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News Archives: December 2010
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Update from the 2010 Winter Club Open
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| Photo: Winnipeg Winter Club |
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| To view the 2010 Winnipeg Winter Club Open Tennis Tournament
event photo album
click here. |
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Thu Dec 16, 2010 |
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2010 Winnipeg Winter Club Open Tennis
Tournament
Winnipeg, MB (Lisa Bayko, Winnipeg winter Club) – The 2010 Winnipeg Winter Club
Open Tennis Tournament kicked off on Sunday,
November 21st with the finals held on Sunday,
November 28th. Congratulations to the following
event winners:
Men’s Open Singles: Kevin Kylar
Women’s Open Singles: Erika Fridrik
Men’s Open Doubles: Alan Gardiner/Alex Lesiuk
Women’s Open Doubles: Alexia Cholakis/Olga Berdynskykh
Men’s 4.5 Singles: Shane Nicholls
Women’s 4.5 Singles: Lisa Bayko
Men’s 4.5 Doubles: Jong Hoon Choi/Jae Jun Lee
Women’s 4.5 Doubles: ubles: Shirley Jones/Lisa Bayko
Men’s 3.5 Singles: Jake Bergen
Women’s 3.5 Singles: ngles: Michelle Georgi
To view all
Baseline
eDraw results
click
here.
A primary focus of this year’s event was to increase
entries in the ladies’ draws. Numerous promotional
e-mails were sent out in advance and, although we
did not get as many entries as we were hoping for,
we were happy to have enough to offer separate 3.5,
4.5, and Open Women’s Singles draws as well as 4.5
and Open Women’s Doubles.
In total, there were 75
entries with many players participating in more than
one event. This had the courts very busy until late
each evening. Numerous changes were implemented such
as:
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Pre-scheduled match times for the entire week
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Welcome e-mail plus match reminder e-mails for
everyone who provided an e-mail address
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Combination cash and non-cash prizes
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Prize allocations done by formula
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Prizes for Consolation winners
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Framed photograph “trophy” for each event winner
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New balls for every match
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Best of three (third set super tie-breaker) for
all matches including Finals and Consolations
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Daily results published in Winnipeg Free Press
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New and improved draw sheet format
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Shower gel & pouf instead of entry gift t-shirt
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Social night with delicious snack buffet
prepared by Urban Prairie Cuisine
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Feedback survey.
Thank you to all participants who completed a survey
as this will assist us in determining what worked
and what didn’t work and will help in planning
future events. Congratulations to Daiva Daugelaite
who won the draw for a free lesson with Peter Otto.
Special thanks to our tournament sponsors: Avon,
Domino’s Pizza, Hu’s Asian Bistro, Racquets Pro
Shop, Robin’s Donuts at Selkirk & Salter, The Round
Table, and Tim Nosworthy of Colony Insurance
Agencies Ltd.
In addition, thank you to all
tournament volunteers: Lisa Bayko, Mike Carroll,
Glen Dyck, Shirley Jones, Gary Ma, and Neil Moore.
See also
Tennis
Manitoba Open Tour
Want to get news like this delivered
right to you? Sign up today for a free subscription
to the Tennis Manitoba eNews. To find out how
click here.
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National championship
a four-gone conclusion for Carter
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Photo: Avi Saper
Click to enlarge |
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| Lee Carter has
won four consecutive Canadian singles and doubles
championships in wheelchair tennis. |
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Wed Dec 15, 2010 |
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Winnipeg, MB (Avi Saper,
Canstar News / Winnipeg Free Press) – If Lee Carter
decides to call it a career, there probably won’t be
many tears shed by Canada’s elite wheelchair tennis
players — after all, it may be the only chance they
have of picking up a championship.
Carter, who grew up in St. Vital and now lives in West
Kildonan, won national titles in both singles and doubles
— with partner Corey Blatchford — for the fourth consecutive
time last month in Niagara Falls.
"Whenever I play, of course I can tell that everyone
wants to beat me," said the 35-year-old Taylor Tennis
Club member. "But I feel that the pressure is really
on them, not on me."
Once an active participant in hockey and baseball, Carter
wasn’t interested in playing sports for years after
losing both his legs in a 1996 industrial accident.
Finally, in 2003, a friend convinced him to try wheelchair
basketball and later wheelchair tennis.
"I really enjoyed it, even though I had never played
an individual sport before," he said.
It didn’t take long for Carter to throw himself into
the sport. A recreational pursuit quickly turned into
a competitive passion as his game improved and he began
to earn promising results in tournaments.
By 2006, Carter was on the national developmental team,
with an eye toward the 2008 Paralympics. In 2007, he
won his first national title, which he still says was
his greatest accomplishment in the sport.
"It was so great to win," Carter said of the 2007 nationals.
"Being (ranked) No. 1 in Canada that year, I wanted
to prove that I was the best at the biggest tournaments."
Jared Connell, Carter’s coach for the last four years,
has always been impressed by Carter’s athleticism on
the court as well as his mental intensity.
With a lack of top-level wheelchair players in the province,
Carter does most of his training against able-bodied
opponents. He plays the ball on one bounce instead of
the two bounces that are allowed in wheelchair tennis,
although, he’s quick to point out, in most games that
ball is moving too fast to let it bounce twice anyways.
"I train with him like I would an able-bodied player,"
Connell said.
It would be easy to look at Carter’s resume and assume
that he’s already looking ahead to the 2012 Paralympics
in London (he had a disappointing first-round exit from
the 2008 Games in Beijing), but that might not be the
case.
"Working full-time and having a young family, it’s tough
to train enough to be an elite player," he said, adding
that he took two years off work to travel and train
in preparation for Beijing.
Carter has already committed to representing Canada
next May at the World Team Cup, but beyond that he isn’t
even sure if he has another national championship in
him.
Tennis Canada has made no secret of their desire to
take Carter to England, and Connell is confident that
with the necessary work he could be very competitive
on the world stage.
"He has the talent to be a contender for a medal at
the Paralympic level," Connell said. "But that depends
on scheduling and how much he can play."
The part of Carter that knows that he’s a better player
than he was in Beijing would love another shot at the
world’s best.
"Sports is so much about experience," he said. "As much
as you train, you can still be overwhelmed by how big
(the Paralympics) is. That experience would really help."
avi.saper@canstarnews.com
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press online edition
December 15, 2010
See also
Carter and Hunter Repeats
as National Wheelchair Champions
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right to you? Sign up today for a free subscription
to the Tennis Manitoba eNews. To find out how
click here.
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Tennis Manitoba
is seeking applicants for Tennis Development Manager
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Tue Dec 7, 2010 |
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Winnipeg, MB (TM)
– Tennis Manitoba in partnership with Tennis Canada
is seeking a dynamic individual with the skills, enthusiasm,
vision and experience to lead the development of community,
school and club tennis programs and contribute to the
over-all growth of the sport of tennis in Manitoba.
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Tennis Development
Manager will lead the coordination, delivery, development
and evaluation of Tennis Manitoba/Tennis Canada grassroots
community development and Under 12 grassroots coaching
and program development. This includes overseeing the
implementation of the Long Term Athlete development
Plan, increasing the quality and number volunteer coaches.
Applications should be submitted by January 15, 2011
to Tennis Manitoba. For additional details, please refer
to the following documents:
Position announcement
Job description and responsibilities
Want to get news like this delivered
right to you? Sign up today for a free subscription
to the Tennis Manitoba eNews. To find out how
click here.
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Fundraiser salutes
two Manitobans; Davis Cup players take part in exhibition
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| Photo: E Fridrik |
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| Doug Cobb was
recently inducted into the Manitoba Tennis Hall
of Fame. To view the Raising a Racquet for Kids
event photo album
click here. |
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Mon Dec 6, 2010 |
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Winnipeg, MB (TM)
– He’s proven that tennis is a lifelong sport. But does
the competitive spirit burn out over the years? Not
for Doug Cobb.
“I still look forward to playing tennis,” said Cobb,
who won his first Manitoba title in 1946 in junior boy’s
doubles.
“When I was young, I never swore. I never threw my racquet
once. Now I’m a silly old cranky guy and I get mad,
(but) I’m going to stop that.”
Cobb’s competitiveness and natural ability helped him
win three “Metropolitan Winnipeg” singles championships
and two national senior titles. On Saturday, November
27, 2010, Cobb was inducted into the Manitoba Tennis
Hall of Fame along with three-time Manitoba Open champion
Herb Richard.
Off the court, Cobb served as President of Tennis Manitoba
in 1964 and 1965, and helped set up a schools program
while on the board of TM in the 1980s. He was also Drawmaster
and Assistant Technical Chairman for the 1967 Pan Am
Games.
“That was the first time Winnipeg ever had the big players
– Arthur Ashe was here,” Cobb said.
During his time as Finance Chairman of Tennis Canada
from 1971-76, Cobb seconded the motion to build a national
tennis centre in Toronto.
“That was a watershed moment,” said Cobb, who noted
that the Rogers Cup tournaments wouldn’t be possible
without the tennis centres in Toronto and Montreal.
Richard won the Manitoba Open singles title in 1940,
1941 and 1946, and was runner up in 1947. Why the gap
in years? Richard was involved in the Second World War.
But he still managed to fit in a tennis game or two
while away.
But tennis wasn’t all Richard excelled at. He was a
badminton, golf and tennis pro at the Winnipeg Canoe
Club and Wildewood Club.
According to a 1941 article in Canadian Lawn Tennis
and Badminton, “He (Richard) possesses full stock of
forehand and backhand drives and these were good enough
to win him every major tennis crown and badminton honour
in his province during the last five years.”
Cobb remembers how he and fellow junior players looked
up to Richard.
“He was exulted,” said Cobb. “He was a great guy.”
Cobb and Richard were inducted into the hall of fame
at the Raising a Racquet for Kids event, presented by
Kids Dental, at the Winnipeg Winter Club.
Davis Cup players Peter Polansky and Philip Bestor,
as well as national training centre coach Alex Gravina,
were on hand for a tennis exhibition and junior clinic.
“I think it means a lot to them, especially younger
kids, when they have some of the pros here and they
can hit with them, talk to them, be kind of up close
and get to know them a bit,” said Polanksky.
Despite their busy schedules, Gravina said being in
Winnipeg for the fundraising event was important to
him and the Canadian pros.
“Philip Bestor’s a little sick today but he definitely
wants to come out because we’ve all been in the position
where we look up to our role model, and other players
that our playing big events like Peter is and Philip
is,” said Gravina. “I know for myself, I always enjoyed
playing with the top players, so to be on the opposite
end of that, it’s special and a pleasure to do this.”
Manitoba young guns Sean Bailey and Muzeen Ismath were
part of the doubles exhibition match.
“It was great to see them come out and have such fun,
execute the shots under pressure with the crowd watching
and cheering them on,” said Gravina. “They had a great
performance, so we were happy to see that.”
Gravina said the success of the Raising a Racquet for
Kids event is more proof that tennis is on the rise
Canada.
“There’s a lot more kids playing tennis across the country
and it seems that’s what’s happening here in Manitoba,”
said Gravina. “We’re pleased to see it all around –
players, coaches. It’s really good.”
Want to get news like this delivered
right to you? Sign up today for a free subscription
to the Tennis Manitoba eNews. To find out how
click here.
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