NEWBURYPORT – Construction of three new tennis courts at the Nock Middle School will not likely be finished this May in time for Newburyport High School to host the state scholastic tennis championships in June.
But thanks to a grant of $474,560 from the taxpayer-funded Community Preservation Commission (CPA), the talented ninth, 10th and 11th graders should be in a position before they graduate to play host on their home courts to the state championships.
For the last several seasons when the Newburyport girls’ team fielded one of the best – if not the best – teams in the state, they could not host the state championships and have home court advantage because the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Assn. (MIAA) requires a high school varsity tennis team to have four courts together to host tournament matches.
The legend is that the state approved the four-courts-together rule when it got frustrated with Newburyport when matches on the three courts at Atkinson had to play late to get them all played.
In 2002, the city and the school district joined together to renovate a pair of defunct tennis courts at the eastern edge of the middle school campus on Johnson Street. It used about $200,000 in CPA funding to build two beautiful courts.
But that gave the school district only two courts together. Three more were across town at Atkinson Park, but not in the same vicinity.
To meet the four-court-together MIAA rule, adding a fourth court at Atkinson was considered in years past. But to build a fourth court next to the three existing in the park would have required removing some beautiful trees in a park that is very popular with dog walkers and joggers.
The courts are also within feet of the 50-foot rock watch tower, built by the Depression-era WPA, and has become a favorite background for picnics and wedding photographers. Adding another tennis court was frowned on by many locals.
The Friends of Newburyport Tennis raised $20,000 to build the new courts at the middle school. Much of that funding was from a GoFundMe page organized by Rosemary Turgeon and others, to build more courts on the Nock campus.
“This is really good for the community,” said Kim Turner, director of special projects for Mayor Sean Reardon and credited with making the long-awaited tennis courts a reality.
For a variety of projects, the CPA matches state grant from a fund raised by a 2 percent property tax surcharge. The money is used for housing, recreation open space and historic preservation projects.
The city had roughly $1.5 million available in CPA money this year, and the nine-member CPA Committee recommended funding 15 projects to the City Council, including the three tennis courts.
According to avid tennis player Greg Lynch, who helped coach the girls’ team and keeps track of the boys’ teams, where his son played, both teams will be competitive for the state title. But the girls, who have been top seeds for the last several years, graduated some of their best players, notably Caroline Schulson. As a result, the team will only be “good” this year.
The boys’ team, Lynch said, has “tremendous talent” and will be a contender.
♦
