Alright, so yesterday I finally got around to figuring out the whole Reston Team Tennis League deal for the summer season. Been meaning to join a league forever, but you know how it is – life gets busy. Anyway, here’s how it went down, step by painful step.
The Starting Point: Pure Confusion
First things first, I had zero clue when things even kicked off. Knew Reston had leagues, obviously, but the actual start date? Nope. Kept putting it off, thinking “Eh, I’ll check later.” Then bam, my buddy mentions his team’s already signed up. Panic mode. Off to the Reston Association website I went.
Finding the actual tennis page was a scavenger hunt. Buried under “Activities” or “Recreation,” whatever. Took clicks. Damn website.
Digging for Start Dates
Finally found the tennis section. Eyes scanning. Tons of info about lessons, courts, blah blah. Where are the adult leagues? Had to expand some hidden menus. There it was! “Team Tennis Leagues.” Clicked.
Scrolled forever. Found a tiny table way down the page. Summer season… started scanning:
- Men’s Doubles: Week of June 3rd? Sounded familiar.
- Women’s Doubles: Week of June 10th? Okay.
- Mixed Doubles: Week of June 17th? Hold up.
Why the staggered starts? Makes scheduling a pain for folks like me interested in more than one league. Noted that annoyance. At least I had dates now.
The Cost Factor: Mild Heart Attack
Next hurdle: How much is this gonna cost me? Seriously, why is this always so hard to find? The page mentioned fees in a paragraph stuffed between court rules and rain policies. Sigh.
Squinted at the text. Something like:
- $45 league fee? Seemed low.
- $20 processing charge? Huh.
- Plus $30 player card fee? Seriously? That’s new since last year!
Did the math. $95 total? Damn. Thought it was just the $45 league fee. This Player Card thing is sneaky. They really bury that extra cost. Budget officially adjusted. Griped about it to my wife for a solid 10 minutes.
The Location Hunt: Not All Courts Are Equal
Okay, dates and cost handled (sorta). Where am I even playing? Website mentioned multiple Reston Association courts, but which ones? Took more digging within the league section descriptions.
Found a vague note: “Matches primarily held at RA Tennis Courts throughout Reston.” Super helpful. Not.
Remembered my friend played last summer. Texted him: “Yo, where were most of your matches?” He shot back:
- Lake Newport Tennis Courts: His home court basically.
- Hunters Woods Courts: Played there a bunch.
- Occasionally Uplands: Nice courts, bit farther.
Made sense. Those are the big ones RA maintains. Still annoying that the league info page doesn’t just straight-up list the top 3 courts they use most. Figured Lake Newport or Hunters Woods are my best bets location-wise.
Sealing the Deal (Well, Almost)
So after that whole afternoon adventure – navigating the website, finding dates, discovering hidden costs, texting buddies for court locations – I felt like I’d run a marathon. Not registering yet, gotta coordinate with partners first. But at least now I know:
- When: Men’s starts week of June 3rd, Mixed later June 17th.
- How Much: $95 total, not $45.
- Where: Likely Lake Newport or Hunters Woods.
Honestly, wish they made this info clear upfront instead of making us dig for gold. But hey, that’s the process. Hope my digging saves some of you time! Off to find teammates now…