Thursday, October 10, 2013

It's all Greek to Me


My wife and I were fortunate enough to have spent some time in September traveling the Mediterranean, including the town of Cofu, Greece. Besides the beautiful palaces and picturesque West Coast, Corfu as a four court tennis club smack in the centre of town (apparently part of a large network of courts here)! This particular one has a carpet-like surface similar to artificial turf, something I haven't seen before. They hold a number of junior ITF tournaments and have a large spectator area. Mornings are reserved for public rental and this particular afternoon, the courts were empty but inside their clubhouse an elderly gentlemen was watching the US Open final on TV. I met the Club Manager, who couldn't speak any English, but he was kind enough to show us around the property. What a beautiful setting in a beautiful town. Next time you're visiting Corfu, check out this historical gem!





Outside the entrance to Corfu T.C., established 1896
Scott with Corfu's Club Manager

OTA Gala Dinner Nov 9, 2013
There has already been a fair bit of communication on this Gala Dinner being held at the Cricket Club in Toronto, so I won't repeat all the information here. At $200 per plate, I know many look at this as simply a very expensive night they can't justify. I get it. Under normal circumstances I would not pay that kind of money for a dinner out. But remember, this is much more than a dinner. If you believe in growing tennis in Ontario and you believe the juniors of today deserve our support, then please reconsider attending. Will the honouring some of the many juniors who have worked hard and are making an impact on the tennis scene. And who knows, there may be the next Milos or Genie in the making in the near future! If you can't attend, then please consider donating directly to our junior program through OTA's Tennis Matters initiative. You get a tax receipt for $125 on every dinner ticket purchased, and a receipt on the full amount donated directly to tennis matters. Either way, you can't lose!

The pictures below illustrate a great example of a junior who started playing at the early age of seven. I met Victor Krustev when I was running several regional tournaments for North Central in the summer of 2006 at Markham Tennis Club. His coach at the time, Marina, brought him and his brother Christian to these and many other tournaments to give them practice and to get exposure to competitive play. This is one of the key foundations of the OTA system - the more play and competitive exposure they have at an early age, the more they will improve. No one can predict if a player will have that "magic" something necessary to make it to the big times, but if there are enough "Victors" in Ontario who play often and are given many playing opportunities with a variety of competitors, hopefully we'll see more going pro in the future. Simply put, dollars raised through OTA's fundraising efforts help Victor and other young kids like him achieve their dreams.

In the case of Victor, he has now been invited by Tennis Canada to attend the National Training Centre in Montreal full time! I saw that spark in Victor when he was seven, and now he has the opportunity to go to the next level in this great sport. What an accomplishment. Congratulations to Victor and all the aspiring young players.




Victor Krustev with Jet Lee-Bent at OTA's 2010 Fundraiser
Victor will be attending the Montreal NTC full time in fall 2013!

Victor playing an U12 event in 2006!