Southland tennis player Matt Mill, of Gore, is getting
ready for another summer season of tennis.
Tennis enthusiasts will be stringing up their rackets in
anticipation of the Eastern Southland Tennis Competition, which
is due to start on October 17.
Eastern Southland Tennis secretary Beth McCann said there
were seven clubs taking part in the competition, including
Citizens, Edendale, Gore, Mataura, St Peter's College,
Tapanui and Waikaka.
"We used to have Kaiwera, Pukerau and Willowbank - they are
sleepy little hollows that used to have a team," Mrs McCann
said.
Tennis club numbers had dwindled through the years, and Mrs
McCann said this was largely because of the plentiful array
of other sporting codes that clashed with tennis times.
To combat the number of players giving tennis up to play
other sports, Mrs McCann said this year's round of
competition would be the second year A grade tennis in the
Eastern Southland Tennis Competition would be played on a
Tuesday night.
"A lot of people wanted to do other things in the weekend,
that's why there's a slowing down of tennis. There's too much
happening in the weekend," Mrs McCann said.
Regardless of dwindling tennis numbers, Mrs McCann said this
year's round of competition was still high quality, with
committed and tennis-loving players ready to take the court.
While the A grade competition was on a Tuesday night, the
rest of the grades in the Eastern Southland Tennis
Competition would be played on a Saturday.
The C and Intermediate grades would play on a Saturday
morning, while the A reserve and B grades would play on a
Saturday afternoon.
Unlike other sporting codes that can restrict players from
moving through grades based on their age and weight, tennis
was a sport that encouraged players to perform at their
highest potential, and if a player was good enough to make
the A grade, then the chances were they could be up against
their parents, or family members who played in a higher
grade, she said.
"Tennis is a good sport for the family," Mrs McCann said.
Southland tennis player Matt Mill enjoys taking to the court.
He has played for Southland, Eastern Southland, and Southland
Country, as well as playing for Gore in the Eastern Southland
Tennis Competition.
The competition wraps up at the end of March next year.
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