Ojai
Valley Athletic Club
"TRULY
THE HEART OF OJAI" |
Ojai Valley
Athletic Club
409 S. Fox Street
Ojai, CA 93023
USA |
![](Facility/OVAC-Logo.jpeg) |
Website
Facebook
Tel 805-646-7213 |
![](Facility/OVAC-Wide.jpeg)
Located in the
scenic Ojai Valley in Ventura County, California, Ojai Valley
Athletic Club features a beautiful five-acre tennis, swim and
fitness facility with 10 hard courts and 4 clay courts
Alex Schechter
describes Ojai in the POINTS GUY like this: Ojai, which means 'nest' in the native
Chumash language, is a stone's throw from Santa Barbara and Los
Angeles. From first time visitors, it tends to elicit little
gasps of delight. Fifteen miles in from the coast, peaceful Ojai
feels far removed from the noise of city life and congested freeways.
It's also visually stunning, encircled by rippling mountains
where the sun casts a pink shadow when it sets.
The Ojai area
is home of The
Ojai,
the famous 119-year-old tennis tournament which uses 112 tennis
court in the Ojai Valley, Ventura, Oxnard, and Port Hueneme.
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![](Facility/OVAC-Aerial.jpeg)
The above photo
is slightly dated. OVAC has the top 10 hard courts. The 4 courts
at the bottom used to be all clay. Today it's 2 clay and 2 hard
courts. Those 2 bottom hard courts are leased to the adjacent
Weil Tennis Academy. |
![](Facility/OVAC-Front.jpeg)
Our mission is to provide
the finest club experience,
where our priority is your health and well-being. |
From the OVAC website
Ojais
mild weather enables members to swim year-round in our two heated
pools. We also offer the very latest in fitness training in our
state of the art fitness center. Our Yoga, Pilates, Stretch and
Qi Gong classes offer a chance to relax and refresh the mind
and body. If you are looking for a high energy class, we offer
several strength training classes, as well as dance and Zumba.
And Ojai was voted one of the top Tennis Towns in the United
States. Our tennis pros offer lessons on our beautiful tennis
court facility.
Ojai
Valley Athletic Club is a member club of
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![](Facility/OVAC-Court1.jpeg) |
![](Facility/OVAC-Court2.jpeg) |
![](Facility/SteveBeckendorf.jpg) |
Steve Beckendorf
Director of Tennis
Minnesota-born
Steve started playing tennis at age 7 after observing his brother
playing the game. When his High School started a tennis program,
he joined and continued playing all through college at Div III
Gustavus Adolphus.
In 1990 Steve
moved to Ventura, California, where he worked in the insurance
industry. From 2009 until 2018 he worked at the Oxnard Tennis
Center (now Channel Island Racquet Club) and at the River Ridge
Tennis Center before joining OVAC in July this year. |
FREE BEER
AT TUESDAY AND THURSDAY DROP-INS
Asked about his
challenges, Steve says, "We have a limited number of players
in the area, so working on grassroots, defining programs, connecting
with schools is all very important for us. We opened the club
up to non-members who are also allowed to train here. We are
also participating in USTA Leagues, Junior Team Tennis and Ladies
Interclub League."
Steve is PTR
certified and works with 2 more tennis professionals at OVAC,
Jim Kasser and Katya Welborn. |
![](Facility/OVAC-Clay.jpeg)
One of the two clay
courts will be turned into 3 Pickleball courts and a Basketball
area in early 2019. |
![](Facility/OVAC-Patio.jpeg)
The patio area has
indoor and outdoor seating and a bar connected to the kitchen
serving food, drinks, and smoothies. |
Ryan Gaston
General Manager
Ryan was born
in Rome, Georgia, one of the biggest tennis hotbeds in the U.S.A.
Both his parents played and he started playing at age 13. At
14 he played already tournaments and received a full tennis scholarship
for the University of Montana. Became a top player at the Big
Sky Conference. Went on to become Assistant Pro at North River
Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa, AL. In 2000, Ryan started as Head Pro
at Ojai Valley Athletic Club and shortly after became Tennis
Director and then General Manager in 2016. He is USPTA certified. |
![](Facility/RyanGaston.jpg) |
TCB: Ryan, how
many members does the club have?
RG: We have approximately 5,000 members or 1,600 memberships.
500 of those are tennis memberships, the rest is swim and fitness
only.
TCB: Who owns
OVAC?
RG: The club was privately owned since 1976. In 1998 we became
one of eight member clubs of California Athletic
Clubs.
TCB: How is it
working for California Athletic Clubs?
RG: They are wonderful to work with, giving us lots of freedom.
Supporting us hosting the PAC 12 Championships every year and
also the New Balance National High School Championships. Currently,
they are renovating and upgrading our upstairs fitness facility.
TCB: What's new
for 2019?
RG: The big news is Pickleball, of course. We'll take one of
our clay courts and build 3 permanent Pickleball courts and a
Basketball corner. It'll be a huge addition to our program. We
are the first tennis facility on Ojai to invest in Pickleball.
Also, we're planning to grow the youth programs. In April we're
adding our first VCJTA* Open & Novice Tournament.
TCB: Thank you,
Ryan.
(* VCJTA stands
for Ventura County Junior Tennis Association, our Organization
of the Month in May of 2019.) |
![](Facility/OVAC-Steve-Ryan.jpeg)
Steve Beckendorf
and Ryan Gaston |
![](Facility/OVAC-Steve.jpeg)
Steve Beckendorf |
![](Facility/OVAC-RetourTennis.jpeg)
AD-IN Bin by Retour
Tennis for collection of used tennis balls
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lisa@playtennismarin.com
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