The Redwood Shores Tennis Club’s tennis season is underway — at last! Rainy days are behind us (fingers crossed.) April Team Tennis was a sweet delight. It felt so good to get some exercise, see some friends, meet new members, and knock a fuzzy little ball around. Either we were ALL ‘that good’ or none of us were really trying that hard but all 4 teams ended up very close in scores and 2 of the teams tied for first place. The prizes were Girl Scout Cookies (Girl Scouts turned 100 this year!) There was some horse trading afterwards so that everyone could get their preferred flavor.

Due to a temporary brain lapse, we scheduled our May tournament for the Memorial Day Weekend.

We’d love socializing and good food — try us out. For more information, visit www.rstc.org

— Karen Brodersen, President of Redwood Shores Tennis Club

Although the rain and chill seems relentless these days, it isn’t too early to start thinking about tennis!  The pros at the Australian Open will inspire us soon with displays of power and skill on the hard courts down under.  If nothing else, the images of hot sun and reports of 80 degree weather will have us dreaming for the start of our own tennis season in the Bay Area.  In the meantime, what to do?  Well, some players are getting racquets restrung and new grips put on.  I’m testing some new racquets (you can get the latest racquets to try out for free from racquet shops such as Zalles in Foster City.  Working out in the gym is good for both your New Year’s Resolutions and your tennis game.  Don’t neglect your wrists – do some wrist flexion exercises to put more snap in your topspin!

The Redwood Shores Tennis Club is holding our holiday party in a few weeks and then we’ll be looking ahead to the new season.  We are currently working on dates for this year’s events.  Once we have them confirmed, we’ll post on www.rstc.org.  If you sign up for a membership now, you’ll get automated notifications of all events, including Membership Mania which will be our first event.  If you’re interested but not ready to become a member, keep an eye on our website, and the next issue of the Pilot, for more information.

Speaking of the Australian Open, USTA Norcal is offering a FREE promotional event for Entry Level Adult Tennis Players (aka beginners or 2.5 rated players) in association with the Grand Slam event.  All you need to do is bring your racquet.  It will be Jan 23 1-4pm at the Sequoia High School tennis courts in Redwood City.  The courts are accessed from James Street.  Contact Hilary Somers at 415-407-8452 for more information.

Happy New Year!

— Karen Brodersen, President, Redwood Shores Tennis Club

On September 11, the Redwood Shores Tennis Club will be hosting a junior clinic for kids of all ages with the help of the Silicon Valley Tennis Academy. If you have kids who are learning to play tennis, please consider signing up. We’d love to have lots of neighborhood kids take advantage of this opportunity to get a lesson and meet some friends. Find more information about the event or register at www.rstc.org .

RSTC completed our signature Team Tennis with a Twist event in June and we are just about to hold our July tournament, a Mixed Scramble format. By the time you read this article, we will be preparing for our August BBQ tournament. We hold a fun tournament every month with various formats. There’s Men’s and Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Changing Partners, and Fixed Partner formats. If you want to play doubles tennis without worrying about finding courts, partners, or opponents, our monthly tournaments make it easy!

Our socials are just as diverse and fun. The June theme was Skewer This! and everything came on a stick. Appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Strawberry Shortcake on a stick was perhaps the most unusual offering, and quite tasty. We would even have asked that the salads be on a stick (somehow) but there was a last minute change of who was bringing what.

This year, we are enjoying an active membership with nearly everyone coming to the tournaments and/or socials. Even though the tournaments are regularly filled to capacity, we have usually been able to accommodate those on the waitlist. In June, several members offered to play a half day in order to create an extra space for a new member (whom none had met) to get to play! This generosity of spirit is typical of the members of our club. It’s why I love being a part of RSTC.

For more information about the club, visit our website www.rstc.org . You can check out our News page for detailed recaps on our events!

RSTC’s May Men’s / Women’s Doubles Tournament were sold-out events. 12 men and 12 women played with changing partners in our Mexican Scramble. When the dust settled, Thomas Edwards and June Walker had taken King and Queen titles of their Courts while tournament organizers Cynthia Hunton and Dennis Murphy picked up Jacks. All four received Zalles Racquet Sports gift certificates. Mexican dishes abounded at the Casa George afterwards. Highlights were mucho margaritas by the pool.

Two weeks later, RSTC traveled to San Carlos to take on the San Carlos Tennis Club. Our team of 10 met our counterparts for a friendly contest. SCTC brought breakfast and balls and RSTC brought an expansive lunch. There was a LOT of tennis but ultimately RSTC won the day and brought home the virtual trophy. Yay team!

If you love to play tennis in a friendly atmosphere, RSTC is the place to be! Visit www.rstc.org  for more information on our club and upcoming events.

Special Announcement: RSTC is very excited to announce our first ever JUNIORS CLINIC. We are offering a clinic for kids of all ages and all skills level on September 11 from 10am – 12pm at Marlin Courts. You need not be an RSTC member. Sign up on www.rstc.org.

— Karen Brodersen

— President, Redwood Shores Tennis Club

Wow, what a beautiful weekend we were treated to for our March tournament! Perfect temperatures and no wind, even on the Quay Courts. There was no excuse not to play our best tennis!

Well, except March Team Tennis was the FIRST tournament of the season, so we had some rust to knock off. With only 18 players, everybody got LOTS of tennis to do just that.

Ivan Quinones, tournament organizer, put together 4 teams, captained by Karen Brodersen, Sundar Venkateswaran, Tom Salles, and John Jordan. In keeping with RSTC’s philosophy of fun in the sun, the captains cooperated in trying to make match-ups that would be competitive. The scores reflected Ivan and the captains’ efforts as 3 teams ended up with very close scores: 46, 44, and 43 games won. Sundar’s team won with 59. Congratulations to Sundar, Steve Hogan, Eric Nielsen, Don Smith, and Laurie Coleman. The prizes will be useful all year — a handy canvas bag (with dividers to hold 6 bottles of wine at another time) was stuffed with tennis essentials, including balls, a first aid kid, headband, etc.

In other news, RSTC was pleased to be able to make a donation of $1,000 to Redwood City’s Parks & Recreations Department, in appreciation of Redwood City’s long partnership with us in supporting tennis in Redwood Shores. Mayor Ira thanked us and wrote that our donation was appreciated in this difficult economy. The money will be used towards maintenance of the courts. Redwood City also recently resurfaced all of the courts.

Ready for warm weather now!

— Karen Brodersen, President of the Redwood Shores Tennis Club

Redwood Shores Tennis Club had a great turnout at Membership Mania. We had club members coming just to say hello after not having seen each other for awhile. Some played tennis all day with us. Some just socialized. We had quite a lot of new players inquiring about what the club is about. Almost every new player was able to play one or more sets with us and enjoy some tennis on a beautiful Sunday.

We had a nice breakfast laid out of colorful donuts, bagels and cream cheese, strawberries, bananas, and a nut-cranraisin mix. Starbucks coffee and orange juice were thirst quenchers.

In case you missed us at Membership Mania, what RSTC is about is tennis and fun! Our members enjoy friendly tennis by day and dinner parties by night. Most tournaments are changing partners, so you play with many different people. Members can enjoy the socials whether or not they played in the tournament during the day.

We are an all volunteer club so everyone pitches in to make the events fun. Many hands make light work, plus there is no better way to meet and get to know people! 6 volunteers contributed to Membership Mania’s refreshments and many people took turns heading the information table to answer questions.

Our first tournament of the year, Team Tennis, takes place Saturday, March 27. The next one is a Mixed Scramble in April. For more information on any of our events, a calendar of events, or to submit a membership application, visit www.rstc.org. If you have questions, email me at .

Happy Spring!

–Karen Brodersen, President, Redwood Shores Tennis Club

The Redwood Shores Tennis Club ended our tournament season with Team Tennis with a Twist.  I won’t tell you what the twist was, but none of the players had heard of it before, they LOVED it, and we will be doing it again next year.  Join us next year to learn the secret!

Winners of our first ever TTT Tournament were the Apples, with Annette Vernon (captain), Michael Garb, Tom Salles, Jim Schwartz, Judy Garb, and Laurie Merrill.  The Oranges came in 3 games behind.  Yes, we compared Apples to Oranges!  Prizes were, coincidentally, apples (cookie), apples (chocolate), and apples (tea).

The evening social was an Iron Chef Competition held in the remodeled kitchen of Irene and Jay Muzio.  Irene won Presentation for her pretty Caramel Apples, Barb Urrutia won Taste for an Apple Chutney Bruschetta, and Doug McCracken won Originality for Apple Burritos.  The secret ingredient was, of course, apples.

Thank you to the RSTC Board, officers, and volunteers for a fantastic year.  Our last remaining event is our holiday party to be held January 30 at Vivace’s.  We’ll hang up our aprons for a night to enjoy an elegant evening with a fantastic 4-course dinner, followed by a spirited white elephant gift exchange.

For more information about the Redwood Shores Tennis Club, please visit www.rstc.org.

Submitted by Karen Brodersen

During the deluge on Tuesday, I was glumly sure that the Redwood Shores Tennis Club’s October tournament would be rained out, although I took small hope in the fact that the weekend forecast was “mostly cloudy”. Who would have thought Saturday would be warm and sunny?? It was a perfect day for my favorite sport. We played Fixed Mixed Doubles Tennis. Several husband/wife teams played and we paired up unmatched players. A novel handicapping system made the day fun for all levels of players. Cynthia Hunton & Dennis Murphy won on Shorebird Courts. Janice Carter and Sundar Venkateswaran won on Quay Courts.

After a hearty day of tennis, we were all too tired to make it over the hill to Half Moon Bay so RSTC held our own Great Pumpkin Festival. Hostess Janice Carter decorated with carved pumpkins and the spicy scent of pumpkin candles filled the night air. We had a lovely view of the Bay Area lights as we dined on Caramelized Apple Salad, Bean Pot, a beefy pasta, and a pair of pumpkin-infused rices. Dessert consisted of Pumpkin Pilgrim Cake (tasted like a heavenly combination of pecan pie and pumpkin pie), Chocolate Pumpkin Pie, pumpkin cake decorated with fluffy white frosting and candy pumpkins, and much more. Many kids-at-heart were noshing on the candy corn.

Our last tournament of the season, a friendly Team Tennis, will be in November.

Submitted by the Redwood Shores Tennis Club