Facing rain, plan is for state tennis tournaments to go on as scheduled — for now
The state tennis tournaments begin on Thursday, and each site faces the possibility of a weather delay on that first day. But the plan, at least for now, is to operate as though the tournaments will go on as scheduled.
Storms early this week, including rain on Wednesday, could leave the courts wet and unplayable on Thursday morning. Or they may not.
Because play might go on as scheduled, all players are coaches need to plan on showing up on Thursday morning. There is a mandatory coaches meeting at each site where further information will be communicated.
The meetings are planned for the following times at each site:
- 3A: 8 a.m., Centennial Park in Greeley
- 4A: 8:40 a.m., Pueblo City Park
- 5A: 8:40 a.m., Gates Tennis Center in Denver
“No matter what the weather is on Thursday, those meetings will happen,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bethany Brookens, who is in charge of tennis. “If it’s needed, we will communicate our plan to adjust the tournaments for weather at that time.”
Each tournament is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
Forecasts for all three sites — Denver (5A), Pueblo (4A) and Greeley (3A) — show an 80-90 percent chance of rain on Wednesday, with it lasting into the early morning hours on Thursday, clearing around 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday are expected to be clear in all three cities, with temperatures in the mid-70s and low-80s.
Each tournament has a format that would allow them to condense from three to two days, if needed, Brookens said. A split to multiple sites within a tournament is also possible.
“Players should be prepared to play at multiple sites, under the lights, and indoors if necessary, in order to complete play by Saturday,” Brookens said.
The draws for the three tournaments were released on Monday:
