Home

The Keizer Tennis Association will host a tennis block party Saturday, June 20, 9 a.m. to noon, at McNary High School in Keizer. The block party is free and open to the public. Families are welcome to attend. The festival-like event will feature interactive games, instruction and activities such as a Family Fun Zone. Participants will also have the chance to try out new racquets and win prizes as well as learn more about summer tennis programs offered in Keizer.

Tennis block parties are designed to expose new and existing players to the sport in a fun and entertaining manner. Players of all ages and ability levels will have the opportunity to learn and enjoy the benefits of playing tennis. Developed by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), tennis block parties will be held in more than 130 markets nationwide this year to help promote tennis.

"It is an exciting time for the sport with participation at record levels in the U.S," said Blair Thompson, USTA Pacific Northwest community marketing manager. "And tennis block parties help show why so many people are playing tennis by highlighting the fun and fitness benefits for people of all ages."

For more information about the block party or local tennis programs, contact Rick Hammerquist at 503-585-4819 or email him at rick.hammerquist@gmail.com. McNary High School is at 595 Chemawa Road. in Keizer. In case of rain, the block party will be rescheduled for the following Saturday. 

Mary Lou Obloy, Kezier Tennis Association board member and avid senior tennis player, recently donated $1000 to the KTA. This is the single biggest donation so far.  $500.00 will go into the tennis court fund and $500.00 will go toward this summer's tennis program.  Mary Lou's service and donation to our organization is very much appreciated. 

2/17/2009: Keizer City Council Passes Resolution for the Keizer Rapids Tennis Courts

The Keizer City Council unanimously passed a resolution to allow the City Manager to commit $50,000 of parks system development charges to build tennis courts at Keizer Rapids Park. The funds’ release is contingent upon the Keizer Tennis Association raising $130,000. The total cost of four courts will be $180,000. The City council informally talked about relocating the courts to another area of the park to allow for future expansion of the tennis center to six or even eight courts.

Meanwhile, the KTA has applied for a USTA facilities grant worth $50,000 and Rick Hammerquist reports the USTA is very interested in helping the Keizer Rapids project succeed.

The KTA’s next step is to begin a fundraising campaign and the KTA intends to work with City of Keizer to apply for other grants such as the Land and Water Conservation Grant through the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. This grant can provide matching money. For example, if the KTA and City raise $100,000, the OPRD could grant a match of $100,000 for a total amount of $200,000.

So, please, be a part of bringing the gift of tennis to Keizer. Consider donating today.

By LANCE MASTERSON of The Keizertimes

Count Rick Hammerquist among those who hope the City of Keizer follows through with its park board’s recommendation. Hammerquist, president of the Keizer Tennis Association, was present when the board recommended the City contributes $50,000 toward the construction of four tennis courts at Keizer Rapids Park. It is not known when the City will address the recommendation, but its next meeting is Monday, F eb. 2. The board’s recommendation added said funds could come from System Development Charges. Hammer quist added estimated cost for Phase I of the tennis complex exceeds $180,000. Planned for Phase I are four courts pre-wired for lighting and including fencing and landscaping.

“Construction could begin as soon as this summer if everything falls into place, but definitely by the following summer,” said Hammerquist. “If the City commits to the $50,000, it makes it easier for us to get other grants.” Additional funding could come from a United States Tennis Association Public Facility Funding Program grant of $50,000, in-kind donations, fundraising efforts and other sources.

“We’ll do what we can the Keizer way,” Hammerquist said of reliance on volunteer labor. “But we also want to make sure the courts meet certain standards, and so we will need to rely on professionals at times.”

Hammerquest added ideally professionals will be willing to volunteer their services to the project. The USTA will also provide free technical assistance to ensure the courts meet industry standards. Courts are planned for just south of the dog park and adjacent to the parking lot.

Phase II includes construction of a pavilion for an estimated $22,000. The pavilion is envisioned as a roofed shelter with seating and/or picnic tables and a small cement storage area. It will provide space for tennis equipment storage, message and event boards, and a shaded gathering area for people viewing tennis or waiting for a court to open.

Phase III is estimated at $60,000 and includes lighting. The lighting will extend the hours of the courts, thus making lessons, competitions and play more accessible to enthusiasts. KTA contacted contractors experienced in constructing quality tennis courts for its estimates. With or without City approval, the association will press on with its mission to bring tennis to Keizer.

“We’ll keep persisting. We’ll keep growing our program,” said Hammerquist. “If we keep building our program, the demand for tennis here will only increase.”

The KTA has brought tennis to 100 children and 20 adults through its clinics and lessons, even though it’s been in existence for just a little more than a year.

Rick Hammerquist, KTA president, was awarded a 2008 Community Champion award by the United States Tennis Association and its Pacific Northwest section. This award recognizes “ground level” contributors who are often the quiet movers and shakers that make things happen at the local level for community based program and/or projects. The Community Champion award will be presented to Hammerquist during the USTA pacific Northwest Awards and Hall of Fame dinner on Saturday, October 25th at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Tigard, Oregon.

Return to main News links page

By Jillian Daley of The Statesman Journal

Keizer now boasts its own tennis group and soon could sport new tennis courts at Keizer Rapids Park. The Keizer Community Tennis Association, a non-profit formed in February, will offer lessons to children and adults starting Monday. Keizer has a parks and recreation department but no recreation program, so groups that organize their own sports activities are essential to keeping athletics alive munity, said Rick Hammerquist, the group founder and a former United States Tennis Association certified teacher. "I wondered where kids went for tennis lessons in Keizer: They don't," Hammerquist said. "They go to Salem."

To really get the new tennis program off the ground, a new court is essential for Keizer, Hammerquist said, adding that Keizer's tennis courts are not the best. So, Hammerquist is proposing building four to six outdoor tennis courts at Keizer Rapids Park. "I'm supportive of any grassroots effort that wants to bring recreational activities to Keizer," said Keizer City Council member Richard Walsh, who helped found Keizer Rapids Park. Six courts at the park would be best, as it would allow Salem-Keizer School District meets to be held in Keizer, Hammerquist said.

He plans to go to a tennis court symposium in Portland later this month to learn who to talk to and how to get started on the design. Now, he estimates he needs to raise $200,000 to $300,000 within a year to start construction at the park next summer. 

"We've applied for grants through the United States Tennis Association," he said. "Their goal is to get the top tennis player in the world coming from the United States and, the more tennis courts we have, the healthier we can make tennis in the United States."

For now, the plan is to use the McNary High School facilities for the group's lessons - even if the courts are in serious need of maintenance.  McNary High School's four tennis courts are laced with cracks, some as wide as 2 inches, with grass tufts sprouting from them. "It's almost dangerous to play on" the McNary courts, Hammerquist said.

Keizer has two other tennis facilities. One is at Willamette Manor Park, but its surface also is cracked, and the park has only one court. Bob Newton Family Park formerly Willark Park, offers one court that shares space with a couple of basketball hoops. There are no nets.

"If you see some duct tape on the net, that is from me - my attempt to fix the net," Hammerquist said. "I might just buy the city some nets."  Even with a new net, the Bob Newton court is laid out east-west. "That's a faux pax," Hammerquest said. A court generally must be built north-south, so the sun is not shining in a player's eyes.

Bob Newton area resident Darren Noble said it's a problem for the neighborhood people who want to play tennis. "Generally, people work, and the sun, as we know it, is over there at the end of the day," said Noble, pointing to the west. There are activities in Keizer such as Keizer Little League, Boy Scouts of America troops and other groups, Noble said. Yet, he wishes Keizer had a little more recreation to offer - even if it isn't athletics.

By Lance Masterson of The Keizertimes 

Tennis courts at Keizer Rapids Park received a major boost when the concept gained approval of the parks advisory board. Specifically, the park board approved that four "sports courts" at Keizer Rapids Park be redefined in the master plan as "tennis courts." The change in terms was deemed insignificant enough that the master plan itself will not have to be amended. Thus all the change needs is approval from the Keizer City Council.

During the parks board meeting, which was held Tuesday, April 8, there was also talk about adding as many as four more courts at a later date. A court specific to basketball could also be in the park's future as well.

In a related mater: Keizer Community Tennis Association (KCTA) announced it could offer lessons to children and adults as soon as this summer. "We plan on teaching youngsters through a new program called Quickstart Tennis," said KCTA President Rick Hammerquist. Quickstart Tennis is affiliated with the United States Tennis Association.

KCTA meets 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, at the McNary High School library.

By Lance Masterson of The Keizertimes 

What's in a name? Plenty, if you're a member of the Keizer Community Tennis Association (KCTA). KCTA went to Tuesday's night Keizer Rapids Park working group meeting with a simple goal in mind: Start the process to change "Sports Courts" to "Tennis Courts" in the park's master plan.

According to KCTA President Rick Hammerquist, attending the meeting was time well spent. "It appears we decided on four courts with an asphalt basketball court adjacent to the tennis courts," said Hammerquist. "The Keizer Rapids master plan will now have to be formally amended by the parks board and Keizer City Council. All in all, it is not much of a change to the master plan. I think it has a great chance of going forward and being adopted."

KCTA did not favor tennis players sharing court space with basketball players. The term "sports courts" suggest multiple use and wasn't specific enough. "Nobody spoke up for tennis while the master plan was being developed, so I think people said let's do ‘sports courts' and please as many people we can," said Hammerquist. Hammerquist, a former tennis instructor, moved to Keizer with his family after the master plan was approved last year. Work remains, however.

"KCTA still has to go through the process of amending the master plan before we can say there's a spot for tennis at Keizer Rapids Park," said Vickie Hilgemann, chairperson of the Keizer Parks Advisory Board. "Until that happens, there's not much we can do." Any amendment must also gain approval from the Keizer City Council and, if necessary, Marion County. The county's involvement hinges on how "significant" any addition is, said Bill Lawyer, the city's superintendent of public works.

KCTA's plans for a tennis complex, which originally called for eight courts, has been downsized to four courts over the past month or so. Also downsized is the court's original estimate which exceeded $500,000 for a dream complex. Four courts, Hammerquist said, can be completed for much less money, especially with donations and volunteer labor. Still, the price tag won't be cheap. But grants and other financial assistance are harder to come by without a designated tennis site.

"Keizer Rapids Park will be a gem, if it can be developed," said Hammerquist. "It has so much potential."

By Lance Masterson of The Keizertimes 

A price tag has been attached to the first-class tennis facility proposed for Keizer and Keizer Rapids Park. According to Rick Hammerquist, president of the Keizer Community Tennis Association, estimated costs range from $216,000 for a four-court facility to as much as $580,000 for an eight-court facility. These estimates reportedly came from Bob Lundgren of Atlas Track and Tennis. The most expensive of these bids includes two banks of four courts, viewing area, pro shop, pavilion and bleachers. Future additions could include lights - courts will be prewired - and bubble tops to allow for play in poor weather. The center will also be professionally landscaped. A preferred site has been identified, the northern part of the park, wedged between the main entrance and proposed dog parks.

Hammerquist cautions that plans are preliminary – the Keizer Parks Advisory Board have yet to see them, for example – and estimated costs could be reduced significantly through the use of volunteer labor, donated supplies and equipment, and funding from outside sources, such as through National Parks and Recreation, United States Tennis Association and other nonprofit organizations and foundations.

Given this, "I'm sure it will cost less than the estimates," said Hammerquist. The association will present its business proposal to the parks board at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, March 11, at City Hall. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Hammerquist is hopeful the city will eventually add a tennis complex to its master plan for the park. "Once that happens, if it does happen, it will make it easier for us to go after funding," said Hammerquist. "A tennis center like this would be very unique to this highly populated area," Hammerquist added. "It would bring people to the community."

Hammerquist said development could also be done in increments. He added he knows local residents may not consider tennis courts a priority. But the fact is "Keizer does not have adequate courts to play on. Our goal is to build courts that people will use. If you have the tennis courts and they're nice, people will use them. It will be a nice draw for the park."

According to the association's business proposal, Keizer and its 35,000 residents currently have few options for tennis. One tennis court is at Willamette Manor Park and a second is at Bob Newton Family Park (formerly Wilark Park). "Both courts are in fair to poor condition and are also used for basketball," said Hammerquist. McNary High School has four courts, which are described in the proposal as being "in very poor shape."

"Our number one goal is to garner support to build a first-class tennis facility in the Keizer Rapids Park," said Hammerquist. "Once a facility is built, the (association) will provide dynamic programming such as low cost instructional programs, leagues, special events, wheelchair tennis and tournaments."