OUR STORY
Tennis facilities in Bay City steadily declined through the years; the decline of facilities produced a decline in participation. This decline became a never ending circle: no courts, no players - no players, no courts. Then, in 2012, a local high school player decided his teammates needed courts just as nice as schools they played against and he started a campaign to raise funds for new tennis courts in Bay City.
About the same time this player started a fundraising campaign (with no idea how expensive tennis courts are), a vacant elementary school went up for sale, which caused concern for neighbors of this school. The school superintendent had an idea: let's get the neighbors together with the tennis people and see if they would be interested in fundraising for tennis courts on the site of the elementary. Bingo! Necessity being the mother of invention, the Bay Community Tennis Association was formed, received designation as a 501(c)(3) organization, adopted by-laws, chose a Board of Directors, and set out to build eight public outdoor tennis courts.
June, 2019, after many years of hard work by many people, the Bay Community Tennis Association proudly opened the Janet Jopke Courts at Richard Shaw Park in Bay City at 325 Park Avenue. Eight handicap accessible courts, ADA compliant restrooms, a storage room two parking lots, landscaping, and signage. Tennis camps are offered in cooperation with the Dow Bay Area Family YMCA. There are social tennis activities for adults, weekend tournaments, a high school plays and practices at the park - dreams came true!!
The present focus of the Bay Community Tennis Association is to enhance and maintain the facilities so this site does not end up like so many previous sites in the area.
Vision
Mission
The Bay Community Tennis Association provides tennis courts for recreation and competitive use, promoting health, fitness, and athletic excellence through a highly-maintained outdoor recreational facility
The BCTA will provide a facility as well as both recreational and competitive programming for every individual interested in the game of tennis.
