A lot of tennis then, was being played, weekly 'stages', were keeping the teachers busy, & everyone was having a good time! But also workers were seen to be starting preparations for new constructions on two of our five clay courts; numbers 10 & 11. This work continued until about a week ago, when suddenly all these efforts came to fruition; here are photos to show these transformations.
First, unpacking the parcels.
Next, spreading out the cover sheets.
Many tricky arrangements of all this material followed, with a vital fixing down of all the edges to the prepared base. The whole structure then was inflated - pushed up & out by air pressure: a procedure lasting a mere twenty minutes!
And here is the resulting 'bubble' (bulle) for court 11, as seen from the Restaurant Terrace & Centre Court.
And number 10, the most southerly of the courts, now appears like this, behind a few cypress tree branches in the photo.
And here is the court from inside. The sunlight entering here is quite sufficient for play during the day. Artificial lighting for evening play will be provided by 10 lamps per court - one support (without reflector & bulb ) is visible to the left of the photo.
So we now have two covered, clay courts which can be used whatever the weather. A great improvement if members remember the frustrations for clay court players of the three first months of this year 2013. Congratulations & thanks then to the Vignal Owners, Sandrine & Olivier!
Just an important security note to finish this post.
As the whole structure of this kind of court is supported by the air inside being maintained at a higher pressure than the atmosphere outside, & that this situation is kept stable by the continued use of a ventilator fan outside (& a second one in case of an electricity power cut), only one door of the double-door entry system, must be opened at a time, & this is essential for your own safety, & for the safety of others!
