Richards Tennis Courts Eyed for Restoration

After a successful Cumberland tennis court fundraiser, an effort is now underway to restore the tennis courts on the north end of the village at Richards School.

Carol Fairborn, the chairperson of the Richards fundraising committee, went before the Whitefish Bay School Board Wednesday night requesting permission to proceed with a fundraising effort that would restore the four-court tennis area on the southeast end of the school's property. The committee has not yet asked for public funds, but intends to pursue a public-private partnership with the school district.

No design specifics or cost estimates have been presented at this time. Those details will be known after the snow melts and soil tests are conducted, according to Shawn Yde, the district's director of business services.

The Richards tennis court area is larger than Cumberland's, so Fairborn expects the price tag will also be higher. 

"We are looking to get the ball rolling on our end with your approval and your blessing," Fairborn told board members. "We do realize the costs we are fundraising for are substantially high, so we'd like to get started sooner rather than later."

The beginning of the Richards fundraising effort comes on the heels of the successful fundraiser held for the reconstruction of the Cumberland School tennis courts, which are expected to be constructed soon.

The Cumberland Tennis Court Reconstruction Committee recently met its  fundraising goal, with $13,680 from the Cumberland PTO,  from the School Board and  from the Hayes family. The committee hopes to have the new courts completed by summer of 2013.

Fairborn said tennis will be integrated into the curriculum at Richards. Similar to Cumberland, Richards will utilize the QuickStart Tennis program, which scales down all aspects of regulation tennis so the game becomes specifically tailored to a child’s age and size, helping them be successful from the first swing. The Wisconsin Tennis Association has donated child-sized racquets, balls, and nets to support this initiative. 

The board gave Fairborn the go-ahead to continue with a fundraiser for the Richards courts. School Board Pam Woodard said she was happy to see parents get together with the goal of restoring Richards' tennis court.

"I'm not surprised that someone from Richards would step up and organize parents now that they saw what was being done at Cumberland, because our schools have a healthy competitiveness that drives our district forward," Woodard said.