Damage threatens tennis court access

Substantial damage to the tennis courts at the Bill Moore Tennis Center (BMTC) one week after resurfacing led to changes in policies at the center. The Athletic Association (AA), the Campus Recreation Center (CRC) and the Student Government Association (SGA) worked out a compromise for students to continue using the BMTC with more monitoring.

The center's courts, which are used by the varsity tennis teams and students, were resurfaced two weeks ago. "After a week, we had a lot of black marks from track shoes on them. It causes an abrasion that slows down the surface, so our varsity team is not playing on as fast of courts as they may encounter," said Mollie Mayfield, senior associate athletic director.

The AA contacted SGA and the CRC about the damage, as the organizations share responsibility for managing the center on a daily basis. "The monitors that were employed by SGA and the CRC so that proper dress code was enforced...were not monitoring shoes," Mayfield said.

"Students were playing on the court with black sole shoes or shoes that marked the court. When you do damage to a court like that.it doesn't look good, and if they wear too much, then our athletes don't get to practice on fast courts," said Michael Edwards, director of the CRC.

Mayfield said that increased monitoring of students and enforcement of the dress code could maintain the courts at their current condition, but that students jumping over the center's fence after hours and using the courts unsupervised would be harder to control.

"That is not something we can hold anyone reliable for except to make an appeal to students that you use your student government to facilitate access to the facilities in a structured way other than damage the facilities by forcibly entering," Mayfield said.

An AA employee previously supervised the courts 60 hours a week, until the center stopped operating as a retail facility last spring. "It still is an athletic association facility, [but] they couldn't fund it. They decided they were going to close it to the general public and the student body," Edwards said.

SGA worked with the AA to keep the facility open to students. "This is when we came up with the current plan. The plan was to put up monitors, use the outside courts and let students use it. Everyone agreed and we've been going along and doing this since the spring," Edwards said.

"It is only open to students now and we basically worked out an agreement with the AA where they are still going to pay for maintenance, but the CRC is in charge of operating the facility. They check people's BuzzCard, maintain the facility, and check for non-marking shoes," said David Andersen, undergraduate student body president.

"We pay for it from the student activity fee and the regular CRC budget process," Andersen said.

"We hope that everyone has a pride among them that this is a top institution. We want our tennis team to stay in the top 10 nationally and to do that we have to maintain the courts in top condition," Mayfield said.

The compromise the organizations reached include better monitoring, fixing holes in the fence, timers on the lights so they can not be turned on after 9 p.m., only using the lower courts and new, larger signs so students can read use guidelines.

"We have agreed to monitor the use of the facilities before rules are changed," Mayfield said. "We believe we have excellent cooperation. You always have to alter your plans once you see where the loopholes are."

Students are going to be permitted on the courts through the end of the semester, after which the AA will determine what the next plan of action is and if abuse has subsided Mayfield said.

"Our coaches and out student athletes feel like it needs to be resurfaced now. Our administration has decided to wait for spring season to see if we can maintain it," Mayfield said.

Andersen said that students must follow court use guidelines when they use the court so that future students can use the facilities.

"The compromise we made with the AA this time was a fair one. It is a privilege for us to use these courts and in order to continue using them we need to work together so that the courts stay in good condition," Andersen said.