The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians introduced student and staff members at Los Olivos Elementary School to their newly renovated recreational tennis courts—a $120,000 project—on May 1. The multi-use courts were made possible through a partnership between the tribe and Santa Ynez Youth Recreation.
The previous courts, built in the 1970s, had become worn and cracked after years of use and were determined to be unsafe and unusable. It became clear that the area was in need of new facilities, and that’s when the tribe stepped in to provide help with the necessary funding.
“The tribe has donated over $18 million throughout the years to our local community, and it’s projects like this that we take great pleasure in doing,” Vincent Armenta, tribal chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash, said in a press release.
The facility boasts courts with professional-grade surfacing and new tennis nets, along with four basketball hoops. Accessible to the general public, the courts will be able to provide a venue for fun as summer approaches.
A May 1 reception included speeches from Armenta, Los Olivos Elementary School Principal Bridget Baublits, and Santa Ynez Valley Youth Recreation President Frank Kelsey.
The program also featured a tennis exhibition courtesy of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School’s No. 1-ranked boys’ doubles team, Kyle and Colin Schoen, along with singles player and fellow Pirate Trinity Baublits.
“We’ve done this a couple times with the Chumash, and it’s been a win-win situation every time,” Kelsey said in the press release. “We can get a lot more done with twice as much money, and now [Los Olivos] has a first-class facility. It’s the Ferrari of tennis courts.”
This article appears in May 8-15, 2014.
