Gay and Lesbian Tennis Federation of San Francisco (GLTF)

The GLTF WTT season has begun!

Are you in the East Bay (or willing to drive there!) and looking to play some more tennis this spring? GLTF has 3 teams participating in the World Team Tennis league (one 3.0 team, one 3.5 team, and one senior 3.5 team) starting the weekend of March 20 , and we still have space for you if you would like to play with us! For more information, check out https://www.gltf.org/event-4202942 or email [email protected]

A very cool bit of history!

HOW EXCITING!!!!!! And look at that awesome wheelbarrow-full of green paint!

https://www.facebook.com/358094171068489/posts/1574279476116613/

Among other incredible tipping points this weekend, we also had a wonderful tipping point in the USTA NorCal tennis universe, with the election yesterday of a new USTA NorCal Board of Directors. Martha Ehrenfeld and I campaigned together with several others as anti-corruption oriented candidates, dedicated to ensuring that the NorCal Board acts in the best interests of NorCal and ALL of its members (including community tennis associations such as GLTF). We were inspired to ru...n in particular by NorCal's "facility fee" debacle this past year, where the prior Board set up a scheme that would have amounted to a transfer of wealth from lower income community tennis association players to higher income entities such as private country clubs. Martha and I were already involved in making some "good trouble" supporting community protest of the scheme, which pressured the prior NorCal Board to reverse it. At yesterday's election, Martha and I were elected as part of a wave of other anti-corruption/pro-CTA candidates that will help a lot to balance out the private club interests on the Board. As Martha and I talked in the parking lot before leaving, we were both struck by how such a transformation could occur within about 6 months. Chalk up some more points for the power of holding fast for what is right, connecting and collaborating with like-minded persons, and the courage to stand up to power! Ray Hixson, GLTF VP See more

Thanks to everyone who came out to play some Spooky Singles, this Halloween afternoon! Dave, our Membership Director (aka Mr. Skeleton) did a great job making sure everything was done Covid-safely and it was a beautiful day for being out in the fresh air.

Do you wanna do something fun? Wanna go to Taco Bell? Instead why don't you join some grool GLTFers in Oakland on Halloween Saturday for some friendly fall tennis! https://www.gltf.org/event-4023193... You're wearing sweatpants. It's Saturday. We’ve reserved the courts. All you need to to is register and show up! We can't help that we're so popular, but we only have room for 20 people - please sign up for slot based upon your playing level. Unfortunately, we can't always be the cool moms - there are some rules. Your safety is our first priority, so we are structuring this event to comply with Alameda County Health Orders. GLTF will provide: Balls + markers (please mark & use only your own balls) Hand Sanitizer (please sanitize your hands before & after play) Requirements: Current GLTF membership Sign the GLTF Assumption of Risk & Release Agreement Stay home if you are sick No congregating: Please arrive 5 minutes prior to your scheduled match, and leave the facility when you finish Temperature checks will be performed onsite SINGLES PLAY ONLY Bring your own water Maintain 6’ physical distancing Wear cloth face covering when not playing Sanitize hands before & after play Avoid touching face, court gates, fences, benches Use your racquet/foot to pick up balls Change ends of the court on opposite sides of the net In the regular world, Halloween is when kids dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total **** and no other girls can say anything else about it. So have at it - costumes are encouraged but not required :)

We are happy to announce our inaugural version of a flex-style singles league, where GLTF-ers will be matched up against each other for a handful of self-scheduled matches over the upcoming fall season. Open to all active GLTF members (men and women), the league will start play the week of October 26, 2020 and each player will have approx. five singles matches before the end of the year. There will be two rounds of Playoffs in mid-January, when we will then crown a champio...n at each level during a virtual (or live, if allowed) ceremony. Please review the GLTF Fall 2020 Singles Flex League page for more details and to sign up. https://www.tennispoint.com/signup/gltf-fall-singles2020 DEADLINE TO SIGN-UP: Weds., Oct. 14, 2020! Questions? Ray (GLTF VP): [email protected] Bryan (GLTF Development Director): [email protected]

Join us for our Virtual Interactive Tennis Series with our own Tennis Pro - Tim Connolly. Tennis Tim will offer Tips, Strategy and Techniques to help improve your tennis game. This is a progressive series so attend all 3 virtual clinics or choose anyone. All events are conducted via Zoom during the Month of October on Saturdays at 10am. Spend 30 minutes for each clinic to pick up valuable lessons from Tim and chat with him. These virtual clinics are FREE to all current GLTF m...embers After you registered, you will get the Zoom details via an email. Clink this link for more details and to register: https://www.gltf.org/calendar?EventViewMode=1... Singles Strategies- https://www.gltf.org/event-3982630 Oct 3, 2020 10:00 AM Want to be a Defensive Diva? - https://www.gltf.org/event-3982664 Oct 10, 2020 10:00 AM Consistency is Key - https://www.gltf.org/event-3982653 Oct 17, 2020 10:00 AM

Hi all, you're invited to a virtual GLTF happy hour this Friday, Sept 25 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Hope to see you there! Please RSVP! https://www.gltf.org/event-3987841

John Simmet of Plaza Tennis is currently battling an aggressive form of cancer which has forced him to close the store for the next several months. Plaza Tennis (on Solano Street in Albany), has been a mainstay for many of us GLTF-ers for many years. A tiny store yet jam-packed with racquets, shoes, clothing and accessories. John used to just be an employee when Bill ran the shop, but then some years ago Bill sold the place to John who’s been doing a great job keeping it ...going at a time when small businesses have many struggles surviving in the Bay Area. John knows racquets inside and out and has been giving advice on models and strings to his loyal East Bay customers for many years. There has been a GoFundMe page set up to help raise money for the medical bills that he’s incurring. The GLTF Board of Directors is making a $250 donation on behalf of our organization. Here’s a link for any members who would like to donate personally, and/or read updates: https://www.gofundme.com/f/plaza-tennis We wish the best for John and his family, and hope for a full recovery.

Hi all, if you have not done so already, please fill out our short survey to let us know your interest/suggestions for possible GLTF singles competition, and ideas for virtual activities. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YHRP533

Wishing everyone a very Happy Pride!

Dearest members, I am proud to state that on behalf of the board, GLTF stands behind and supports the Black Lives Matter movement. To be clear, our stance and support was never up for debate or questioning. We understand and share the expression of anguish and outrage over the recent violent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd and systemic injustice leading to their deaths. As an LGBTQIA sports club with people from many races, religions, and colors, w...e stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the need to call attention to the pervasive culture of systemic racism in our society. And, GLTF must take all necessary actions to provide a welcoming, safe, and fun environment for everyone. GLTF has no higher calling. Many of you may have read Marcel McClain’s eloquent, heartfelt email sent to our club’s Google groups. The board of directors unanimously stand in solidarity with Marcel. What we failed to do was respond collectively in a timeframe appropriate to the gravity of the times we are in. GLTF’s formation in 1980 as the first out LBGTQIA tennis club in the world was a political act. We hope to remember, honor, and continue that tradition in 2020 and beyond. Respectfully, Paul Mabe, President On behalf of the GLTF Board of Directors

A little good news, SF aims to open tennis courts Saturday with some reasonable restrictions. https://sfrecpark.org/AlertCenter.aspx

The GLTF Board wishes you well during these difficult times. Although we're not able to play tennis right now, some very important developments are unfolding in Northern California tennis that we'd like to debrief with you on. In particular, there is a growing opposition movement to the decision of the USTA NorCal Board of Directors to nearly double player fees to $54. NorCal added a $25 "Facility Use Fee" for every player (multiplied times every team they play on) for the... purported purpose of NorCal collecting the extra money, and then distributing it to private tennis clubs to assist them with court maintenance. While GLTF players and players from other public court teams would disproportionately pay more of these fees due to our large number of players, GLTF and public court teams would receive none of the distributions because we do not own our own tennis courts. We understand that this scheme was driven by a small segment of small private country clubs that have somehow managed to gain control of the NorCal Board. In addition to public court tennis clubs, Bay Club and other large tennis organizations are opposed to the scheme. There is a fast-moving opposition movement in response to the new fee that is organizing a boycott of NorCal, and discussing plans to set up alternative leagues to commence play in August. We want to debrief with our members now so that we can be ready and begin to make appropriate preparations. We will host a Zoom meeting for GLTF members this coming Saturday, May 2 at 3:00 p.m. GLTF Vice President Ray Hixson and Martha Ehrenfeld (former GLTF Board Member) will make a presentation, and GLTF Treasurer Mark Dinh will moderate. We will reserve ample time for your questions and comments. Please RSVP for this meeting here: https://www.gltf.org/event-3825647

Here’s another great drill for keeping your hand-eye coordination in top form the only thing you need is a small piece of wall. Check out Federer’s mad volley skills, as well as some of the fun response videos that people posted!

USTA has finally come out with the recommendation that we should "take a collective pause" from our beloved game.