USTA national campus-are they banning outside food, drinks and coolers?

[jcgatennismom]

Son is playing national tourney there in a few weeks. We got a letter today listing items prohibited from the campus which included coolers, food and beverages (except medical, dietary, or infant) and video recording devices. For those of you who have played there, do they really exclude coolers and outside food and drink? Can you bring food in if it is not obvious? It would not be hard to sneak in some snacks, electrolyte powders, and 16-20 oz drinks in the tennis bag, but the ban seems ridiculous.In summer, players will definitely need coolers even for water bottles unless there is water on court. Glad son is playing in Feb.

If there truly is a ban, then I guess USTA want to nickel and dime players to buy their drinks and food there. Maybe they are concerned about littering and keeping their pristine campus clean. However, there is no way the cafe on campus would have food to meet all player's needs-vegan, GF, kosher, halal, organic, soy-free, dairy-free, Paleo etc. I wonder what they mean by dietary, e.g. can a player bring in outside food citing food sensitivities or if he needs a doctor's note? Players know what foods/drinks help them keep their energy up while balancing their blood sugar and preventing cramps. Parents, players, and coaches should make that decision together and not be limited by choices in UsTA cafe. Players may have 3 or 3 1/2 hour matches since junior tennis still plays ads. Kids have to have snacks. Are there a lot of food options near the campus? What type of food is offered at the campus cafe?

In addition to food, drones, weapons, and scooters are prohibited-can live with those rules. NO fishing in ponds. No bikes-I assume local players could bike there, but not bring bike in?

Is there one main entrance that everyone has to filter through or all there multiple entrances near different sections of the campus?

 

[esgee48]

They do not want you to have a picnic type meal on the courts (no fried chicken, poor boys, hot lunch, liquor, etc.) You should be able to bring water, sports drinks, power bars, what ever as part of your normal routine. Just police your playing area and I suspect no one will say a thing. I know of several clubs that say the same thing but they allow all the normal stuff players use when playing.

 

[mikeler]

There is one main entrance into the facility. The welcome desk is on the right as you come in. I ignored them last time I walked in since I had to use the restroom which is way to the left.

They are pretty disorganized at the moment. I'd call during the work week to ask. I suspect the policy is to prevent the picnic like esgee48 said. There are serious tennis players going through there all the time, so I'd be shocked if their intent was just to sell a few extra gatorades.

They have water stations that serve every 4 courts. There are also Gatorade machines there. That will probably serve 95% of the players there but remember, they just spent a ton of money. They want your son to come back more than once so just talk to them and I'm sure all will be fine.