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56 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | FEBRUARY 2020 Tennis Club Attention Ball Machine Owner/Users: Because there have already been some malfunctions with the new ball machine, the following message is reprised from an earlier edition: Operation of the new machine, which is battery-powered, is different from the operation of the old plug-in one. So, users are expected to participate in training by a Committee member and to agree to follow the procedures and instructions for the ball machine. This is not a right-wing fanatical or a left-wing radical mind-control abuse of our liberty and Constitutional rights, just a reasonable expectation that "active adults" can cooperate to assure that this expensive electronic machine will be available and usable for many years to come. New information and guidance: Users are requested to only use the pressure-less Penn balls in the machines, to avoid damaging variations in ball hardness. Also, avoid using the ball machine on wet courts, as the slippery wet tennis balls are not suited for the internal mechanisms of the machine. With everyone's cooperation, the machines will outlast us. The date has changed a couple of times, but for sure (maybe) the Annual Dinner and Membership Meeting will be Saturday, Feb. 8 in the RCN Main Room. At this meeting, annual dues of $20 for the 2020 year will be due. That will also be the biennial election for the five-member Committee. All seats will be up for election, and every Club member is eligible and qualified to run for election to the two-year terms. Please consider running to serve as a leader of your Tennis Club. Captain Chuck Beckman has organized two new USTA teams – one for men's doubles and one for mixed doubles. They are both 7.0 level leagues, meaning that the combined ratings for the doubles partners cannot exceed 7.0. Accordingly, a team could have one 4.0 level player and one 3.0 level or two 3.5 level players. Conceivably there could be a 6.0 and a 1.0 team, but that would be like dragging around a stiff on the court. Also, the leagues are for players 55 years and older. Given our team's crushing defeat at the December Southern Section tournament in Long Beach, which included players 18 years old and up, where we were significantly on the up end, the new leagues should have more level competition. Website: https://sites.google/view/tennis-fourseasons/home. ~ Steven Hovey, sahovey47@hotmail.com