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http://tennisclub.gsfc.nasa.gov/
This page was last updated on 15 September 2009
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers

tennisball Goddard Tennis Club tennisball

goddard racket The Goddard Tennis Club (GTC) is built and maintained by its members, who work at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. The Goddard Tennis Club is one of the many social clubs sponsored by the Goddard Employees Welfare Association (GEWA).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

members Goddard Tennis Club Membership for 2009PDF icon

All badge-carrying employees of GSFC (contractors, civil servants and retirees) and their immediate family members are eligable to join the Goddard Tennis Club. Members may bring one guest (if the guest is eligable to enter a federal site). See the Club flyer for a summary.

In 2003, annual dues dropped to $0 for basic membership (sponsored by GEWA, to cover the annual construction and maintenance costs):
- $0 basic membership (required for liability purposes)
- $10 per family member (optional)
- $20 per reservation* right (optional, upper limit of 2)
- $15 per guest card (optional, limit 1)
- $15 per ball machine privilige/key (optional)

* Six of the ten courts can be reserved in advance for 1.5 hours of play.
In 2006, the requirement for ladder reservations was dropped, making ladder membership free.

wimbledon man Where to get GTC membership applications wimbledon woman
Fill out the paper form and snail-mail it to Mike Powers at GSFC Code 567.
Or, hand-carry it to Mike Powers in building 19, room S-34.

claycourts Goddard Tennis Facility (click to visit)

GTC has 8 Har-Tru and 2 lighted hard courts in a sheltered area. Click on the courts pictured above to get a tour, plus a map and directions.

This facility is managed by our elected officials:
- President: Maria Lecha, Code 567, 301-286-9276, Maria.C.Lecha@nasa.gov
- Vice-pres: Alex Koeppl, ATSC, 410-964-7487, Koeppls@mindspring.com
- Treasurer: Mike Powers, Code 567, 301-286-4820, Michael.K.Powers@nasa.gov
- Secretary: vacant

Other jobs are carried out by volunteers:
- Ladder, grounds, and web: Dennis Chesters, Code 613.1, 301-614-6325, Dennis.Chesters@nasa.gov
- Tournaments: Andy Negri, UMd/ESSIC, 301-405-5384, ANegri@essic.umd.edu
- Sprinklers: Dan Mandl, Code 584, 301-286-4323, Daniel.J.Mandl@nasa.gov

tennis.ladder GTC Ladder (click for standings)

The GTC ladder season opens on April 15th and ends October 31st, inclusive. Traditionally, anyone can challenge anyone during the first month, with the 10-rung limit imposed for matches played after May 15th. Tournament play also counts as a ladder match, unlimited by the players' standings on the ladder. By the way, you can start your own community tennis ladder using the web site TennisEngine.com to organize a membership list and manage the standings.

sport_tennis GTC Tournaments


- Spring Singles - Memorial Day weekend, give or take a week
- Fall Singles - Labor Day weekend, give or take a week

Past winners of GTC singles tournaments (click to view).

The 2009 Fall Singles Tournament drew 20 entrants, filling all 10 GTC courts. The final was won by the #1 seed over the #2 seed, Dan Mandl def. Clif Liu, 6-0, 3-6, (12-10 super-tiebreak). Dan Mandl won his first GTC fall singles tournament in 1984, 25 years ago.
The GTC tournaments are Swiss-style round-robin: winners-play-winners and losers-play-losers every round, so everybody eventually plays opponents on their own level.

The tournaments are usually open to anyone qualified to play on the GTC courts: members, family members, and guests.

Tournament play counts as a ladder match, unless one of the players explicitly says "no" before the tournament match begins.

At the discretion of the ladder chairman, ladder members playing in and completing the GTC singles tournaments are promoted to the top of the ladder, in the order that they finish in the tournament. Ladder members who receive this promotion are subject to unrestricted challenges for the next 4 weeks.

Tournament registration is on a sheet posted at courtside a few weeks before the tournament, or via phone or e-mail to the tournament director.

The tournament director is responsible for seeding, based on ladder standings and best judgement of skill. Please don't argue with him/her.

Andy Negri, UMd/ESSIC, is the tournament director [anegri@essic.umd.edu], vox: 301-405-5384.

Here are Andy's recommendations for running a tournament: 
Among the things I bring are:

Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite
Gal OJ
2 gal water with spigot
bananas
fig newtons
pretzels
ice
ice chests
cups
towels
pencils
plexiglass to cover paperwork
index cards to do matchups
cans new tennis balls for sale
plastic tablecloth (nice touch)

Attached are the flyer from 2005 Labor Day tourney (WORD)
and spreadsheet for ranking the players/recording the matches (EXCEL). 
This latter should print out on 11 by 17 paper if you select a tabloid-capable printer.

EarthBall GTC News

You can get a membership application from the Club Treasurer, Michael.K.Powers@nasa.gov, or from the bulletin board at courtside, or download the GTC membership application form from this page.

More GTC news and chat (click to view).

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End Notes

NASA does not endorse any recreational items.

NASA Web Site Privacy, Security, Notices.

tennisman Dennis.Chesters@nasa.gov maintains this GEWA Goddard Tennis Club page


tennis whites man