EMAIL:  info AT VancouverTennisClub dotcom TENNIS COURT MAPS   |  VTC Meetup

VANCOUVER  TENNIS  CLUB

INDEX - QUICK LINKS

Benefits of being a Vancouver Tennis Club member

Costs of running and maintaining this club

Volunteering, resources and donations

Task List and Wanted Items - Contribute and participate

Thank You and Credits

About Us - Vancouver Tennis Club

MISSION

A significant goal of the Vancouver Tennis Club is to create a non-profit, volunteer-based group of members who really love to play tennis as well as various sports, social, travel and environmental activities.  VTC is much more than a tennis club even though the core of our group are hardcore tennis nuts and love to play tennis for several hours a day whenever they can.  We do not limit ourselves and we are flexible.

We want to create an environment that's fun, affordable, friendly, and convenient for our contributing members to enjoy all of the activities we have year-round.  There are other tennis clubs, but they charge much higher membership and initiation fees.  There is no membership or initiation fee to join our club.  This will be our contribution to make Vancouver an even better, truly world-class city for people who love tennis!  You can help us make this happen.

Join us for sports, travel, environmental and social activities in the greater Vancouver area. Volunteering is required to be a part of our club and attend our activities. * Earn and keep a club membership by volunteering. Free lessons, advice, tutorials and help for sports and most of our activities (volunteers and authorized members only).  There will be activities scheduled regularly. We will play tennis primarily in Vancouver, BC. When the weather is not ideal for tennis, we will have other activities such as the following:

cycling/mountain biking

language exchange/ESL (we have many members who are native speakers of Cantonese/Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, French, Spanish, Dutch, etc.)

photography

badminton

table tennis/ping pong

basketball

volleyball

squash

hiking, jogging/running

billiards

soccer

kayaking

golf

bowling

There will be travel and social activities such as trips, parties/dances, cruises, BBQs, tea/coffee, dinners, etc.

We are a fun, friendly, positive, diverse and environmentally conscious club.

Meet like-minded friends, volunteer to teach, learn, try out other members' rackets, exchange cultures and find tennis partners!

VTC CLUB MEMBERSHIP:  Free if you volunteer and pitch in.  You must earn and keep your membership in good status by volunteering, adhering to our policies, participating and contributing.  To attend each event, you should volunteer and pitch in by doing at least one or more of the following things:

- Help with preparations, set-up or take-down at events

- Bring snacks to share

- Wait for a court in advance.  This is done by going to the courts at least 30 minutes earlier to reserve a court for our club.  When the group arrives, we won't have to wait 30 minutes for a court.  This saves us time.

- Bring your extra equipment to lend other members or donate equipment to our club

- Stay active and attend events regularly

New Dynamic Web Site in development

A new, dynamic web site is being designed.  We'll be updating it with a lot more information and resources.  In the meanwhile, you can RSVP and get updated information on our Vancouver Tennis Club Meetup page.  Usually, we have new activities posted every week.

Vancouver Tennis Club (various sports, environmental, social and travel) Meetup page

Click here to view our newest events and RSVP --> http://tennis.meetup.com/372/ MEETUP

How do I join activities or become a VTC member?  

To earn and keep your VTC membership, volunteering is required to join our club and attend activities.  Read our Volunteering, resources and donations and Task List and Wanted Items - Contribute and participate for a list of ways to volunteer.

If you would like to attend events, be a member, and stay in good standing - you have to volunteer. Stay active, participate, and contribute something positive to our club.

We are only looking for serious members who are team players, courteous, dedicated, responsible and willing to contribute to our club.

Join us for tennis and various sports (table tennis, badminton, cycling, volleyball, squash, etc.) in the greater Vancouver area. We will play tennis primarily in or near Downtown, Vancouver.

There will be activities scheduled weekly or perhaps several times a week depending on the weather. We may at times go to other courts such as Kitsilano Beach, Yaletown, Queen Elizabeth Park and so forth based on member feedback.

When the weather is not ideal for tennis, we will have other activities such as table tennis/ping pong, squash, badminton, hiking, billiards, golf, cycling, bowling, volleyball or anything else members are interested in.

There will also be social activities such as parties/dances, cruises, BBQs, tea/coffee, dinners and so forth.

Meet like-minded friends, discuss sports, being environmentally friendly, volunteer to teach, learn how to play, try out other members' rackets, exchange cultures and find a tennis partner!

* Earn free lessons, advice, tutorials and help for sports and most of our activities (volunteers and official members in good standing only)

* Easily find tennis/sports partners of various styles and levels to play with

* Many of our VTC members are upper intermediate to advanced players at various sports and activities with many years of experience and knowledge. They can help you improve, choose the right equipment, etc. If you need some help or have any questions, feel free to ask the organizer.

* We have many people from different backgrounds and industries in our club.  We will have language exchanges from time to time.  There are many native English speakers who can teach English.  Also, many people are fluent in other languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French and so forth.

* Meet new friends who share similar interests

* Get VTC exclusive group discounts on sports equipment and various services.  We will arrange to have group/power buys which will benefit both our members and those who offer us deals.

* Have access to our extra equipment, try out new rackets, strings or resources (rackets, balls, knowledge, etc.)

Derin the VTC organizer has donated several thousand dollars of his own money, 4 badminton rackets, 1 outdoors badminton net, 10 shuttles, 1 tennis racket, 30 tennis balls, 1 ping pong racket, 5 ping pong balls, 10 foosballs, 1 basketball, paying for all the web site hosting, advertising, recruiting new members, snacks, Meetup fees, computer equipment, office supplies, hundreds of hours (and counting) to run this club,

I've volunteered and contributed much of my own time, money, resources and effort to run this club. Our club requires sporting equipment investments (which can be costly) and extra resources compared to other types of organizations.

I volunteer and donate to our club so members who don't have equipment or cannot afford it can also join us and not be left out because of financial barriers. I will be buying more equipment and things to share with our group members as it grows.

In order to organize and run our sports and social events, much time, energy, effort and money/costs are involved such as the following:

- Web hosting, hardware, software, creating new content, system maintenance/administration, correspondence

- Sports equipment costs and maintenance.  A decent or good tennis racket costs between $50 to $350 each. A good badminton racket costs $30 to $250 each.

Table tennis/ping pong rackets cost $20 to $150 each. Ping pong racket rubbers also need to be replaced after playing for a while.  Decent ones cost between $30-$60 for each piece of rubber.

Racket strings need to be re-strung after a while of playing because they get loose.  It costs $20 to $40 average for new string materials.  Stringing technicians usually charge around $20 to $30  for racket re-stringing labour each time.

- Balls/shuttles get lost, worn out or damaged and need to be replaced regularly. 3 new balls cost $3 to $5 average.

- Time required for promoting, correspondence, making preparations, set up/take-down, research, making reservations, etc. for our various sports and social activities.

- Print-outs, informational pamphlets, cards, banners, flag holders, office supplies (printer toners, ink cartridges, paper)

VOLUNTEERING, RESOURCES AND DONATIONS

We need dedicated, responsible people who can volunteer to help this group in preparation for events, set-up, take-down and so forth.

Donations of all types are helpful. If you have any equipment that our club could use, you could donate it to be used and shared with members of our club.

Otherwise, you can donate money to help cover our costs and expenses in running this club. Every little bit helps. Tell your friends about us. Help us promote our club.

Many resources and costs are required to keep our activities running so that members can enjoy playing sports, meeting new friends and have a good time. Please consider donating or volunteering to keep our club running.

Thank you to all contributors of the Vancouver Tennis Club.  It's appreciated.  If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to contact us.

CURRENT TASKS AND WANTED ITEMS - YOUR CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE AND CONTRIBUTE

Please contact the VTC organizer (email:  info AT Vancouver Tennis Club dotcom) if you would like to volunteer, sponsor us or help out in any way.

- We need some extra tennis balls, rackets, badminton and volleyball nets.  If someone has some that they don't use or want to donate to our club, it's always welcome and appreciated.

- Developing the VancouverTennisClub.com web site into a large, informative, active and useful web site.

- Extra hands to help organize a VTC members tennis tournament (we need scorekeepers, line judges, and general volunteers to help with everything).

- Extra data center rack space sponsors.  Preferably a local company in Vancouver where we can go and work on the equipment.  If you or your company has extra data center rack space, hardware or bandwidth to sponsor our club.

- Software developers, help us develop code, work on our web site, back-end, beta-test, debug or do more technical things.  We're especially looking for a team of people who are proficient at PHP, SQL, Apache, Linux, Java, Flash, etc. to add new features and keep everything running smoothly.  We also have connections to various people and companies for jobs.  Volunteer to help us and we'll likely return the favour in some way or put in a good recommendation.

- Graphics designers, we need some new VTC logos and graphics. You will get credit and publicity for the graphics you design for us. We need these for our web site, shirts and other club prizes.

- Sports Equipment. If you have any sports equipment that you no longer use, you can donate it to our club. For example, a racket in good condition could be donated to our club to share with members who don't have their own racket or who cannot afford one.

Balls could be donated for practice or to replace lost/worn out ones or if someone forgot to bring them. If you buy new balls and are thinking of tossing your old ones, donate it to our club. These could be used by members to practice their serves.

- Teachers/instructors. If you can teach a beginner to play or an intermediate to improve their game, consider donating your time to help others learn and improve.

- Cooking/Food. If you enjoy cooking, you can help us cook or prepare food when we have food-related activities such as BBQs, parties, dinners, etc.

- Storage space.  We might need some storage space from members who live near the tennis courts to store some extra sports equipment or balls in case we need more equipment for members who want to play.

If you have any special skills, resources, connections or something you want to share or contribute, please contact us or send your comments. We're always open to suggestions, new ideas and your offers to help us in any way. Anything big or small would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you for your support.

THANK YOU AND SNACKS POT "LUCK"

Thanks Maral for bringing a big basket of pre-washed, yellow Rainier cherries to our tennis event

Thanks Christine for bringing muffins to our volleyball event

Thanks Gary for bringing a bottle of Aloe drink with cups to our tennis event

Thanks Dan for bringing some grapes to our tennis event

Thanks Tina for bringing some granola bars to our tennis event

Thanks Agnes for bring some dried fruits to our tennis event

Thanks Hossein for bringing a bag of chips to our tennis event

Thanks Ed for bringing some strawberries to our tennis event

Thanks Hassan for bringing a bag of cherries to our tennis event

Thanks Brent for bringing a tennis ball basket for some drills and training

Thanks Mark Althoff for bringing sweet, dark red cherries to share with us at our tennis snacks pot luck.

Thanks Shirley for bringing cookies at our tennis snacks pot luck.

Thanks Ahmet for donating spare tennis balls

Thanks Claire for bringing some pastries to our tennis event

Thanks Gary for bringing some chips and a large bottle of orange juice to our tennis event

Thanks Clare for bringing chips to our tennis event

Thanks Judy for bringing some fruit juice and chips to our tennis event

Thanks Ulrike for bringing a large, home-baked cake to our tennis event

Thanks Behdad for bringing chocolates with plum filling to our tennis event

Thanks Dorothy for bringing cookies to our tennis event

Thanks Nori for bringing cheese puffs to our language exchange event

Thanks Jefferson for bringing a bag of chips to our soccer, tennis and basketball event

Thanks Yulia for bringing fresh, ripe strawberries to our soccer, tennis and basketball event

Thanks Itsuka for bringing packages of Japanese rice crackers to our tennis event

Thanks Ahmet for bringing an outdoors badminton net to our event for our group

Thanks Doug for bringing some moist and delicious oatmeal raisin cookies to our outdoors badminton and tennis event

Thanks Liz for bringing a box of granola bars to our tennis event

Thanks Kristina for bringing a few packages of almond chocolate droplets to our tennis event and donating a ticket to go up to the top of the SFU Harbour Centre "Lookout" Tower

Thanks Will, for bringing rice crackers to our language exchange event

Thanks Kevin, for bringing two boxes of bottled water (around 24 bottles) to our tennis event.

Thanks Peter Hollet, for bringing a box of delicious blueberry pie slices to our ping pong, foosball and billiards event

Thanks Krige, for bringing Swiss chocolates he brought from Belgium to our ping pong, foosball and billiards event

Thanks, Melanie for bringing brownies to our badminton, ping pong, foosball and billiards event

Thanks, Jonathan for donating spare tennis balls

LATEST VTC EVENT:

Volleyball outdoors on grass, Basketball, Soccer VTC Event
6:00pm Friday August 15 Downtown

Click here to sign up or RSVP --> http://tennis.meetup.com/372/

DATE: Friday, August 15, 2008

TIME:  6:00pm to 8:00pm

LOCATION: Downtown, Vancouver.  RSVP to get the full address, maps, details and instructions. Please RSVP YES and the specific address, details, maps, and instructions will be emailed to you before the start of the event. To keep waiting times low and prevent over-crowding, we have a limit on the number of people for this event.  If you didn't get a confirmation email before the event start time, it's your responsibility to contact us at least 24 hours in advance in case there are any email problems.

DONATION: A suggested minimum donation of $2.  Please pitch in and support our non-profit, volunteer-based club to pay for the web sites, development, buy/replace sports equipment, etc.

COSTS OF RUNNING THIS CLUB AND DONATIONS

A $2 suggested minimum donation will be collected by the VTC organizer at the start of the activity. Please try bring exact change (a single two dollar coin if possible). The $2 donation goes to our VTC organizer to cover our costs such as the following:

- Meetup account charges, web hosting, development, computer equipment

- recruiting new members, printing info cards, banners, planning future events, time required for correspondence, writing up information - preparations, reservations, setup, take-down

- office supplies, support, administration, replacing worn sports equipment, maintenance

Various other costs, manpower, time and resources are required to run this club. So far, only one single person (Derin the Vancouver Tennis Club organizer) is handling almost all of the tasks, paying for the expenses in advance and doing all the work for everyone in our group. Please contribute and volunteer to help out if you can. Thank you very much for supporting our club!

RSVP AND CONFIRMATION OF SPOTS: To keep waiting times low and prevent over-crowding (sometimes we will meet at a smaller venue with limited space), there are only a limited number of spots available. Please RSVP Yes to confirm your spot and get the details and address emailed to you. Once it's full, we cannot accept anymore people.

We're planning a VTC tennis tournament this summer. The tennis tournament fee will cost somewhere between $15 to $30. If you are an official volunteer for VTC, you can join the VTC tennis tournament for free, earn free tennis lessons, attend our events for free, get other benefits, etc. 

There will be a limited number of volunteers accepted for this tennis tournament. Approximately 12 official volunteer positions will be available for this VTC tennis tournament. Currently, 2 official volunteer positions are taken and there are 10 more positions available. You must attend this meeting to apply for the VTC tennis tournament volunteer position early if you want to reserve a spot. Only apply for the volunteer position if you are responsible, active, dedicated and can make a commitment.

RSVP "Yes" to reserve and confirm your spot. Due to limited space, be courteous to our dedicated club members by honouring your RSVP. If you change your mind or cannot make it, update and finalize your RSVP at least 24 hours before the start of the event. Free up spots for members who really want to join us and are committed to attend.

How to find the organizer(s) "The organizer will wear a VTC or VancouverTennisClub.com card in front of his shirt."

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS: Members can also network and get to know each other before we start playing tennis together. Also, we'll be having a discussion about our club, plan future events such as a VTC tennis tournament, and brainstorm new ideas. 

Only members in good standing who honour their RSVPs, comply with our rules and have a good track record will be sent the confirmation with the exact location, instructions and details. Our club is getting very busy and usually all our events are getting full. It's unfair to dedicated and serious members who want to attend but cannot RSVP because a spot was taken, wasted and not honoured. When people don't honour their RSVPs or follow our rules, they will not be in good standing anymore. 

We will strictly enforce honouring of RSVPs as a part of our club policy. We reserve the right to remove anyone not complying with our rules or policies. * Anyone who responds YES but pulls a "no-show" will be automatically flagged and filtered out by our system. We have a system in place to keep track of history and attendance.
 

EMAIL:  info AT VancouverTennisClub dotcom TENNIS COURT MAPS   |  VTC Meetup