Courts 1929 to 1985

The first court used by the Club was on the property owned by Mr Watt. This is now Court No. 2 (was Court No. 1).

During 1931, Mr Watt advised the Committee that he had handed to the City Council, a portion of his land including that part on which the court stood for use as a recreation area.

The Club was granted a one year lease by the City Council and following negotiations, a 9 year lease, including ground for a sitting out area and room for a second court, was signed effective from January, 1931 at £1 per annum.

In June, 1940 the lease was renewed for a further period of 10 years and included sufficient room for two additional courts. The lease was then renewed at 10 year intervals.

At a Special General Meeting of members on 14th March, 1933 it was decided that a second gravel court be constructed and that the cost be covered by money borrowed from members. This court, now Court No. 3, was brought into use for the 1933/1934 season and the cost was £120.

A third gravel court, now Court No. 4, was constructed in 1948 at a cost of £300.

The cost of maintenance and the problem of obtaining reliable labour was a constant concern to successive committees and soon after World War II, the possibility of converting to all-weather courts was continuously under review.

No progress was made, however, until 1959 when at the Annual General Meeting it was agreed to accept the offer of a local construction company to lay down an “en tout-cas” surface on Court No. 3 on a subsidised basis at a cost of £400. In return the company were to be permitted to use the court as a “show court”. Unfortunately this surface was not a success and during the next 3 years, there were many complaints from members and much discussion. In the meantime the firm concerned, went out of business, and after much investigation, a solution was found and in 1964 the court was re-surfaced at a cost of R220.

A claim for R400 was lodged with the contractor’s liquidators who eventually declared a dividend of 47 cents in the Rand and furthermore the “En tout cas” company in England agreed to contribute R200 as compensation. This was indeed a troublesome time for the Club and the conversion of the other two courts was shelved.

By 1966 more firms were constructing all-weather courts suitable for local conditions and courts No. 2 and 4 were converted by Tru Top and proved satisfactory. The cost was R2 200.

Finally in 1979 a fourth all-weather court and practice wall were constructed at a cost of R5 985. This court is now known as Court 1.

COURTS (Continued)

1986 to 2006

All four courts required regular maintenance, with one court being resurfaced about every two years. Wear and tear was the main reason for resurfacing but in the latter years invasive tree roots caused cracks in the court surfaces. Rather than have patchwork touch-ups, the roots were removed and the entire courts were resurfaced.

The cost of resurfacing the courts escalated from R3 250 in 1987 to R24 000 in 2005. Court 3 was resurfaced in 2006 by Courts SA at a cost of R14 600.

Tru-Top was the contractor until 1978, when Cape Tennis Courts took over and constructed Court No. 1 plus the practice wall for R5 985.

From 1987 to 2005 Cape Tennis Courts were contracted to resurface the courts as follows:

Court	Year	Cost	Year	Cost
1	1993	R6 000	2000	R11 514
2	1987	R3 250	1993	R6 000
2	2001	R12 000
3	1989	R4 000	2000	R11 514
4	1990	R5 100	1996	R9 986
4	2005	R24 000
3	2006	R14 600

Half the cost of the resurfacing in 1989, 1990 and 1993 was borne by David Parkyn in terms of his agreement with the Club. This condition was later waived as he was not using the Club’s facilities to the same extent as in previous years.

In 2003, new fencing was erected and straining wires were fixed at a cost of R11 833.

In 1989, a further improvement to the courts was the introduction of floodlighting to Courts No.2 and 3, financed by David Parkyn as he wished to use the lighting to extend his coaching hours. In 1994 the Club agreed to purchase the floodlights from David Parkyn at a cost of R14 000. The fee for hiring the floodlit courts was set at R20 per hour.