Contest: The Best Practice in this Photo

The final contest for this weekend is an easy one. There is a facility best practice in this photo that I wish every site would implement. While this particular image is from the Houston Racquet Club, the gracious hosts of the National Senior Women’s Clay Court Championships, this picture is independent of the tournament. It is just a generally good thing to do.

The first person to correctly identify this obvious yet exceedingly rare facility best practice shown in this photo will receive a Fiend at Court embroidered logo hat. Additionally, if there is another best practice in this image that I have overlooked, I will award an additional hat to the first person to identify it. Responses should be submitted in the comments section against this post at FiendAtCourt.com.

This is another case where the image is essential for the determination of the correct answer. If you don’t see a photo, your email client or web browser is blocking it. The picture can be viewed directly here for those that need it.

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The Solution to Friday’s Contest

Friday’s contest was to correctly identify the reason I keep a tennis ball in my sewing kit. There were many fabulous guesses with genuinely good ideas, making this an extremely fun exercise for me. Unfortunately, no one got the correct answer. After the deadline for entries passed this morning, I threw all the names in a hat to draw the winner. Traci Fambrough has scored this highly coveted piece of Fiend at Court swag.

The pockets on the shorts I wear for tennis sometimes come from the manufacturer with an opening that does not reliably secure tennis balls. The rules and implications of dropping a ball in the middle of a point were previously described in “Andy Murray’s Wardrobe Malfunction.” In addition to the loss of the point for hindrance, this is a safety issue as it is likely that a player who drops a ball will step on it during the course of the point.

I frequently stitch the pockets on my shorts to prevent inadvertent ball escapes. This requires finding the perfect pocket opening size: long enough to easily insert and remove tennis balls but short enough to reliably hold them in place. That brings us to the solution to yesterday’s contest.

I keep a tennis ball in my sewing kit to determine and verify that my pocket alterations will hold the balls while also allowing for ease of insertion and removal.

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The Solution to Saturday’s Contest

Saturday’s contest was to correctly identify all three best practices visible in the photo of the tournament desk from the National Senior Women’s Clay Court Championships. I also offered a prize for the identification of any best practices I may have overlooked in the photo.

The three best practices that I was specifically looking for are as follows:

1. Even/Odd Ball Stacks. There are two stacks of tennis ball cans, which are clearly intended to be separated as evidenced by the thumb tack creating space between the two piles. The administrators of this tournament pair the number on the balls with the court assignment. Matches on even courts receive even-numbered balls, and odd courts receive odd-numbered balls. That way adjacent courts will never receive the same numbered balls. This is a subtle one, but I would observe that I previously wrote about this “best practice” in “One Simple Trick for Managing Your Balls.“
2. Whiteboard of Court Assignments. The whiteboard provides an easy reference for matches currently on court. This allows spectators to quickly find specific matches or generally figure out where interesting ongoing matches are being played. I expected this one to be easy. I also previously wrote about this “best practice” in “Tournament Matches in Progress.”
3. Coman Tiebreak Sign. This tournament posted two laminated signs reminding players to use the Coman tiebreak at this event. The tiebreak used at this tournament has switched between the Coman and the standard tie-break game in recent years, so the reminder is appropriate and needed. Additionally, posting that information streamlines communication with the desk. Players who are uncertain don’t have to ask, and tournament staff is freed of the responsibility of repeatedly reminding the players.

Charlotte Hartsock was the first to answer correctly. However, many additional people also scored a hat by correctly identifying other best practices that appeared in the photo. Here is a rundown of those ideas and the first to submit each one:

• First Aid Kit. Doug French
• Tournament Desk Kit/Office Supplies: Allan Thompson
• Bulletin Board for Announcements: Bob Chandler
• Phone/Communication Devices: Sarah Barajas
• Pre-Opened Balls: Karen Doss (site) and Pat Alexander (Facebook).