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The Student Voice of Wichita Northwest High School

Northwest Explorer

The Student Voice of Wichita Northwest High School

Northwest Explorer

The Student Voice of Wichita Northwest High School

Northwest Explorer

Northwest Receives New Tennis Courts

Anyone in the world with Internet access may log onto Google Earth and see a pristine satellite image of our expansive school. The North and South parking lots, the baseball field, the soccer fields, the football field and…oh my. That’s right, the deep and jagged cracks snaking their way across the span of our 30-year-old tennis courts can be seen and admired from space. Because of this, school administrators decided it was time for an upgrade.

“Construction of the new tennis courts began in April,” Jacob Means, athletics director said. “There’s still a little dirt work and fencing to be completed on the courts, but the tennis team has been enjoying them since the start of the semester.”

The old tennis courts had rows of trees on the North, South and West sides, acting as natural windbreakers and providing much needed shade on a hot sunny day.

“I like the new courts,” junior and varsity tennis player​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​Kelci Glover said. “Though there’s still some work to do, these courts are a lot nicer and more fun to play on. Also, since we’ve started playing on the new courts more people have come to watch us.”

In the midst of our economic problems, how do we manage to adopt such a costly addition to our school?

“A few years ago we voted on a bond issue that has granted our school new turf on the football field as well as these new tennis courts,” Means said. “There are eight courts instead of six, and they have an altogether better look and feel to them.”

The new courts have a few improvements including, instead of trees, slats in the fence on the North and South ends to block wind and tension rods built underneath the court to keep it from the same cracked and crumbly fate as the old courts. In addition, the shape of the courts create a subtle water slope, eliminating pesky puddles and slippery shoes.

“Because we now have our own nice tennis courts, we no longer have to rely on other public facilities and we may now host our own tennis tournaments,” Means said.

So what else does the future hold?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ At the moment, Northwest, South, East and Heights have new tennis courts. By this time next year, West, North and South East will have them as well. So a few years from now when Google Earth updates it’s satellite images, Northwest and six other Wichita high schools will proudly present to the entire world our new and improved tennis courts.

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