.
RTC rule:The Ball Machine may not be used by anyone at any time.
Use of Golden Rain Facilities is subject to City, County, and State Health Code directives. Conditions of use may change without notice. Abuse of these rules will jeopardize the use of this facility for all Residents.
All players are expected to politely caution anyone observed ignoring these rules. If a player reacts to a caution impolitely or continues to ignores the rules he/she should be reported to an RTC board member for board consideration and resolution.
Every year the club recognizes two individual for their contributions over the years to the Club. These people went above and beyond to make the Club what it is today. Thanks so much!
Sunday, March 15 (3:30 p.m.):The GRF suspended all remaining services Sunday after Gov. Gavin Newsom asked all seniors 65-years and older and those with chronic conditions to isolate themselves at home until further notice because of the rise in coronavirus cases in the state.
As of Sunday afternoon, there were 335 people infected in California and six deaths.
The GRF has closed all facilities, including the golf courses, Fitness Center, pools, pickleball and tennis courts, dog park and bocce ball courts. Bus service has been suspended. Office buildings will be closed Monday, but staff will be available by phone (see facility closures list for phone numbers).
With the consensus of your board members I am cancelling our General meeting which was scheduled for next Monday 16 March. We feel that, even though nobody in Rossmoor has yet tested positive for the Corona virus, it would be unnecessarily risky to convene a crowd.
On February 23 the BALL match between the Rossmoor Buckeyes and the El Cerrito Club was as close as the scores indicate with both teams playing excellent tennis and battling hard. It was a strange morning of tennis with several of the scores looking like mirror images of each other and ending in a tie. In Line one, Carol Pillsbury and Terry Quinlan battled valiantly but lost 4 - 6, 2 - 6. Line two was very hard-fought and happily ended with Eileen Plotkin and Gery Yearout winning in the 10- point tiebreaker after splitting sets. In Line three, Anna George and Dorothy Watkin had a huge win which mirrored the scores in Line 1. They won 6 - 4, 6 - 2. In Line four, Nelly Sawczuk and Joan Gardner lost in the 10-point tiebreaker after splitting sets 4 - 6, 7 - 5. Team captain Barbara Blum and the team thank Barbara Schwartz for arranging the refreshments and expressed appreciation for the strong play on both sides of the net.
