Court and Facilities Improvements

See Tennis Court Reconstruction below

Leonard Avenue Fence

Earlier in the 2006 season, the east fence that borders Leonard Avenue was replaced. On September 9th, a band of dedicated volunteers from the club finished the job off by adding gravel edging along the entire fence, to improve drainage and protect the new fencing. Volunteer fence workers pictured below include from left: Peter Sutcliffe, Matt Sutcliffe, Mike Lundy (supervisor), Wally Gerus, Vic Harrison (life-time member!), Karen Baker, Don Shropshire, Steve Shaw, Wil Bradley and Carol Goss (kneeling). Missing from the photo are David Rhynas (photographer), Enid Harrison and John Franklyne.

As you can see from the before and after photos below, this is a tremendous improvement to the club's property. Thank you to our resident hard-labour "chain-gang" for completing our east fence project!

BEFORE		AFTER
	The East Fence, which separates courts 4, 5 and the backboard from Leonard Ave. Prior to the new fence the fence was rusted out and broken in too many places.		Installation of the new East Fence was completed in July 2006.
	A view of the East gate and the torn fencing surrounding it.		Volunteers from the club lay a gravel trench along the new East Fence.
	A view of the East Fence showing the bent frame.
	Tree stumps contributed to warping the old East Fence.

Reconstruction of Tennis Courts 5-12

In September 2004, the Board of Directors commissioned a technical report on the conditions of the courts. The report confirmed the general impression that our courts were in need of major renovation - the middle courts were well over 25 years old, which is the expected lifespan of Har-Tru courts. The subsequent planning process took about two years and involved many levels of consultation and coordination. Then, in Spring 2006 David Rhynas, on behalf of the Board of Directors, announced that the anticipated renovation would commence this Autumn 2006. The old nets came down and the lines came up after 9PM on Sunday, September 17th and 7AM Monday morning, the machinery moved in...

BEFORE		AFTER
	A view of courts 5-12, taken in late Sept. 2005 after rain. Before the construction began on Sept. 18, 2006, drainage on these courts was slow following heavy rain.		Construction on the courts was completed at the end of October 2006 with the laying of new lines in April 2007 before Opening Day.
	Net posts on courts 10 & 11, taken in Sept. 2005, prior to the beginning of reconstruction.		May 5, 2007 - Opening Day!
DURING
	Nick Coomber (a.k.a OTLBC gardener extraordinaire) and Camille Lewis help with ripping up the lines on the evening before construction begins, while Cally stands guard.		The nets being rolled up will be rotated to other courts to replace older nets, and new nets will be installed on new courts.
	The court lines were ripped up by club volunteers on Sunday Sept. 17, the eve before the reconstruction began.		Robert White and colleague standing behind the dug up net posts.
	Breaking ground was preparing the trench for the new irrigation and drainage system.		Elwood McCorriston and Robert White survey the trenching work.
	General Manager Camille, with Cally, during their daily walkabout the construction site.		A cable is attached from the backhoe to the old net posts, in order to heave them out of the ground.
	The dust flies as the backhoe deposits the old posts and embedded concrete.		The old net posts resting on court 5.
	The backhoe breaks ground at the back of courts 5-12.		A view of the court reconstruction, during week #1 of the construction, taken from the balcony.
	<- Bulldozers are relevelling the base layer, which is very important to project's final result. ->
	Courts 13-18 on the left, and courts 5-12 under construction on the right.		Drainage tubing ready to be buried.
	The new net posts being set into the ground.		One of the workers digs an irrigation trench.
	Har-Tru clay arrives by the truck-full direct from the factory in Virginia. 9 truckloads have arrived so far, with 11 more to come!!		Skids of Har-Tru stacked by the practice wall, awaiting deployment to the refinished courts.
	The top layer of gravel, called screen dust, is levelled off in preparation for the Har-Tru.		A view of the progress from the upper balcony on a glorious fall day in Eastern Ontario.
	Individual bags of Har-Tru are lined up as the top clay layer begins to be laid.		A view of the clay being applied from the balcony.
	The first patch of Har-Tru is laid at the north-west corner of court 12.		The temporary cedar tracks are laid to install the Har-Tru while maintaining the precision laser levelling performed during the prior 7 days to the 3 sub-layers.
	Har-Tru being laid at the north-west side of court 12.		An amazing east-facing shot of courts 5-7. Trees dipped in gold are a good sign for the ongoing construction project.
	Skids of clay, with still more than 50% of the new courts to be covered.		New retaining wall at the east side of court 5.
	Laser grading equipment used to ensure proper drainage slope.		Skids of clay, with less than 25% of the new courts left to be covered.
	Har-Tru clay being spread.		Nearing completion, with all the clay laid, and new netposts installed.
	Dusk settles on the nearly completed courts.