Rogers Cup and More Regional News

Where do I start. July and August have been crazy months for tennis in this province and I've tried to touch as many events as possible. I think I'll start with the latest events, that of both Rogers Cup (WTA) in Toronto, and Coupe Rogers (ATP) in Montreal, and then discuss Ontario Open/Roman Cup, COP activity and some regional news.

Aug 4-8, 2013 - Rogers Cup WTA


Genie Bouchard being Interviewed

On Sunday, Aug 4, I spent the day as line umpire finishing up the qualifying rounds for the women in Toronto. I then hit the courts again Aug 6-8 calling lines for the main draw matches. This year was especially exciting as I was assigned to cover both the grandstand and centre court for Wed and Thurs matches. What a thrill that was! Being that close to the likes of Li, Bartoli, Fichman, Jankovic, Ivanovic, Wozniacki, Kvitova, Stephens, Radwanska and Bouchard was pretty special. I felt pretty good as I was only over-ruled once during my time on court and I had one very close call that was confirmed correct by the hawk-eye. I know tickets sales tend to be lower when women are in town, but by all accounts, I thought the draw was pretty exceptional and our own Canadian women generated some pretty exciting momentum going into the tournament. Tennis Canada provided for the first time some special player access for Premium ticket holders. This included Q&A sessions and photo ops with players like Serena Williams and legends Billy Jean King and Monica Seles (who played an exhibition doubles match on the Monday night). TC even brought in Pete Sampras and Johnny Mac for some additional exhibition matches over the finals weekend.

Unfortunately our own  Genie Bouchard didn't make it far into the tournament, winning her first match against Alisa Kleybanova and then falling to sixth ranked Petra Kvitova. Also unfortunate was the fate of France's Marion Bartoli playing against Magdalena Rybarikova on the grandstand. I had just started my shift at the start of the second set, when Marion quickly retired during her service game with an abdominal injury. No sooner did she move on to the Cincinnati tournament when
she announced her retirement from tennis due to ongoing physical pain and injuries.



Monica Seles with OTA Past President Michel Lecavalier

OTA Presidents' Day (Aug 5)
This is the 8th year the OTA has been holding this event and we always get great attendance, especially since it is held on the holiday Monday. Club executives from about 90 member clubs attended this year (200+ participants) and it is our way of recognizing the hard work of all the volunteers in the province. A continental breakfast was served, followed by some short updates from myself and ED Jim Boyce. In particular, we are proud to say that due to the strong support by the NYTA and Ottawa regions, our club membership grew by about 10%, to 240 clubs (from 220). That represents over 36,000 adult players and 14,000 junior players. A full 70% of our member clubs are seasonal community clubs which are run by a strong volunteer base. Photos from the day can be found on our Facebook Page.


Aug 9-11 - Coupe Rogers ATP

I was off to Montreal over the weekend to not only attend meetings with Tennis Canada and the Council of Provinces (COP), but to witness history in the making. Who could have planned a better outcome than to have two Canadians play in the semis, and have a Canadian play in the finals! Check out the OTA's Youtube channel to view three videos taken showing all the Milos, Vasek and Rafa fans in Montreal.



Tennis Alberta President Glen Scott and I toast Milos for making Canadian's proud

Alas I think nerves got to both Vasek and Milos as they weren't playing up to their usual high standards during this event. Regardless, we are proud of all our Canadian players and know they will continue to improve with each new tournament.

On a lighter note, one incident sticks out in my mind - it was when Rafa exited the stadium after winning the final against Milos. As he started signing autographs, a star-struck young lady wanted to get a picture with him but kept fumbling with her iphone camera. Rafa began to laugh, ran out of patience and simply took the phone from her hands, set it into camera mode and took the picture for her! Priceless.


Council of Provinces (COP) Meets during Coupe Rogers

The COP meet about four times a year to discuss business of mutual interest between the provinces and Tennis Canada. Meeting in person during Coupe Rogers gives all of us a chance to interact and share issues and concerns. Two particular items I'd like to share because they came as a direct result of the province's good working relationship with Tennis Canada and our desire to encourage better communication and transparency.

 

The first is the publication of a new High Performance Handbook on Tennis Canada's website (look under Programs ... High Performance, Resources and Policies). The handbook has had extensive input from the COP and from various coaches and includes sections on key HP programs, policies and support available. The handbook is not a static document and will be updated as changes and enhancements to programs and policies are made. Thanks to Hatem McDadi, Debbie Kirkwood and the entire HP team for spearheading this.

 

The second is a new US College Recruiting Guide to supplement information on the TC website (under Programs ... US College Tennis). Tennis Canada’s College Program helps Canadian players obtain university scholarships that fit their academic, athletic, social and environmental goals and needs. The handbook brings together all the important information for parents and players to better plan their pathway for future athletic and educational opportunities.

 

Ontario Open & Roman Cup

Once again the Ontario Open and Roman Cup took place July 31 to August 5 in Ottawa at the Rideau Club and the Ottawa Athletic Club (OAC). This year the junior Roman Cup event grew to 190 unique entrants (well above 2012 numbers) because this is the first year it became a Rogers National Qualifier event. Thursday evening was a fundraiser Pro-Am event followed by dinner and silent auction. On Wednesday night, Jim Boyce (OTA's Executive Director) and I attended a meeting with a number of new OTA-member club presidents to gather feedback on services being provided. We also had the Ottawa Parks and Rec manager Ward Cosman there as well as NCTA president Sean Sweeney. A special visit by Peter Bedard from Tennis Canada provided the group an update on the Little Aces program which will be launched in 2014 in a number of Ottawa communities. Thanks to all the staff at Rideau and OAC as well as the OTA staff and officials for making this event another tremendous success!



Mike Cowpland, Dale Power, Marlen Cowpland, Jim Boyce & Anke Magnus at Roman Cup Pro-Am



Charlottetown Tennis Club Celebrates 40 Years

 

Charlottetown Tennis Club in Scarborough celebrated their 40th anniversary on Sunday, July 14th with some tennis, a potluck and visit from councillor Ron Moeser. The club was founded in 1973 and is a member of the STF and OTA. They have three outdoor, lit tennis courts. Shown below is STF president Dianne Weatherby (sitting) with Ron Moeser on the left.

 

 

 





Ottawa Tennis Scene

My visit to Ottawa Aug 1-4 quickly proved to me that the nation's capital has a vibrant tennis community, boasting 34 clubs and over 394 courts. The community of clubs, together with the NCTA - National Capital Tennis Association (a region of the OTA) have developed tour players, NCAA scholarship players, top ranked provincial players and everyday club players over the years. However ...

As with many clubs in other regions, Ottawa clubs have their share of challenges. Clubs have difficulty growing their programs to attract new players and many have limited funds for facility improvements. This, combined with limited funding from the City of Ottawa and slow penetration of tennis in the school system has given Ottawa clubs a reason to rethink or at least revitilize their approach to growing the sport.

One of the reasons for visiting Ottawa with OTA Executive Director Jim Boyce was to outline a value proposition to a group of invited clubs to help them address their existing issues and set them on a positive course moving forward to grow participation in the sport. NCTA president Sean Sweeney and Ottawa park and rec manager Ward Cosman are especially eager to promote the benefits of the OTA and also attended. I think some real interest was generated and it is my hope that the OTA can work in closer partnership with these clubs so they do become part of the OTA tennis family. Stay tuned for future updates.

Ontario Open / Roman Cup

My wife and I also got a chance to visit a number of the beautiful clubs in Ottawa. One in particular, the Rideau Tennis Club will be celebrating its 100th anniversary later this year, and has been host to the annual Ontario Open / Roman Cup for many years now. This year there were 60 adults entered for the Open and over 200 juniors for the Roman Cup. The Roman Cup receives generous donations from Mike Cowpland and his wife. The event has been held annually since 2008, in memory of their son, Roman Kowalski Jr., who tragically passed away at the age of 22 in the summer of 2007. Roman had been a very successful tennis player all his life.

The club boasts 11 clay courts and eight hard courts in a beautiful setting next to the Rideau River. The day prior to the start of the Open/Roman Cup, a fun Pro-Am tournament is played, and yours truly decided to enter this year as one of the Ams. Guest pro Ted Thompson and I teamed up and had some exciting matches against our opponents. The matches were followed by a nice BBQ, presentations and a silent auction. Our day on Friday was spent enjoying many of the juniors matches on court.

Many thanks to Rideau Club manager Janet Van Bakel and Head Pro Zhenya Kondratovski for hosting such a wonderful event! More photos can be found on the OTA Facebook Page.

Scott at Entrance to Rideau

Scott with NCTA President Sean Sweeney, Roman Cup sponsor Mike Cowpland and OTA ED Jim Boyce