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AREA REPORTS<br />
2009 Alaska State High School<br />
Sportsmanship Award winners<br />
were honored this fall.<br />
From left, Rendell Burghart and<br />
Emma Lewis each <strong>com</strong>piled a<br />
14-0 season record, bringing<br />
home the Region IV and Alaska<br />
State Singles Championship.<br />
the line, senior Emma Lewis defeated West<br />
Anchorage senior Taab Louhabanjong in<br />
three sets to win her second state singles title<br />
and the team title for South. West Anchorage<br />
fi nished second and Dimond (Anchorage)<br />
fi nished third.<br />
Sophomore Rendell Burghart of Di-<br />
mond overcame cramps to win his fi rst state singles gles<br />
title defeating West’s David Cotton in the fi nal.<br />
The girls’ doubles title went to the Dimond duo of<br />
Esther Glasionov and Annie Ingaldson.<br />
Players from outside of Anchorage also made<br />
their presence felt in the tournament. Tyler Loud<br />
and Drew Lanning from Lathrop (Fairbanks) won<br />
the boys’ doubles title. Southeast Alaska was<br />
represented by Juneau’s Laurel Messerschmidt<br />
and Brian Vandor who won the mixed doubles<br />
title. Also representing Juneau, Aaron Cohen and<br />
Nathan Graves fi nished second in boys’ doubles.<br />
Eric Ringstad of Monroe Catholic (Fairbanks)<br />
took third in boys’ singles. Hutchison Tech’s (Fairbanks)<br />
Kelsey Peterson and West Valley’s Loni<br />
Ellsworth and Jenna Powers (Fairbanks) placed<br />
fourth in girls’ singles and doubles, respectively.<br />
Kodiak High School brought a full team to the<br />
Alaska State High School Tennis Championship<br />
for the fi rst time. Kodiak has two outdoor courts<br />
and plays indoors in a converted gymnasium when<br />
the weather gets bad. Despite these challenges,<br />
Kodiak’s coaches Ken McCarty, Craig Johnson<br />
and Steve Johnston have 26 players on the team.<br />
To honor Kodiak’s efforts, the team was presented<br />
with the tournament’s sportsmanship award.<br />
The 2009 state tournament exhibited both<br />
a very high level of play as well as tremendous<br />
sportsmanship from all players. High school tennis<br />
is growing in the Last Frontier and Alaskan<br />
tennis fans are already looking forward to the<br />
2010 tournament.<br />
Thank you to state tennis tournament title<br />
sponsor Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. and<br />
corporate sponsors Mt. McKinley Bank and<br />
SportsMedicine Fairbanks.<br />
The players and coaches<br />
of Tennis BC’s fi rst annual<br />
Progressive Tennis ADVANCED<br />
Circuit.<br />
British Columbia<br />
By Lenka Moravcova<br />
[ Continued from page 5 ]<br />
Building Tennis<br />
Communities strategy works<br />
In 2001, Tennis Canada implemented an<br />
initiative called Building Tennis Communities<br />
(BTC) to increase and sustain tennis participation<br />
in <strong>com</strong>munities across the country. Since its<br />
inception, BTC has introduced tennis activities to<br />
over 365,000 players and in 2009, BTC provided<br />
fi nancial assistance to 50 different <strong>com</strong>munities<br />
across the country.<br />
Community champions play an essential role in<br />
the success of BTC’s strategy. Community champions<br />
are volunteers who are passionate about<br />
tennis and the health of their <strong>com</strong>munity, and<br />
are well connected to other <strong>com</strong>munity leaders in<br />
their areas. With the help of the provincial organization,<br />
<strong>com</strong>munity champions organize “TRY,<br />
LEARN-PLAY and PLAY-COMPETE” programs to<br />
introduce and grow tennis in their <strong>com</strong>munities.<br />
Other <strong>com</strong>munity champion activities include tennis<br />
fairs, team tennis and Tennis BC Rookie Tour<br />
events. Community champions receive fi nancial<br />
assistance from Tennis Canada for a three-year<br />
period. After three years, <strong>com</strong>munity champions<br />
6 TENNIS TIMES WINTER 2009/10 � www.pnw.usta.<strong>com</strong><br />
be<strong>com</strong>e graduated <strong>com</strong>munity champions with<br />
the goal of continuing their involvement with<br />
tennis in their <strong>com</strong>munity.<br />
A big part of TRY, LEARN-PLAY and PLAY-<br />
COMPETE programming is focused on progressive<br />
tennis which uses a systematic progression of<br />
court sizes, balls and racquets to make tennis more<br />
accessible and easier for beginners to learn. A mini<br />
net can be set up literally anywhere – school gymnasiums,<br />
playgrounds, parks, etc. – allowing the<br />
game to be introduced to hundreds of children.<br />
A prime example of BTC’s success in utilizing<br />
progressive tennis is Tennis BC’s School Program.<br />
During the 2008-09 school year, over 30,000 kids<br />
participated. The Tennis BC School Program is delivered<br />
by certifi ed tennis instructors and consists<br />
of four 45-minutes lessons conducted during the<br />
students’ regular PE classes. Nash Vuletic from<br />
TTennis<br />
XL is the leader of delivering Tennis BC<br />
School Programs in the Lower Mainland. Kudos<br />
tto<br />
all <strong>com</strong>munity champions for growing and<br />
advocating tennis as the sport of a lifetime!<br />
Progressive Tennis<br />
ADVANCED A Circuit in BC<br />
This year, Tennis BC introduced the fi rst Pro-<br />
ggressive<br />
Tennis ADVANCED Circuit for players<br />
under the age of nine. The circuit is a provincially<br />
sanctioned series of events for boys and girls <strong>com</strong>bined.<br />
The events are held at clubs recognized as<br />
TTennis<br />
Development Centers and are supported<br />
by Tennis Canada.<br />
The Progressive Tennis ADVANCED Circuit<br />
offers two divisions including half-court for<br />
children ages eight and under as well as a threequarter-court<br />
for children ages nine and under. The<br />
circuit kicked off with an event at People’s Courts<br />
Tennis Academy in Coquitlam on October 18 and<br />
was a great success. The youngsters enjoyed the<br />
<strong>com</strong>petition and the goodies they received with<br />
their registration.<br />
The series continues throughout the winter and<br />
spring with events scheduled at Vancouver Lawn<br />
Tennis & Badminton Club, Hollyburn Country<br />
Club and Grant Connell Tennis Center. It’s a great<br />
way to offer new playing opportunities to the<br />
youngest <strong>com</strong>petitors.<br />
Play more tennis with<br />
JUUMP.<strong>com</strong><br />
Juump.<strong>com</strong> is a free map-based website that<br />
helps tennis players to meet other tennis players<br />
to organize match play and hit groups. The site<br />
allows you to create your own profi le, arrange play<br />
and <strong>com</strong>municate with other players, discover new<br />
courts that are convenient for you and your tennis<br />
partners, meet players with <strong>com</strong>patible skill levels<br />
and much more.<br />
Juump.<strong>com</strong> launched last summer and although<br />
it currently focuses on British Columbia,<br />
the founders plan to go global. “We created<br />
Juump.<strong>com</strong> to bring the tennis <strong>com</strong>munity together,”<br />
says Scott Dunlop, one of the co-founders<br />
and a former President of Tennis BC. Go to Juump.<br />
<strong>com</strong> for more information and to create your<br />
profi le today.<br />
NW Washington<br />
By Lori Brillhart<br />
The (frugal) tennis player’s<br />
guide to gifts<br />
If you’re feeling a bit light in the wallet this season<br />
(and really, who isn’t?), then here are some ideas<br />
to get you in the holiday gift-giving spirit without<br />
breaking your budget. Starting from $3.99, here are<br />
some favorites:<br />
UNDER $10<br />
Stocking stuffers from TennisExpress.<strong>com</strong>:<br />
“Tennis Forever, Work Whenever” cocktail napkins<br />
are a lot of fun and a steal at just $3.99.<br />
Tennis ball and racquet stationery starts at $5.99.<br />
A variety of unique tennis memorabilia is available<br />
from $7.<br />
A practical indulgence, give the gift of Lacoste<br />
tennis socks for $10.<br />
UNDER $20<br />
If you want to thrill a person who loves to read<br />
and play tennis, why not cater to multiple passions?<br />
Here are several excellent reads that can be found<br />
on Amazon.<strong>com</strong>:<br />
In Pursuit of Excellence by Terry Orlick, PhD.<br />
While excellent for tennis players, this inspiring read<br />
is applicable to every aspect of life.<br />
Mistakes Worth Making: How to Turn Sports Errors<br />
Into Athletic Excellence by Susan Halden-Brown. A<br />
truly thought-provoking book.<br />
If you haven’t read the Inner Game of Tennis by<br />
W. Timothy Gallwey, purchase a copy for you and<br />
one for your favorite player. Re<strong>com</strong>mended again<br />
and again, this book is a timeless tennis classic that<br />
will assist you in learning to utilize the mind and<br />
body connection on court.<br />
Tennis-themed photo frames are great to help<br />
<strong>com</strong>memorate an individual or team’s latest tournament<br />
experience. Priceless memories can be showcased<br />
for as little as $12.99 at TennisExpress.<strong>com</strong>.<br />
UNDER $50<br />
Life is good! All you need is a “Love Tennis” T-shirt!<br />
Purchase one for your favorite doubles partner, team<br />
captain or coach. Only $25 from TennisExpress.<strong>com</strong>.<br />
If fashion and style are high on your tennis<br />
player’s list, Nordstrom.<strong>com</strong> has a great selection<br />
of performance apparel that may provide some<br />
on-court inspiration. Brands featured include Zell,<br />
Nike, Under Armour, Lacoste, and more.<br />
UNDER $75<br />
A private tennis lesson (or two or three semiprivate<br />
lessons) for the player on your list might just<br />
make the perfect gift. Lessons are always a great gift<br />
idea for those who are trying to take their games to<br />
the next level. Just be certain that you don’t give it<br />
to someone you hope to beat at this time next year!<br />
SKY’S THE LIMIT<br />
If you wish to indulge your tennis-loving friend<br />
or relative, consider a trip to one of the Grand Slam<br />
events. Closer to home, another outstanding tournament<br />
is the BNP Paribas Open (formerly the Pacifi c<br />
Life Open) held at the beautiful Indian Wells Tennis<br />
Garden in Indian Wells, Calif. A trip to a tennis camp<br />
might delight the tennis player on your list, as well.<br />
While the holidays may be hectic, be sure to take<br />
time for yourself. Hit the courts to relieve stress and<br />
boost your energy. May you also fi nd time to enjoy<br />
your tennis-playing friends and relatives (and to<br />
convert those friends and relatives who aren’t) and<br />
have a wonderful, happy and healthy holiday season.