My husband and I have been residents of Oak Harbor for over five years. We moved here from California, where as you know, one can play tennis a large percentage of the time. Additionally, in California there are many tennis facilities as well as instructors readily available to anyone wishing to play or learn how to play.

Fortunately for me, I was able to contact the head of the tennis group here in Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island Tennis Association (WITA), and have played tennis with this group over the last several years. Unfortunately, however, the weather here is not always in our favor, and many of the regularly scheduled play days are rained out. As with any sport, If one wishes to maintain a certain level of expertise, one has to play regularly. Although summer does allow for more court time, summer months are short-lived here.

We currently have a few of our “die-hard” players who actually drive all the way to Stanwood in order to pay for the use of indoor courts which are available only for short periods of reserved time. These players must must additionally deal with the long drive, not to mention the added expense of gasoline to get there and back again.

The WITA encourages people to come out for Sunday play-days, regularly scheduled every week at the Oak Harbor High School. When the weather is good, all six courts are full, and in fact, we frequently have people waiting to “sub in,” which then cuts down on everybody’s playing time. This is the case even though the high school courts are in a sad state of disrepair. Additionally, these courts are only available to us on the weekends and during the summer.

We strongly support the WITA’s plan for an indoor tennis facility. My husband and I would be users of the facility several times a week at a minimum. The fact that this facility would also be available to help students is a definite plus. Tennis is truly a sport that you can play at all ages and stages of life.

We urge the North Whidbey Parks and Recreation District to vote in favor of the proposed indoor tennis facility as an enhancement to a better quality of life here on Whidbey Island.

Claude and

Teri Bravmann

Oak Harbor