Usually held at Morse Park on a Saturday early in October, the picnic is free to all FETA members. There is a $5 charge for family guests 11 years and older. Tennis from 10 to noon is followed by a picnic lunch. Members are asked to provide a potluck item to complement the barbeque items and beverages provided by FETA.

The Federal Employees Tennis Association is a pretty informal tennis league run by volunteers. The main focus is on friendly but competitive outdoor summer tennis. Having fun, making friends, and staying fit are also part of FETA.

FETA is a relatively small tennis league with about 70 members in recent years. The turnover is about 10-15 players per year. The number of players in each singles group ranges from about 10 to 25, with fewer in the 2.5 group and about 25 in the 3.5 group recently. Many members play only doubles. Some intergroup play is allowed as specified in each year's "supplemental rules" (see "Rules" tab) to make it easier to earn a T-shirt and qualify for the tournament. From year to year, singles players and doubles teams will find mostly familiar opponents along with a few new ones.  

FETA was started in 1965 as an informal summer tennis program for Federal employees in the west Denver metro area. Over the ensuing decades it has expanded from primarily Bureau of Reclamation employees to include employees of over 20 Federal agencies as well as Jefferson County government employees. We use a wide variety of public courts, primarily in Lakewood. 

FETA is run entirely by volunteers. All membership fees collected by FETA are returned to the members through purchased items and services. The overall leader is called the Organizer. Coordinators for the various groups keep track of scores, send out match result summaries, and help run the tournament. There is a T-shirt committee that designs and orders the shirts, and a picnic committee that organizes the end-of-season tennis social. Others tend the barbeque at the picnic, organize the Spring Fling, and so forth. And we all have one thing in common. Yep, we all think we are going to play better next year.