I spent a couple of hours at Fort Snelling Tennis Center, pictured below. The twin bubbles cover eight tennis courts that are quite heavily used this time of year. I don't know who invented the bubbles back in the 1960's (I think), but they were one of the innovations that made tennis in Minnesota in the winter a possibility. I understand that they are kept up mainly through judicious use of air pressure. The bubbles rise high enough in the middle to allow a reasonable altitude to lobs and makes the game pretty interesting for the geezers among us who like to throw up a high one once in a while. There was quite a bit of that today. The bubbles come down in the spring and the club becomes an outdoor tennis center, with wind and sun problems and all that outdoor tennis entails. In the winter months the temperature in the bubbles can get a little chilly, but wind chill inside, at least, is not a problem. The heating system seems adequate for most Minnesota days.
I substituted for Ex-prof Bill today in a good group of tennis ball strikers - Gary, Dennis, and Bill filled out the day's roster. We played two competitive sets, changing partners between sets, 3-6. 7-5.
I came home for a late lunch and a short nap.
1 comment:
I've never seen anything like that before. Interesting idea -- if they work in Minnesota, they should work anywhere.
Nic winter photo. I'm getting tired of the cold and snow already, and winter isn't offically here yet.
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