CONWAY, N.H. – Most of the best tennis players have the ability to adapt to any situation.
Apparently, so too do some of the best tennis advocates.
Nancy Osborne, founder of the Mount Washington Valley Community Tennis Association, was looking for a place to construct QuickStart Tennis courts for the area’s youngest players, and found it in the form of an unused parking lot in the center of town.
"There’s an old lot that was the parking lot for a school administration building, and the building was actually moved to another location," Osborne said. "I asked the school board if we could us the lot on a temporary basis and they agreed."
With a place to play secured, the work had just begun for Osborne and the dedicated cast of volunteers from the Mount Washington Valley CTA.
Thanks to support from the Chamber of Commerce, a nearby Lowe’s store and the Cranmore Fitness Center, and some good, old-fashioned elbow grease, the empty lot became home to three QuickStart courts – two 36-foot and one 60-foot.
Osborne and her husband erected a temporary fence around the perimeter of the lot, and used a loaner paint striper from Cranmore to paint lines.
Early in July, the CTA held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and the action on the courts has been in full swing ever since.
"Most of the people who know about the park are really excited about it and it’s created some interest in the area," Osborne said. "The most important thing was to provide a place for these kids to play."
At a recent Jr. Team Tennis practice, 18 players attended. The Conway area will have three Jr. Team Tennis squads participating this summer, bringing to 13 the total number of JTT teams in the Mount Washington Valley area.