Tournaments

Congratulations to Justin Boyd who recently won the CIYMS Under 18 Novice Tournament 2011.

This year we were pretty lucky with the weather for the Family Trophy which was contested by 8 pairs consisting of a child with a parent. At the end of the roundrobin stage on Saturday June 11th there were good semi finals matches between Michael/Moore Hutchinson versus Jake/Uel McKibben and Gareth/Hugo Frew versus Adam/Stephen Leach, which resulted in a Finals on the Sunday between Jake and Uel versus Adam and Stephen. Jake and Uel were on sparkling form and inspite of their best efforts Adam and Stephen were not able to stop Jake and Uel from winning the Trophy for a second year.  The match was completed just in time before the customary rain set in!  

However, after several years of wet BBQs the members of Helen's Bay Tennis Club are extremely good at providing cover and so all kept dry and enjoyed an excellent BBQ masterminded by Jane Mounsey with the help of culinary maestros Stephen Leach and Robin Masefield. A big thank you to all who came, brought food, erected the covers and generally made the afternoon very successful.

Other Clubs hold tournaments both for juniors and seniors throughout the season. There are usually events for novices as well as for more experienced players as well as various age categories. If you're interested in competing in an open tournament visit www.ulstertennis.co.uk where you'll find them all listed. There are entry forms for some tournaments in the clubhouse, otherwise contact the club directly. Good Luck.

Claps and roars echoed around the court and the audience burst into applause as the Family Trophy was played for amid tumultuous weather. The 2-day event had started with 15 parent and child partnerships in 3 groups and this highly enjoyable afternoon saw the top 8 players progressing through to the semi-finals. Congratulations went to Uel and Jake, Lucy and Jack, Stephen and Adam and Belinda and David who lived to play another day. Refreshments served throughout the afternoon and profits for the entry fees helped raise at least £80 for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Unfortunately the bad weather also accompanied us through to Sunday and the semi’s and Final had to be played in short breaks between rain and thunder after, rather than before, the barbecue. Neither was it good weather for a BBQ which, undaunted, we still went ahead with, Helen’s Bay Tennis Club veterans being used to lighting barbeques in such conditions. Many thanks must go of course to the people who organized the BBQ and helped set up coverings to keep the event above water. The semi-finals were tough, close matches which amazingly finished simultaneously, with Belinda and David only losing in the tie-break. When the finals of the Family trophy could at last be played Uel and Jake McKibben took to the court with rivals Stephen and Adam Leach the sun was almost out, although this didn’t last very long and the match had to break for rain. The tennis, however, was every bit as exciting as the weather and extremely close with the best ever final of the competition requiring a tie-break (which went to 10-8) to sort out the two pairings, eventually being won by Uel and Jake 6-5.