In This Issue:

Annual Turkey Shoot Tournament - Sunday, Nov. 23 Mullholland Interclub Tournament - Sunday, December 7th Time to Renew Your Membership SMTC Election Time Notes from General Meeting on 11-02-08 Member Notes Welcome New Members!

RECAP: Autumn Haze Friday Night Affair Message from the President "Candy & Cupcakes & Goblins...Oh, My!" - Halloween Recap "Double Your Skills & Double the Fun" Ladder Director Notes SAVE THE DATE - Morgan Run Resort Trip - Memorial Day 2009 SMTC Club Championships Recap

ANNUAL TURKEY SHOOT TOURNAMENT - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23

This popular tournament also helps the needy because we all bring a non-perishable food item which is donated to a local food bank. Again, this is a mixed-doubles round robin tournament where members are divided into two teams each session (hopefully) two sessions, morning and afternoon, and players compete as a team against the other team. It has been a tradition that each paid winning team member will receive a $10 gift certificate from a local grocery store to help with their turkey...or to donate the certificate to the food bank. Ron Elmer and Brana Hall, Social Director are also helping in this event.

Click here for the entry form.

This will end our tournament 'season' and the next tournament will be the Hello Tournament at the end of February 2009 to welcome new and returning members.

- Marguerite Jorgensen

Back To Top

MULHOLLAND TENNIS CLUB INTERCLUB - Sunday, December 7th, Reed Park

They are coming to our courts December 7th at 1:00 PM. Ron Elmer has made the arrangements and we will have two teams each of 3.5's, 4.0's and 4.5's for mixed doubles. (Ron is well aware that we would prefer to go there, however, they wanted to come here...so we can go there next year). The entry form is in this newsletter, so send this in early if you want to play. Ron is in charge of this inter-club, however I am helping him by collecting the entries for this event.

Click here for the entry form.

- Marguerite Jorgensen

Back To Top

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

It is that time of year again…please note the Board of Directors changed rules on the Membership Application so that anyone joining after October 1st is paid until December, 2009. The people who joined after July 1st and prior to October 1st, will still receive certificates worth $20 for tournaments, social events, and clinics.

Remember that for each new member you bring in, you receive a $5 certificate for use on a tournament or social night. If you bring in five new members, you will receive your dues free!

Click here for the renewal form.

PLEASE NOTE: Our bank notified me that checks should be made to Santa Monica Tennis Club, not just SMTC, as that is how the account is named, so please make out your checks accordingly.

- Marguerite Jorgensen

Back To Top

HELP - HELP - HELP - ELECTION TIME - SANTA MONICA TENNIS CLUB

We are in desperate need of more directors (Membership, Tournament and Trip Director). We do have several people who have expressed some thought of becoming directors, but we need more support. It is not up to just a few people to steer a club of almost two hundred members. We also need some one to help with the newsletter…I am sure you are all tired of hearing from me about everything!! Our by-laws are antiquated and need to be modified and brought up to date…changes will have to be approved by 60% of the membership…so you will have your say about the changes.

The following director's terms are expiring: Marguerite Jorgensen, President; Eric Rabinowitz, Secretary; and Bruce Janger, Ladder Director.

Hold over directors are: Bruce Schelden, Treasurer; Ron Elmer, Interclub Director; and Brana Hall, Social Director.

- Marguerite Jorgensen

Back To Top

NOTES FROM GENERAL MEETING - SMTC 11-02-08

The actual minutes were recorded by Secretary Eric Rabinowitz, however I would like to add my personal comments. Members: Elsa Atayan, Lou Bock, Jim Castagnola, Keith Donahue and Harris Levey attended the meeting.

Comments were mostly made by Harris Levey requesting a condensed version of the newsletter be mailed out to SMTC members as various members had stated to Mr. Levey they did not know about events as: (a) they read the newsletter on the web and then forgot about events that were happening or (b) they did not bother to read the web page version. A discussion was held about this as some of the board members felt that if the members did not know about the events, it was also that they did not read the email blasts that were sent out prior to each event. A hard copy of the newsletter is mailed to the twelve people who cannot download the newsletter or do not own a computer, courtesy of Marguerite...SMTC pays the postage only…not the paper or the cost of the photocopying, much less the time that it takes her to do the work.

The SMTC is not the only club that has dispensed with mailing out hard copies of their newsletter, about five other clubs were mentioned that do not do this mailing. In this time of conserving energy, materials, etc. each item that we do not print out is a saving to the environment...besides the people that do the actual work.

When the newsletter used to be mailed out, the Membership Director made the labels, a person was hired to stuff the envelopes, affix the stamps and then take the stuffed envelopes to the post office. Time was also involved in preparing the newsletter, sending the file to the printer and then waiting for the printer to call the person involved with the mailing to pick up the completed copies. My own personal opinion is that we are going back to the dark ages to accommodate a few people who usually do not enter events anyway. It was agreed by the majority of the board that the cost of doing the mailing would be investigated prior to any change being made. Mr. Levey also suggested that we go to a two-tier membership of rating the members who play…say the 3.5's and below and the 4.0's and up. President Jorgensen reminded Mr. Levey that all members pay the same dues and have equal rights.

It was nice that five people took the time to come to the meeting.

I would appreciate emails to: Marg10s@earthlink.net regarding your thoughts on this matter (if you bother to read the newsletter).

Thanks much.

- Marguerite Jorgensen, President

Back To Top

MEMBER NOTES

The popular and talented player, Anna Zohn, sent this note earlier this month:

Dear Marguerite, thought I would drop you a quick line to say Hello and that I shall be coming to visit LA in January for a month. I am coming to see my children so naturally will be coming to Santa Monica Tennis Club to see you all. Please let everyone know that I cannot wait to get on the tennis courts again and give them all my warm wishes and I look forward to seeing you and everybody in January. Take care, Best regards Anna

We have had membership renewals from people who have been members for a couple of years (good to have them back) and Joan Matis wrote:

Thanks for your Welcome note, Marguerite, look forward to playing with SMTC again. Joan Matis

Another relatively new member, Hiroko Yamaji, wrote:

Hi Marguerite,
I would like to join this Friday! Halloween night of this year, I'll enjoy tennis with SMTC people.
Thank you!
Hiroko Yamaji

Former member Harry Desponde sent the following message:

hope you remember me - i used to be a member at smtc.....these days i am between india and the us working on projects....just remembered you and all the good sundays i had at smtc and wanted to say hi to you especially and everyone else at the club...

best wishes,
harry
Harsha Deshpande Esq.

P. S. My heartfelt thanks to member Carole Jablon-Bernardi who used her expertise to make several articles more readable and fun! Thanks a million.

Marie Lafayette who teaches tennis to mentally challenged children in South Central LA desperately needs used/new tennis balls. She called and she had three tennis balls for a class of twelve students. Marguerite managed to 'scrounge' up about twenty or more, but please bring used balls/equipment to Reed Park on November 9th as her session is only two weeks this time.

- Marguerite

Back To Top

Welcome New Members

• Brys, Laura  310-820-0260  3.5
• Atayan, Elsa  818-259-5094  3.5
• Cairns, Sarah  310-261-0434  4.5
• Carey, Nicola  415-374-9564  3.0
• Goodman, Carola  603-769-7057  3.5
• Herr*, Sam  661-645-8386  3.5
• Krakow*, Marvin  310-229-0900  4.0
• La Zar*, Nancy  310-699-8957  3.5
• Matis*, Joan  310-980-5971  4.0
• Sass, Lara  949-355-6551  4.0
• Sparno, Mike - new phone 310-430-5800

*Returning members from two/three years ago - Welcome back

Back To Top

RECAP: Autumn Haze Friday Night, September 19th

We struggled along with this one without our good support of David Ullum; however we did finally have twenty-four people...most of who lasted until the end. It is a shame when one person decides to leave and causes three other people to not finish the matches. Shirley McClaine was the top lady with 33 games and Ron Elmer was the top male winner with the same score oddly enough.

Thanks to everyone that played.

- Marguerite

Back To Top

Message from the President

SMTC has had a very busy year this year, what with the Friday night socials, our usual annual tournaments, plus the 80th Gala, the inter-clubs events, the doubles clinic and the Rally for the Cure charity tournament. The Board of Directors, including me, thinks we have been asking for more participation than the general members are willing to give. We currently have 187 members, 112 males and 75 females, including the seven new members that signed up after October 1st, and trying to get twenty-four people to play on Friday nights or thirty-two or forty people for a tournament is extremely difficult! We had eighty-three new members, including returning former members, a lot of which found us through the website.

The point I am trying to make is that the new members are more agreeable about playing in events than the older members of the club have become more blasé about events and just want to play on Sunday. I have made the remark that my knees are worn out from begging people to participate...so we need to change our methods…or change our events. Your comments would be more than welcome at my email address: Marg10s@earthlink.net.

- Marguerite Jorgensen, President

Back To Top

"Candy & Cupcakes & Goblins … Oh, My!"

Folk lore says that Halloween was originally brought to America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance, and tell fortunes. In the true spirit of gathering the clan for this haunting annual event, 24 brave souls went forth into the night not to trick or treat and ward off zombies … but instead to play mixed doubles on a sugar rush!

Venturing out on Halloween may have sounded too spooky for some, but thanks to friends Barbara Klein, (Kathy Reilly's friend), Audrey Cohen, Rosemary Jonas and Tom Brown (Marguerite's friends) and Reed Park staff recommendation, Mark Costello, we were able to substitute for SMTC members we ran short on. It was great welcoming back a returning member, Steve Decker; as well as member, Joe Thigpen, who had played with us in the Hello Tournament (where he tore his Achilles tendon). From 7-10 PM the play was brisk and steamy considering the temps were unusually balmy and humid for late October. People seemed to be shedding their makeshift costumes after each round!

Speaking of costumes . . . a few of the men were courageous enough to revisit their childhood dress up days (Bob Shubert with a wolf nose and Joe Hanania with a middle eastern head dress), but the women took it far more serious. Carrie Gold (Witch) won first prize and Shirley McClaine came in second (French maid). Going prize-less but hardly unnoticeable was our fearless leader, Marguerite, wearing a Holey Sheet and skeletal mask.

The format of 5 rounds (8 games with second deuce sudden death) earned Carrie Gold and Kathy Reilly the most points on the women's side with 28 games a piece. The men were led by Bob Shubert and Luc de Shepper who each collected 30 games a piece. The maximum anyone could have earned was 40 games so you could safely say the men scared off the opposition like a vampire on the prowl!

Who knows if it was the holiday spirit in the air, or the fact that we were all sugar crazed from cupcakes and candy...but more than one person commented that it was the one of the friendliest Friday night events we've had in a long time. No sudden departures … no loud discussions...no complaints about bad calls...and no blood spilled! Afterwards, some night owls braved El Chollo's for a celebratory round.

Driving home, costumed folks of all ages were still strolling the streets seemingly lost in the frivolity of playing dress up. The spirit must have been infectious that night at Reed Park, and perhaps a good reminder that we should practice that light hearted behavior more than once a year. Boo!

- Marguerite Jorgensen, President

Back To Top

"Double Your Skills & Double the Fun"

Many of us are members of SMTC because of the social aspect of the club, the ability to network games through our roster, and participate in doubles play on Sunday's at Reed Park. We may not have a staff of pros available to us on a regular basis but on September 27th we offered our first DOUBLES STRATEGY CLINIC in 5 years and it was a great success for those who participated.

Morning and afternoon sessions were offered (9AM-11AM and 11AM-2PM) with availability for 16 enrollments each session. We had 10 in the morning group and 12 in the afternoon so space was still available for last minute drop-ins. Our Pros for the day, Kris Jordan and his associate Josh Wiseman, came to us courtesy of Mountain Gate Club. Kris is the Activities Director at Mountain Gate and originally comes to L.A. from Hawaii. He's been here for 6 years now, 5 of which he's taught at Mountain Gate. These experts were kind enough to give up some of their standing sessions on a Saturday to come hone our skills at Reed Park.

From the comments that came in most of you felt their drills sharpened several established skills and were crucial reminders of what to avoid, and what to go after. One of the surprises in the clinic was introduction of the "Australian Doubles" method. For those who aren't familiar with it, most players think Australian Doubles is just a weird lineup that is supposed to somehow bother your opponents so that the receiver misses the return of serve. The real purpose of this type of play is to set up the opposition switched so that you can easily poach service return. It's also an excellent serve-and-volley formation for teams that want to play serve-and-volley but are having little success from the normal up-and-back formation.

The best reward from a clinic of this type is to walk away satisfied and primed to play better. Terry Bernardi, an avid attendee at Reed Park on Sunday's, participated and walked away pretty stoked at what he learned. "The best instruction on playing the game (strategy & tactics) opens your eyes to a new dimension of the game that we sometimes forget. It's a vision that that not only helps you get the most out of your play so that you win more...but one that also enriches your playing experience and makes it much more interesting. It enables you to enjoy tennis on a whole new level.

Besides the benefits experienced on the court and in the play, there were additional benefits to our members in a savings that is well worth mentioning. The fee for SMTC members to attend this 2-hour clinic was $10/person. If you realize that a 1 ½ hour clinic at Mountain Gate is $30+ per session, and Privates are anywhere between $85-$125/hour...this is an incredible deal. We paid our Pros $300 each for their 4 hour commitment, and had court costs (2 courts for 4 hours). Besides what was collected ($220) from those who signed up the balance was paid for with our SMTC Grant money. The goal is to solicit more Pros (from other clubs and city courts) to provide the same sort of clinics so we can get them on the calendar and rustle up even more interest.

Taking advantage of this kind of savings is the only way some players can get to the level they desire, especially when you hear Kris' opinion of how frequent he recommends instruction. "Clinics are a great opportunity to hit plenty of balls, get a good workout, learn general skills about the game and practice what you've already been taught. A good 'diet' for a tennis player who wants to improve is one clinic (1 ½ hours) and one private lesson (1 hour), preferably once a week or at least twice a month."

We welcome any suggestions and referrals from any of our members that can help build on this prospect of continuing these clinics. If you know of any Pros, don't hesitate to let us know … and if you're interested in contacting Kris Jordan at Mountain Gate you can reach him at (310) 963-9095. You may also want to pay closer attention when you're on the courts on Sunday's at Reed Park. If your opponent seems to have raised his/her quality of play … you may just discover it was the best $10 they ever spent!

Back To Top

NOTES FROM THE LADDER DIRECTOR

Click here for the ladders page.

Back To Top

SAVE THE DATE - Morgan Run Resort Trip - Memorial Day 2009

As we speak (read) we do not have a Trip Director, however, Gwendolyn Coleman made arrangements for two trips before she resigned and one of them has been finalized. We are going back to the remodeled popular Morgan Run Resort next year on Memorial Day weekend…the deposit has been made, so please enter this date in your calendar for May 23 through 25th, 2009!!

- Marguerite

Back To Top

SANTA MONICA TENNIS CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

Per Ron Elmer, Co-Tournament Director, everything went fine (oh, well, a few problems). My impressions were slightly different. However, despite a slight rain delay, the first day and heavy winds causing debris on the courts, the second day, we finished all of the classes in a more or less timely fashion. We made adjustments to accommodate most people's schedules...like moving the 4.5's men's doubles and the 4.5 mixed doubles to the last weekend instead of the first weekend…the biggest draw (audience participation) is usually the 4.5 men's singles, was played the first weekend. The attendance at this event was very slight! That does not mean they were not close matches...ask Dr. Luc and Raul about their 14-12 tiebreaker.

On to the results...we had 47 participants out of 182 members, which is 26% of the membership - so this event does not seem to be very popular any more. The new board next year will have to decide what they want to do. The big winners were:

• 3.5 Mixed Doubles of five teams:
  Ron/Brana Hall - First
  Elsa Atayan/Keith Donahue - Second
  
  
• 3.5/4.0 Ladies Doubles of four teams:
  Audree Clarke/Claudia Tossolini - First
  
  
• 4.0 Men's Singles - six entries:
  André Charvet - First
  Bruce Janger - Second
  
  
• 4.0 Mixed Doubles of six teams:
  Carol Katz/Ron Elmer - First
  Audree Clark/David Morton - Second
  
  
• 4.5 Men's Singles - four entries:
  Raul Hernandez - First
  
  
• 4.5 Men's Doubles of six teams:
  Ron Elmer/Fitzroy Samoth - First
  Rus Braunstein/Jim Dekel - Second
  
  
• 4.5 Mixed Doubles of six teams:
  Cassie Fisbeck/Mike Schmidt - First
  Claudia Tossolini/Bob McGuire - Second.

Winners received trophies of glass tennis balls on a mahogany base and second place winners of events with more than four entries, received an inscribed tennis key ring.

Thanks to Jim Castagnola and Eric Rabinowitz for helping with the events and the sweepers/court dryers for all of their efforts! Hope everyone who participated enjoyed their tennis.

Now, onto the good part…we had a great party at Katherine Spetner's house…lots of good food including appetizers, a variety of various liquids (which most seem to enjoy) and scrumptious desserts. Brana Hall came right from the plane to help and Terry Bernardi was a great bartender...at least it was my impression that the forty people there had a really good time.

- Marguerite Jorgensen

Back To Top