Diversity in Tennis

David Phillips, Tennis Director for the Ontario Racquet Club still remembers playing one of his first league matches at a Toronto tennis club. David “felt like he was sticking out like a sore thumb.” Just a kid at the time, David recalls an elderly lady walking up to him with a sense of purpose. He admits he was nervous until she said, “You have one of the loveliest backhands I’ve ever seen”. It was then that David realized it wasn’t about his skin colour, it was all about the game. Take a look at participants from the Grand Slams right through to local tournaments and we realize that tennis truly is a diverse, international sport that allows people of all ages, abilities and ethnic backgrounds to play together, a feature that mirrors our very own Canadian multi-cultural heritage.

That diversity will be on display at the ICTA Tournament on Saturday, September 6th. The ICTA has participating clubs from Whitby all the way to Orangeville with avid players from all walks of life and all ethnic backgrounds. The Asian community has a long love of tennis with players from Japan, China and Korea joining community tennis clubs all over the GTA. The established Japanese players at the ORC support every new member who moves from Japan. No matter how skilled Junko or Mio or Yuki might be they always take the time to hit with the new girls and take delight in watching these players evolve.

Ambassador Visits Come to an End

The Miele League Challenge Ambassadors officially wrapped up their visits along with the end of the regular season for the ICTA. At the beginning of the summer 28 clubs throughout the GTA had agreed to promote the Miele League Challenge by flying banners and allowing the Tennis Canada Ambassadors onsite during Toronto Ladies, Toronto Men’s and InterCounty league matches. By season’s end over 60 visits had been made to these clubs with approximately 130 teams given the opportunity to have their story or photo appear on the Miele League Challenge (news archive) website. The members of these clubs welcomed the Ambassadors all summer long by graciously giving tours of their clubs, access to their facilities and the opportunity to speak to their teams about what a national league program could look like. The support of all of these clubs was essential to the success of the Miele League Challenge and we thank them for partnering with Tennis Canada in this inaugural season.

BACK TO ARCHIVE

ICTA Season-ending Tournament

Excitement is building as teams from all four leagues of the InterCounty Tennis Association (ICTA) get ready to compete at the 2nd Annual Tournament at the Rexall Centre this Saturday, September 6th. Supported by Tennis Canada, the OTA and Miele Limited, this year’s tournament is bigger and better with more sponsors, a charity BBQ and of course, free admission for tennis fans of all ages!

All the courts will be in action including Centre Court! Play begins at 9:30 a.m. when division winners from the Ladies, Juniors and Plus 55 leagues compete for the ICTA Championships. Junior league matches will continue throughout the day in the Centre of Excellence while the Mixed Leagues take up the rest of the courts for what promises to be a fantastic afternoon of ball striking!

So grab your hat, sunscreen and a chair and head out to the Rexall Centre and spend a day cheering on recreational league players from all over the GTA. Tennis players of all ages and abilities have a chance to come together and support each other while showcasing league tennis. Trophies and prizes will be presented to all champions and finalists at two separate Awards Ceremonies to be held on Centre Court at 1:30 pm (for the morning participants) and 5:30 pm. (for the afternoon participants.)

For complete draws, a schedule of events and a list of sponsors for the ICTA Tournament please go to ICTA Tournament website. Rain date is Sunday, September 7th at the same time and any rainout notices will be posted at this tournament site.

The teams that are confirmed to date for play on Saturday are:

Mixed League
The final draws for many of the Mixed League matches are still being determined as rain played havoc with the regular season schedule. Division winners are currently competing in playoffs to decide the teams that will play for the championships. As those matches are completed the teams will be posted at the ICTA Tournament website.

Plus 55 League
Brampton TC vs Sandy Beach

Ladies League
Majors - Banbury TC vs Whiteoaks TC
A - Parkway Valley, Central and Unionville 1
B - Howard Park, Unionville 2 and Unionville 3.
C - Central vs Unionville 4

Junior League
Major Boys- Bramalea vs Thornhill
Boys A - Newmarket vs Central or Brampton (TBD)
Girls - Newmarket vs Richmond Hill LTC
Mixed Majors - Erin Mills vs Glendale Pickering
Mixed A - Applewood vs Whitby

GOOD LUCK TO ALL PARTICIPATING TEAMS!