Tennis, anyone?
New players, volunteers and donors are now being sought by the local tennis group that built Ragle Park’s “courts of dreams”
Like the famous line, “If you build it, they will come,” from the baseball movie, “Field of Dreams,” it turns out it’s even more true if you build it for yourself. And, that’s how the top-quality tennis courts at Ragle Ranch Regional Park got built back in 1995. They have been attracting both locals and regional tournament players ever since. The unique private-public park partnership between the county government and the all-volunteer, nonprofit West County Tennis Association (WCTA) is now 35 years old and is still scoring aces for fun play, timely maintenance and affordable operations.
But, the original builders and dreamers of WCTA are now “aging-out” and hope to attract some new members and local tennis enthusiasts to help with the upkeep of the four surfaced courts nestled in the northeast corner of the county park that is located on the western edge of the city of Sebastopol. The courts are open daily for all levels of players at no extra charge on top of regular park admission ($8.) Walk-ins are free.
Ragle Ranch Regional Park is one of the county system’s most-used parks and provides soccer and ball fields, picnic areas, volleyball courts, children’s playgrounds, multiple hiking trails and natural habitat settings along the Atascadero Creek watershed.
But the park’s master plan, first drafted in the mid 1980s, never included tennis courts. That’s when local tennis player and youth instructor Rich Cardiff approached Ernie Carpenter, the west county’s elected supervisor at the time, about adding courts.
“Ernie told me if I could get 500 names on a petition, he might consider supporting it,” Cardiff recently told the Sebastopol Times. “It didn’t take long. I stood out in front of the local grocery stores and got the signatures, and the rest is history.”
The county government signed a contract with the WCTA members, who built the courts and provided regular maintenance, including court re-surfacing through the years. The arrangement has continued through multiple multi-year contracts, with the current agreement set for renewal in 2028. “There’s never been any tax dollars spent,” said Cardiff.
And, there’s been a lot of tennis history played and witnessed at the Ragle Park courts. Cardiff, and now Sam Levy, have tutored thousands of young tennis players over the years. In addition to the play by local WCTA members and the general public, the Ragle courts have hosted decades of USTA (United States Tennis Association) regional and sectional tournaments as well.
Challenges ahead for the “courts of dream”
But the Ragle Park courts and the original dreams that got them built in the first place may soon be facing some new challenges. Cardiff, age 80, and his wife Wanda, recently stepped down from WCTA leadership due to age and none of the other board members are getting any younger. Current board president Jon Carroll and other WCTA board members are now mounting a membership and fundraising campaign as they face an imminent big expense to refurbish the foundation under the courts.
“We’re now looking for more membership and support for our upcoming campaign and community appeal,” said Carroll. “We’re inviting people to come join us and play, or be a part of keeping the courts going.”
John Cruz, a board member, estimated that the members have been contributing about 1,000 volunteer hours a year to maintain the courts. “Over 35 years we’ve saved the county about $450,000 in maintenance costs. I’m not sure they would even have that labor or money to spend.”
In its heyday, the WCTA boasted 200 members but is now down to fewer than 50 or 60. Annual memberships are only $60 a year. The upcoming court renovation project is estimated to cost as much as $60,000.
The original construction in 1996 was completed with hours and hours of volunteer labor, plus “in-kind” work from a few local building contractors. “We probably ended up spending about $100,000 for what was a $1 million project,” Cardiff remembers.
“We’ve had a great partnership through all these many years,” reported Sarah Campbell, a marketing specialist for Sonoma County Regional Parks. “The volunteers (WCTA) have contributed countless hours of work and massive amounts of fundraising. We look forward to a continued relationship.”
Bruce Nachtigall, another original WCTA board member, described the current membership and fund drive as an effort to “re-knit the local tennis community. We think there are many other people who might want to join us and increase their enjoyment of playing and sharing tennis.”
The WCTA offers several levels of play or involvement, various board members recently emphasized. Players might be seeking additional doubles or singles players or wish to participate in the USTA and National Tennis Rating Program for more competitive tennis matches. All ages and ability levels are welcome and even non-players who want to just help maintain the courts or share social gatherings are encouraged to join. Single and group lessons are also available.
Carroll said the tennis group may be hosting some future “hit and giggle” events to welcome new or prospective members.
The public-private partnership that supports the Ragle Ranch tennis courts is one of a few other such contracts that support dedicated services or facilities at many of the county’s other 54 regional parks. For example, the Sonoma County Farm Trails has a longstanding agreement to stage its annual Gravenstein Apple Fair at the Ragle Ranch Regional Park every August. Also several West County youth soccer leagues have volunteered field maintenance at the busy park.
The Ragle Park courts are strictly “tennis only” and are open only from dawn to dusk with no artificial lights. Parking and restrooms are nearby. The WCTA is allowed to reserve the court complex a few times a year for club or USTA tournament play. The WCTA also has permission to conduct tennis lessons for youth and other players, currently led by Sam Levy. Levy, 63, is a top regional tennis pro who has been leading the WCTA youth programs for over a decade.
Summer Youth Camp
The WCTA is now enrolling youth ages 7 to 17 for a summer junior tennis program, led by Levy and assistants. Fees are $30 to $40 for multiple sessions. Call (707) 738-7694 for more information. The program begins in June.
There are other tennis court facilities in Sebastopol and West County, but only the Ragle Park courts are dedicated to tennis only. Recently, the courts at both Brook Haven School and the Occidental Community Center were “re-striped” to accommodate pickleball play, while keeping the tennis court boundaries outlined as well. Tennis courts at Analy High School are mostly limited to student-only play, except for some weekends.
According to county regional park officials, there are no current plans to add pickleball play at the Ragle Park courts, even though the county has converted some tennis courts at other parks to hybrid play.
“We couldn’t host the many USTA tournaments and events we do if the courts were ‘multiple-striped,’” Cardiff said. “That’s revenue we would be losing.”
The Ragle Park courts and WCTA are set to host about 15 USTA tournaments this spring and summer, which will attract a few hundred regional players to Sebastopol. The WCTA and instructor Levy also pay court fees for court reservations. Over the years, the WCTA and its “courts of dream” at Ragle have produced 37 teams that have qualified for USTA national tournaments, Cardiff said.
For information about the West County Tennis Association and its current membership and fundraising drive visit the website at www.westcountytennis.org. People may also call Sam Levy at (707) 738-7694 or mail membership inquiries to WCTA, P.O. Box 1010, Sebastopol, CA, 95473.
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They would get a lot more community support if they converted 1 or 2 courts to 4-8 pickleball courts!