When the Caribou girls look to defend their Eastern Maine Class B tennis title next spring, the Vikings will be doing so on new courts.
Six new courts were recently completed at Caribou High, and they’re located just below the school’s ski building.
The project originally needed more than $300,000 in donations, according to Caribou athletic administrator Dave Wakana, but thanks to the generosity of local businesses, construction companies and the United States Tennis Association, the project was completed for just under $200,000.
“One of the biggest things we had, a local contractor, the Soderberg Construction Company, donated probably over $60,000 in material and labor,” said Wakana. “That really made it happen.”
Tennis, like soccer, has grown to become extremely competitive in Aroostook County, with the Caribou boys and girls each winning one Eastern Maine team title over the last three years and both clubs boasting some top-notch individual talent.
“The reason we wanted to build that [was because] in the spring when tennis is really hot its hard to get a court for young kids,” said Wakana.
Caribou previously played its home matches at the middle school, while the new courts will provide a chance for local youths to hit the ball back and forth when high school events aren’t going on.
Wakana is also hopeful that the school can host some big-time events in the future.
“What we’re hoping is to be an MPA regional site for the singles tournament, we’ve been told that we can do that,” he said. “We hope to hose the PVC doubles tournament in the near future.”