Chris and Kim raises €6,000 for foundation
AN AUTOGRAPHED tennis skort worn by Kim Clijsters and Greystones man Chris Quinn went under the hammer for a fantastic €3,000 last week.
Chris, who is captain of Greystones Lawn Tennis Club, hit the headlines in July when he was pulled from the stands to tackle the former grand slam champion’s serve after heckling players in the ladies’ invitation doubles.
However, when he reached the court Kim Clijsters realised his own clothes of blue shorts and green T-shirt would have breached the strict dress code at the All-England Club. She produced a spare skort (which is a cross between a skirt and a pair of shorts) from her kit bag and Quinn gamely squeezed into it, causing Clijsters’ and the other players to erupt into a fit of giggles.
Chris, who was on his first visit to the tournament, replaced one of Clijsters’s opponents on court, managed to return a serve but failed to hit the ball when he tried for a second point.
Clijsters gave him the skort to keep and on his return home to Greystones he decided to auction it off to raise funds for the Gavin Glynn Foundation.
However, before the auction took place, Chris made valiant efforts to get Clijsters to autograph the skort and, thanks to her clothing sponsor Fila, he and his family were flown to Rhode Island in America to meet Kim again.
Chris said that he got to meet Clijsters when she was being inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame, saying it had been a great experience.
‘It was a tremendous experience. We went over to Rhode Island and when she passed me I asked her how her body serve was and she just ran and hugged me. It was great. She had no problem signing the skort and she also signed a book.
‘She even mentioned me in her speech when she was being inducted into the Hall of Fame which gave me quite the buzz.’
Chris said that his wife Vicki and their three children, Ceejay, Rebecca and Alannah, all had a fantastic time in Rhode Island and said that Kim had been an absolute star.
The skort was sold at auction to the owners of Theatre Lane in Greystones who plan to frame the skort before putting it on public display at their premises.
In addition to the €3,000 raised for the Gavin Glynn Foundation through the auction, there was also a donation made to the foundation of a further €3,000, bringing the total amount raised to €6,000.