Try Before You Buy

The Activities and Recreation Center is once again running its Try Before You Buy promotion.

Try Before You Buy for the fall quarter began Sept. 20 and runs through Oct. 2. During this period, all staff, faculty, alumni, retirees and student affiliates are invited to try the ARC for free, with full access to all equipment and resources, as well as group exercise, instructional dance and martial arts classes, provided space is available.

This year’s Try Before You Buy features the opportunity to try out the ARC’s small group training classes, TRX suspension training and instructional yoga series.

More information.

Tennis festival sign-up deadline

Today (Sept. 24) is the registration deadline for the third annual Harley English Tennis Festival, an all-doubles affair that is open to everyone in the community age 18 and up.

This year’s festival is scheduled for Oct. 2 at the campus’s Marya Welch Tennis Center.

The festival’s namesake, a professor emeritus of plant pathology, died in March, a month shy of his 99th birthday. He played tennis until the age of 93, and, in his last years of playing had won several national championships in his age group. He was widely referred to as the “dean” of retired faculty and staff tennis players.

The festival is sponsored by the university’s Retiree Center and Tennis Club.

Organizers said play will be in three categories: men’s, women’s and mixed — with each participant limited to one event. The organizers said they will pair people up, if they do not have partners.

The format is round-robin, 10-game pro sets, with divisions to be arranged based on the mix of entries. Organizers said they will use the National Tennis Rating Program: 2.0 and 2.5 (beginner), 3.0 and 3.5 (intermediate) and 4.0 and 4.0-plus (advanced).

Registration can be arranged online. Or you can call the Retiree Center, (530) 752-5182.

The fee per player is $20, including a festival towel and refreshments (bring your own water bottle).

Questions? E-mail retireecenter@ucdavis.edu or Chris Dewees, festival director and a professor emeritus in the Sea Grant Extension Program, cmdewees@ucdavis.edu. Or call the Retiree Center, (530) 752-5182.