Plenty to play for at tennis club champs
Regional leg to find SA’s best players kicks off
ALL of the 12 tennis clubs from Nelson Mandela Bay and surrounds will compete for the crown of regional champion at the Growthpoint Top Guns Club championships this weekend. The event, initiated by Tennis South Africa chief executive Richard Glover, will see the teams do battle at the Port Elizabeth Lawn Tennis Club on Saturday, starting at 8am.
Sections A and B will see eight clubs from Nelson Mandela Bay as well as Cradock, Despatch and Kenton-on-Sea contest for the overall winners’ spot.
A third section, aptly named the “Pop Guns”, will see four invited teams who have not made it into the clubs’ main teams.
The regional events will see teams of four players, male and female pairs, compete in three ties, namely men’s, women’s and mixed doubles ties.
Each match is a best-of-two-sets match, with a 10-point tie breaker if sets are even. The overall regional winner will be decided on which team has the most accumulated points.
In the mixed doubles section, a free substitution will be allowed where pairs can be changed at the end of each set.
Tennis Eastern Cape vice-president Michael Bladen said the tournament gave players something to work towards.
“By providing club players with the opportunity to compete beyond the normal and standard leagues, TSA has sent a timely message,” he said.
“In addition, the sizeable winners’ cheque is a great incentive. We look forward to hosting the event and making sure we do justice to the TSA vision and tremendous support of its headline sponsor, Growthpoint.”
Event organiser Garth Loëst, head of the sub-committee for clubs at Tennis Nelson Mandela Bay, said the tournament had caused excitement among clubs in the region.
“We are really excited to get on board and it has created excitement among our clubs, while it will also expand participation across club tennis, both on a competitive and social level,” Loëst said.
Regional winners will advance to the national finals in February, when 14 regions battle for the crown of national “Top Gun”.
Each winning club receives R10 000 at the regional events. Nationally, the winning club receives R30 000, with the runner up earning R10 000.
The winning team will also take home R30 000 and the losing finalists R10 000. Tennis Buffalo City will also host a regional event, with the winner also progressing to the finals next year. Teams competing in the Bay include: Section A: Nelson Mandela University, Westview, Cradock, Despatch A. Section B: Wembley, Despatch B, Victoria Park, Kenton-on-Sea. Pop Guns: Victoria Park, Advantage, Wembley, Walmer