Improved Paddle Tennis Courts Draw New Members

Paddle tennis teams at Colony Pool & Tennis Club have grown to over 50 participating members for the 2012-13 season, up from 33 in the 2011-12 season.

As well as participation growth, enrollment also expanded to include more women and children this year, and membership is open to residents of the Chathams, Florham Park, Summit, Madison, Berkeley Heights, New Providence and other surrounding municipalities.

Chatham Township Committee Member Kathy Abbott and Paddle Subcommittee Chair George Foot credited the rise in enrollment to the newly renovated paddle courts, which were renovated with $12,790 allocated to the courts by the township committee.

Improvements to the courts include a complete resurfacing of the grounds and repair and strengthening of the wire screens along the sides.

According to Foot, “The newly resurfaced courts have drawn appreciative comments from all of the players with whom I have spoken, and the newly repaired and tightened screens are a huge improvement as well.”

Foot also said the Chatham Township Department of Public Works made improvements to the light fixtures, tubes and ballasts, and restored power to the courts quickly after the renovations were completed.

The men’s team is playing league games in the New Jersey Men’s Paddle Tennis Association (NJMPTA). Weeknight games are drawing up to 10 men per night, Abbott said, and league play is expected for the women's team next year.

The men’s paddle group plays weeknights and Saturday mornings, and the women’s group generally plays weekdays. Both teams play from October through March, including fall and winter competitive league matches.

On top of additional team members, there are also 16 women who enrolled into a five-session instructional clinic taught by Alexis Davies, the softball coach from Chatham High School.