Winnipeg, MB (TM) – The 4th Annual Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet and Hall of Fame Dinner will be held on Wednesday, December 2nd at the Winnipeg Winter Club.

In keeping with the theme from last year, we will once again be Raising a Racquet for Kids, with proceeds going toward community/grassroots programs, wheelchair tennis, school programs and the high performance program. The tennis community will gather to recognize the achievements of the province’s top players and volunteers. In addition, the induction ceremony for the Tennis Manitoba Hall of Fame will take place to honor longtime contributors to the sport in Manitoba.

Stay tuned for further details regarding the Raising a Racquet for Kids event.

  Tennis Manitoba Awards Banquet

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Tennis Manitoba has partnered with the City of Winnipeg in the implementation of Progressive Tennis as part of the Sport Programs in Inner-city Neighborhoods (SPIN) initiative. In an effort to provide an opportunity for the children in the SPIN program to continue with tennis at the end of the 8-week session, Tennis Manitoba is seeking donations of racquets as part of our Second Serve program.

Taylor Tennis and the Winnipeg Winter Club have both agreed to accept donations on behalf of Tennis Manitoba. Donation boxes will be set up at both indoor clubs in early October. All racquets that are collected will be presented to the Director of the SPIN program at the Raising a Racquet for Kids fundraiser to be held on December 2nd at the Winter Club.

See also
City of Winnipeg takes tennis for a SPIN
Raising a Racquet for Kids
Learn to play tennis

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Sport Programs in Inner City Neighbourhoods – SPIN, is a City of Winnipeg led initiative to provide supports for free sports programming for 6-14 year olds.

Tennis has been added as a new SPIN sport this fall, with programs beginning the week of October 5th-10th. The program will be hosted at 13 sites in Winnipeg:

• Broadway Community Center
• Central Community Center
• Chalmers Community Center
• Earl Grey Community Center
• Luxton Community Center
• Norquay Community Center
• Northwood Community Center
• Ralph Brown Community Center
• River Osborne Community Center
• Sinclair Park Community Center
• Valour Community Center
• Weston Community Center
• YMCA/YWCA - McGregor.

Through their partnerships, SPIN will provide each host site with Progressive Tennis equipment, training for coaches, assistance with coordinating the program and a special event to wrap up the season.

For further information go to www.Winnipeg.ca/SPIN

See also
Learn to play tennis

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Adults also make friends and learn athletic skills, a new study finds

Toronto, ON (Dakshana Bascaramurty, The Globe and Mail)

'Move your feet!"

It was a common outburst Mohamed Ismath would shout from the sidelines as he watched his eight-year-old son Muzeen at tennis camp.

Eight years later, Muzeen is now ranked the 17th tennis player under 18 in Canada - and his dad is surprised at how a casual pastime ballooned into four to five hours a day of intense training.

But he's even more shocked by the effect Muzeen's enthusiasm for the sport had on him.

Mr. Ismath developed a network of friends, picked up the sport himself and formed a stronger relationship with his son.

These changes are also experienced by parents who perch in front of the soccer field and beside the baseball dugout, according to a new study from Purdue University. It suggests parents of children who play sports enjoy many of the same benefits - social and physical - as their kids.

Counter to the stereotype of aggressive parents getting into fights in the bleachers of a little league game, for example, the study found that many quickly learned proper "bleacher behaviour" from their kids.

But one of the most surprising results of the study, says Travis Dorsch, a doctoral student in health and kinesiology at Purdue University and the lead author of the study, was that through organizing carpools or chaperoning tournaments, many parents formed close relationships with one another that continued outside the context of the sport.

"One group of parents really, really hammered home that you really make life-long friends," he said.

This has been the case for Mr. Ismath. As Muzeen logged more hours on the courts, his father began to recognize the parents who were "regulars" at the tennis club.

Now he and his wife often have dinner parties and invite two other couples whose kids play tennis competitively.

"We move together well because we live and die by the courts. We've become friends," he said.

Last week, he even sent Muzeen off to New York with "the tennis families," as he calls them, to enjoy a vacation.

The report, published in the September issue of the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, notes that some participants grew so attached to these new friends that they described being left with an "empty feeling" when their child dropped a sport.

"Not only did they report missing the sport setting itself, but also the social connections they formed with other youth sport parents," the study authors wrote.

For the parents of elite athletes, it was even more difficult to return to life before the game, Mr. Dorsch said.

"They said, 'Our whole social milieu is based around youth sport - now what do we do?' " The researchers
interviewed 26 parents of children between the ages of six and 15 who played organized basketball, baseball, softball or soccer.

They also found that many parents who were un-athletic picked up the same sport as their child.

"Parents with little or no previous experience described the opportunity to learn so much more," Mr. Dorsch said.

Mr. Ismath picked up a racquet for the first time a year after his son started playing. Spending so much time on the courts piqued his interest in the sport, he says.

"I got hooked on it and became a decent player." At one point he was spending four to five hours a week working on his swing.

And while tennis has whipped him into shape, Mr. Ismath says the main reason he would never give it up is because it's the foundation of a new relationship with Muzeen.

"We hang out together, we watch tennis together...normally I would not have the opportunity if I was a regular father staying at home."

See also
Learn to play tennis

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Welland, ON (Don Fraser, Welland Tribune) – There was a time when a tennis player might scratch her head when asked how she ranked competitively in Canada.

She could tell you she was 15th in Ontario, but nationally it was anyone's guess.

Thorold's Computan Ltd. has put an end to this confusion through the Rogers Rankings system recently developed for Tennis Canada.

The system was officially rolled out for last month's Rogers Cup in Montreal and Toronto.

"No real national ranking system existed prior to this launch," said Computan president Tan Qureshi.

"Before, the provincial counterparts were like islands in their rankings," he said.

"And now it's unified from the East to the West Coast."
Through Tennis Canada's website -- or provincial tennis governing body websites -- players now know exactly how they rank, compared to top dogs like Niagara's Frank Dancevic.

Results from international tournaments are also accounted for in the new system.

Qureshi said over the last seven years, the firm had worked with Tennis Ontario and developed the "Baseline" web system to manage its website and provide provincial rankings.

For the past 18 months, the 18-employee firm has joined up with Tennis Canada, the sport's national governing body. "They wanted to have a unified ranking system across the country," said Qureshi, who is also a competitive player and the overall men's champion at White Oaks Conference Resort and Spa in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

"So people can now (compete) from province to province and have a ranking," he said. "They can know their wins, losses and rankings at any given moment."

Qureshi himself moved to St. Catharines in 1981, and has worked for General Motors and Electronic Data Systems (EDS). He started Computan 18 years ago, as a networking connectivity company that moved into Internet web hosting and application development.
The Baseline system is managed by Qureshi's son Sajeel Qureshi, who's also the firm's vice-president of operations.

"Tennis Canada went with this, because it's a best practice in other tennis-leading nations like Spain and Argentina," Sajeel Qureshi said. "They have so many of the top players ... and they also came through this process."

"Tennis Canada is trying to develop the next great champion," he said. "And they knew it was an industry-best practice, which is why they approached us."

Players who start at age seven or eight in Canada can now "work their way up to No. 1, feasibly," he said.
"This gives you a benchmark, even if you're a 50-year-old trying to get back into the game."

Qureshi Sr. said Computan plans to roll out the ranking system internationally for tennis, as well as other sports.

As the United States Tennis Association is so large, he figures it'll take the USTA some time to make a decision to purchase the Baseline system.

"Smaller countries ... will be very interested, because Baseline is a totally integrated system," he said.
"It's not just rankings, it does the tournament draws, registrations of the players, the e-commerce and people management."

Hatem McDadi, Tennis Canada's vice-president of tennis development, said the national system was previously fragmented.

"This new system works extremely well and it's been well received," McDadi said. "It does scheduling and events management as well. So, it's a great system and we're pleased we now have this nationally."

See also
  Tennis Canada Rankings

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Men’s Open Doug DeVriendt def. Igal Mostkov 6-3, 7-5

Men’s 4.5 Alan Gardiner def. Marc Lloyd 6-2, 6-1

Men’s 3.5 Gary Ma def. Jake Bergen 6-3, 6-1

Men’s 35+ Marc Lloyd def. Jason Whittaker 7-5, 3-6, 6-4

Men’s 45+ Dong Won Kang def. Glenn Hollins 6-2, 6-3.

For complete results click here.

The next stop on the Tennis Manitoba Open Tour is the Winnipeg Indoor Open at the Winnipeg Winter Club in November. Tournament details available here.

  Tennis Manitoba Open Tour

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See also
Tennis Manitoba Court Locator - Portage la Prairie

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See also
Tennis Manitoba Court Locator

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Winnipeg, MB (TM) – Under the direction of Tennis Canada coaches, Bob Brett and Rufus Nel, Tennis Manitoba held its inaugural Provincial Team selection camp for youngsters in the U8, U10 and U12 age groups on September 12th.

A total of 22 juniors participated in the camp and were led through a variety of drills and game situations. Local coaches Jared Connell, Roland Burrell, Peter Otto and Rob Langan assisted with the camp, which was hosted by the Winnipeg Winter Club.

The next camp will take place on September 26th and 27th.

Tennis Manitoba Provincial Team

See also...
Rogers Rookie Tour
Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour

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Brandon, MB (Lanny stewart, Wheat City Journal) – For local tennis instructor Hal Pallister, it’s not just a love for the game, it’s a passion.

Pallister, 81, has been teaching tennis to locals for more than 40 years. Retired from a number of years in the training and education system, Pallister grew fond of the sport when he began playing in college. “I didn’t play as a kid, there was no facility in our territory,” said Pallister. But when he got to college, “I got hooked then and I started to play and I played and I played.”

Pallister has never been a professional and doesn’t pretend to be either. All he’s ever wanted to do is teach the game.

“I’ve never been on the tour,” said Pallister. “If I can play not bad and education is my field, then why don’t I teach tennis?” said Pallister.

Pallister was acknowledged by Tennis Canada for his work in the community a few years ago and says part of his philosophy is that anybody can learn the game.

“I get many young adults that say “oh I played a bit in college but I never really mastered it and I got frustrated. I would tell them “you’re a candidate, you’re the kind of person that I want to enjoy the game as much as I do,” said Pallister.

“I always tell young folks that the first lesson is free. At the same time, you could probably take me out there and whip my butt but I don’t care about that,” said Pallister with a chuckle.

Pallister played a prominent role in helping Team Manitoba win a bronze medal in girls’ doubles at the 2003 Western Canadian Summer Games.

“It was the only medal that Manitoba got in tennis that year,” said Pallister.

Asked if he enjoys seeing the looks of some of his clients faces after stepping out on the courts after showing what he can still do with a tennis racquet at 81 years of age, Pallister smiled and said “you could say that.”

Pallister says he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon and feels as long as he’s upright and breathing, he’ll have a racquet in his hand, ready to teach another youngster in town.

“I’m doing this until I fall off my rocker,” said Pallister with a smile. “As long as my old right arm can swing a racquet, I’ll keep going.”

If you or anyone you know are interested in tennis lessons, call Hal at (204) 728-1963 or email him at hpallis@mts.net.

See also
Tennis Manitoba Court Locator: Brandon

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Canadian Sport for Life and Physical-Health Education Canada are getting onto the same "Physical Literacy" page

Winnipeg, MB (Sport Manitoba) – "Physical Literacy" serves as the foundation for not only participation in sport, but also for lifelong participation in physical activities and recreation. Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) and the Long Term Athlete Development Plan (LTAD) recognize physical literacy as the foundation for developing the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed for Canadians to lead healthy active lives. The CS4L - LTAD define physical literacy as: "...the development of fundamental movement skills and fundamental sport skills that permit a child to move confidently and with control, in a wide range of physical activity, rhythmic (dance) and sport situations".

CS4L - LTAD promotes physical activity for all based upon a developmental progression. By encouraging a positive physical activity experience at a young age through active play and games (i.e., Active Start) and fostering the development of a variety of well-structured activities that develop basic skills (i.e., FUNdamentals), children begin to develop the physical literacy skills that will enable them to move with poise and confidence across and within a wide variety of physical activities.These basic skills then form a solid platform to learn overall sport skills which can be transferred across a number of different types of sports in the Learning to Train phase. By the time adolescents (12 – 16 yrs for Males / 11 – 15 yrs for Females) reach the Train to Train stage, they are ready to consolidate their basic sport-specific skills and tactics into more specialized forms of physical activity. For those who choose to remain in the competitive stream and have developed a high level of ability, athletes can then specialize in one sport and Train to Compete and subsequently Train to Win at major national and international competitions.

Quality physical education programs can play an important role to support the CS4L where students develop the physical literacy skills that are necessary for the Active Start, Fundamental, Learning to Train, Training to Train and Active Life stages. Quality programs will also provide a solid foundation for students and provides further support for those who wish to continue into the Train to Compete and Train to Win stages.

In an era where physical literacy programs have become a priority for provincial Ministries of Education, National and Provincial Sport Organizations and many Community and grassroots recreation programs across Canada, it is vital for the various partners in sport, education and recreation to demonstrate their collective roles in helping to foster strong literacy skills for children now and into the future.

By fostering physical literacy children continually develop the motivation and ability to understand, communicate, apply, and analyze different forms of movement. They will learn and be able to demonstrate a variety of movements confidently, competently, creatively and strategically across a wide range of health-related physical activities. These abilities enable individuals to make healthy, active choices throughout their life span that are both beneficial to and respectful of themselves and others.

See also
Canadian Sport for Life
Physical Literacy in Canada

Learn to play tennis

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