A Champagne Event

The Ladies League had the joy of waiting for the skies to clear so that ten division winners could play for city championship bragging rights. These ladies were exceptionally gracious. They pitched in to dry the courts, they were flexible and patient, and they took the time to thank the volunteers for running the tournament. Then, in the case of the Whiteoaks Majors team, went back to a team party and drank champagne from the Champions Cup! Congratulations to the champions and finalists of the Ladies League:

Majors

Champion - Whiteoaks
Finalist - Banbury

C

Champion - Central/Jones
Finalist - Unionville/Monaco

A - Round Robin

Champion - Unionville/Peters
Finalist - Parkway Valley
Third Place - Central/Tomchak

B - Round Robin

Champion - Howard Park
Finalist - Unionville/Andrews
Third Place - Unionville/Chan

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Mixing it Up on Centre Court

Currently the smallest league in the ICTA, the Plus55’s made the most of their moment on centre court. The division winners from the east, Sandy Beach, played their winning counterparts from the west, Brampton TC. All enjoyed their matches, some so much they stayed for the entire day cheering on the mixed matches until dusk. The championship trophy went to Brampton 5-4.

Better Late than Never

The largest league in the ICTA is the Mixed with four divisions. Delayed until late afternoon by the morning weather, the Mixed players got to enjoy dry courts, sunshine and blue skies for their matches. A rematch of the showcase Miele League Challenge match at July’s Rogers Cup between Mixed Majors division winner Credit Valley and runner up Unionville saw Unionville prevail, once again, on the courts of the Rexall Centre. Credit Valley did not give up without a fight with the final match men’s line three losing a close one 7-5 in the third set just as darkness was falling. Congratulations to all the Mixed ICTA champions and finalists!

Majors

Champion - Unionville
Finalist - Credit Valley

A

Champion - Milton
Finalist - German Mills

B

Champion - Unionville
Finalist - Davisville

C

Champion - Tournament Park
Finalist - Veneto

By 8:00 p.m. the final awards had been presented and the sun had set on a fantastic day of tennis for everyone. Much appreciation was shown to the volunteers, many who worked for 12 hours! Thanks to everyone who cleaned courts and waited patiently. Congratulations to all who played. Your smiles, excitement, team spirit and enthusiasm for the game of tennis made the day a resounding success for all!

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Second Annual ICTA Tournament

The day dawned in a manner familiar to ICTA tennis players from this 2008 season – with a downpour. Yet the drive to the Rexall Centre revealed a clear blue sky just north of the city and with it, the promise of dry courts later in the morning. By 10:00 a.m. volunteers and players anxious to get going started pushing water off the courts with every available tool. An hour or so later, the 2008 ICTA Tournament was officially under way. By the end of the day, almost 500 players, spectators, volunteers and supporters had come to participate in the day’s event.

The tournament consisted of matches between division winners from all four ICTA leagues: Junior, Mixed, Ladies and +55. Both Tennis Canada and Miele Limited supported the day’s event, with additional sponsors contributing to the success of the day including balls supplied by Dunlop, drinks from Vitamin Water and raffle prizes donated by Miele, Dunlop, Head, Tennis Access, Wilson and The Merchant of Tennis. To feed the hungry players, the ICTA assisted volunteers from the Doug Philpott Inner City Children’s Tennis Fund to run a barbeque with proceeds going to the Philpott Fund.

Awards ceremonies for the champions and finalists were held on centre court with Stuart Teather, the ICTA tournament director, presiding. Hatem McDadi, vice-president of tennis development for Tennis Canada, garnered much enthusiasm when he shared the future vision of the Miele League Challenge and asked the crowd if they would like to see an event like this held with teams from all the regions of Canada. Jan Heck, president of Miele Limited, spoke briefly to acknowledge how great the site looked and to congratulate the teams. Heck then made the draw for one of the much coveted Miele vacuums that had been donated by Miele for the raffle. A thrilled Paula Barsky, captain of the Banbury Ladies Majors team, hugged that vacuum all the way to her car!

For complete scores and more photos from the day go to the ICTA Tournament Web site

Juniors Heat Up the Courts

The junior leagues had the joy of starting on time inside Tennis Canada’s Centre of Excellence and their presence surprised the refuge-seeking adults. Many people were unaware of the ICTA Junior League and were delighted to learn that kids in the GTA also have a chance to play league tennis. Most of the onlookers were in awe at the talent of these kids. The ICTA juniors showed up in team colours, played hard, had a ton of fun and really sweated it out inside the centre. Congratulations to these champions and finalists of the Junior League:

Girls:

Champion - Newmarket
Finalist - Swansea

Boys Majors:

Champion - Bramalea
Finalist - Thornhill

Boys A:

Champion - Newmarket
Finalist - Brampton

Mixed Majors:

Champion - Erin Mills
Finalist - Glendale Pickering

Mixed A:

Champion - Applewood
Finalist - Whitby