ERIC KRAUSE

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BUILDING A FACILITY

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November 23, 2013 (On-Line)
 
Enthusiasts get ball bouncing at Sydney dome

Published on November 22, 2013

SYDNEY — Tennis enthusiasts will no longer have to shovel snow off their local courts in order to play their favourite sport.

© Submitted photo

Justin Pace, left, and William Buckland are shown
during a game of tennis at the Cape Breton Health Recreation Complex dome.

On Sunday, there will be an open house to promote indoor tennis at the Cape Breton Health Recreation Complex dome starting at 2:30 p.m. and running until 6 p.m.

Mike Pace, president of the Cromarty Tennis Club in Sydney, said moving indoors will encourage people to keep playing during the cold winter months.

Pace and Cromarty club vice-president Bill Buckland thought up the idea of using the soccer dome at Cape Breton University for tennis after hearing the facility was being underutilized.

"We went out and the ball bounced perfectly," said Pace. "We wanted to play for health and recreation, for kids, for older people, for just general health in sport."

To transform the dome into temporary tennis courts, four nets were ordered from the United States, said Pace.

"It's a way for tennis players to play year-round and for the dome to receive more revenue," he added.

Pace said the growth of tennis in Nova Scotia is on the rise and can be attributed to the success of Canadian tennis players, Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil.

"This past season Cromarty had one of its biggest memberships ever and we just wanted to keep it going," said Pace. "Cape Breton is the only place across Nova Scotia without indoor tennis courts and this would be a first for us."

For tennis players like Eric Krause, the move to an indoor court means he won't have to shovel snow in order to play tennis this winter.

Krause said while he's excited to play at the dome, he's still pushing for an indoor tennis facility in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

"We've practiced out (at the dome) a few times and it's going to be a little bit challenging for some players, but it's going to be interesting," said Krause.

"This will be the first time in about six years that we won't be playing outdoor tennis in the snow."

Anyone with an interest in tennis is encouraged to attend the open house. In addition to food and refreshments, there will also be tennis rackets provided.

Cape Breton Post, On-Line, November 23, 2013

April 19, 2013 (On-Line)

April 20, 2013 (Newspaper)

Quest for indoor tennis centre continues

CAPE BRETON POST
Published on April 19, 2013
 

By Elizabeth Patterson - Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — It seems like a natural, an indoor tennis centre for an area with lots of rain and chilly weather for about two-thirds of the year.
Yet, those behind the Cromarty Community Indoor Tennis Centre have been trying since 2006 to get funding support for their dream. And although the idea is still just that, chair Eric Krause remains determined that some day, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality will have its own indoor tennis facility.

“We’ve applied everywhere for infrastructure,” says Krause. “We’ve done everything we’re suppose to do and so far, we didn’t get anything.”

Despite numerous attempts to apply for funding, Krause says his group will simply keep trying.

“The closest we came was two or three years ago when the Harper government had the infrastructure program and we were eligible but then they changed the eligibility rules to only existing clubs and we don’t yet have a facility,” says Krause. “So we were put on Plan B and Plan B has never happened yet.”

The group wants to construct and operate the island’s first indoor facility which would consist of one doubles court for tennis. The cushioned court would be run by the centre and would be open year-round with a focus towards young, old and those with physical challenges.

For now, they are a non-profit federal charity, which means they can issue tax receipts for donations but it also means that they can’t make money by charging for memberships, although they can hold projects to make money. Any facility they build will be for public use.

While the building may not be happening yet, the group is behind a major tennis tournament and children’s clinics that will be held during the Labour Day weekend. The 2013 CCITC National Living Healthy 55+ Team Tennis Doubles Tournament is a round-robin event that will be aimed at players 55 and older who will be guaranteed six games each. The clinics will be for children between the ages of six and 16. The events will be held at Cromarty Tennis Club, Sydney River Tennis Club and New Waterford Tennis Club.

“We want to do it every year,” says Krause. “We’ll be basing it on the 55 plus tournament that was held here last year. We’re hoping to get some of those people to come back and play.”

The event will be open to about 56 teams and more information is available on the website, www.cromartytennis.ca/ccitc  . [Now Defunct]

epatterson@cbpost.com 

February 14, 2012

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Good Morning,

The Executive of Cromarty Tennis Club would like to have input in the Draft Interpretive Master Plan prepared by Stantec for the Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens Remediation Project. Our interest is the use of one of the pre-existing structures, or the construction of a new facility as a year-round indoor tennis facility. We are not proposing any financial commitment by our club, but rather our support to several proponents who have indicated an interest in providing this service. Public hearings regarding the future use of this property are now drawing near.

The meeting dates are as follows:

(1) Wednesday, February 15 (3 PM - 5 PM, Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design, 322 Charlotte Street, Sydney). Stantec will be making presentations just after 3 PM and 4 PM, of 15 minutes each

(2) Wednesday, February 15 (6 PM - 9 PM, Etoile de l'Acadie, 15 Inglis Street, Sydney)

(3) Thursday, February 16 (1 PM - 5 PM, Royal Canadian Legion, Whitney Pier Branch 128, 10 Wesley Street, Sydney)

I would like to encourage all members to please, if at all possible, come out and show your support for this project. This is certainly the next (and necessary) step for us as a growing tennis community, and something numerous people have worked at tirelessly to prepare. Both myself and Coach Kevin will be present, as well as many of the board who can shed more light on the project. I look forward to seeing you there!

Best,

Liam MacDonald
Certified Tennis Professional
Head Pro and Tennis Director
Cromarty Tennis Club

March 11, 2009
Letter to the Editor - Eric Krause
"Indoor Tennis Project Has A Foot In Both Camps"
 

Indoor tennis project has a foot in both camps
The Cape Breton Post

The recent opinion articles by Dr. Chris Milburn (Weekend Feedback: Palatial Fitness Centre an Extravagance Region Doesn’t Need, Feb. 28) and Dr. Andrew Lynk (Weekend Feedback: ‘Big Box’ Fitness Facilities Can Co-Exist with Community Assets, March 7) and others have been of great interest to the Cromarty Community Indoor Tennis Centre, which is fundraising to construct its “small-box,” all-season public facility on property at the Cape Breton Airport Authority.

In a way, our charity plans fall into both schools of thought.

As Dr. Lynk sees the fitness complex, we see our facility (obviously most valuable during inclement days of summer and winter) serving the entire Cape Breton Regional Municipality in a hub capacity.

However, more in line with Dr. Milburn’s view, we see the benefit of a satellite facility one day built on the Northside, with our proposed structure serving as a model.
Given the present circumstances (existing land, secured government and local funding, and a dedicated society), in this instance Dr. Lynk clearly wins.

As for the claim that he is part of an elite group, no, he is not, as I observed during several early meetings to which I was graciously invited for my input on indoor racquet sports when they were originally being considered for this location.

Really, what we have here is a familiar refrain, the one centred upon the belief that “big-box,” expensive hubs or central facilities are best, versus the view that numerous less expensive (in individual units but not in total dollars) community facilities, built as close to their centres as possible, serve the public interest best.

In most instances, the side that gets the funds first wins the foot race, with the unfortunate result that the losing side would rather cut off its nose despite its face.

Eric Krause
chair, Cromarty Community Indoor Tennis Centre

January 20, 2009

"Indoor Tennis Group 'Shovel Ready'"

By Greg MacVicar

Indoor tennis group 'shovel ready'

Finding the money the next big hurdle


BY GREG MACVICAR
     CAPE BRETON POST

SYDNEY - Playing on a cushioned court in a bright, spacious and warm building is the dream of local tennis enthusiasts who previously got their winter tennis fix by clearing snow from an outdoor court and playing in temperatures that dipped below 10 degrees Celsius.

"We played January, February, March," said Eric Krause, chairman of the Cromarty Community Indoor Tennis Centre, a Sydney-based charitable organization formed in 2006 with the ultimate goal of erecting a building devoted to year-round indoor tennis. "We played every day outdoors. But I decided it was too much work for all of us."

The CCITC got a big boost in December when the Sydney Airport Authority offered the group a 25-year lease on a plot of land near the airport for the centre, with access to sewer and water.

"We're 'shovel ready' like everybody says you have to be," said Krause. "We just don't have the money yet."

The building the group has in mind is a pre-engineered steel structure, 140 feet long, 80 feet wide, with walls 26 feet high and a maximum height of 39 feet at the central ridge, featuring one cushioned doubles court, 60 feet wide and 120 feet long, a number of children's courts and washrooms.

Krause estimates the minimum cost of the building at $400,000, with an engineered slab, insulation and cushioned court expected to be the priciest items on the centre's materials list.

The proposed cushioned floor will consist of several layers of rubber topped by an acrylic playing surface.

"That means it's good for young legs and old legs;' said Krause, a 66-year-old retired Fortress of Louisbourg historian and archivist, who's been playing tennis since he was 10 years old. "You don't get these knee injuries. It's a completely different game."

The CCITC, which is a tax-exempt Sydney-based charitable organization and registered with the Canada Revenue Agency, recently kicked off a charity donation drive.

"When it comes to the naming the facility itself, we're looking for a donor," said Krause. "If we get a major donor, we're more than happy to put their name on it."

He said a realistic scenario would see one third of the centre's cost being covered by donations, one third from the Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion and Protection, and one third in government infrastructure grants.

The health promotion department requires a group to have two-thirds of its funding in place by February of any given year before the department turns over its one-third and that money has to be spent within one year, so unless the CCITC gets a big infusion of cash in the next couple of weeks, the earliest they'll have 'shovels in the ground' is late-winter or early-spring 2010.

The group envisions a public facility available on a first-come, first-served basis, providing tennis lessons to students as a part of their school curriculum and offering training courses for tennis coaches, officials and instructors. The organization also plans to provide tennis programs for elderly players and disabled players.

To make a donation to the CCITC, visit www.cromartytennis.ca/ccitc  [Now Defunct] and click on the link to CanadaHelps.org. [Now Cancelled]Income tax receipts will be issued immediately.

__________________
 gmacvicar@cbpost.com