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I
n changing the dates of the 2016 North
Shore Open to Easter, we also incorpo-
rated veterans events, as well as retain-
ing the A Grade events. While entries in
the open events were outstanding, it was
disappointing not to attract more players
in other events. It does appear that play-
ers like to pit themsevles against the best,
rather than play events more conducive to
their standard.
The North Shore Times provided a
comprehensive article in their edition on
9th March, giving details of the event and
inviting locals to attend - “Tennis fans who
missed out on tickets to the Australian
Open can enjoy the next best thing for
free as Northern Suburbs Tennis Asso-
ciation prepares to host the 2016 North
Shore Open this month.”
Qualifying matches in the Open Mens
and Open Womens Singles commenced
on Thursday 24th March and continued
on Friday 25th, after which main draw
matches commenced. One and a half
hours was allowed for each match which
made for comfortable scheduling and little
waiting time for players.
To cater for consolation and A Grade
events,
venues
were hired at Wakehurst
Tennis Centre, Kooroora Tennis Club,
Tennis Valley, and Wheatleigh Street.
NSTA Headquarters at Talus Street,
Naremburn provided the venue for the
Open events throughout all five days of
the tournament.
Many of our own NSTA players took
part with us claiming three of only 16 play-
ers given direct entry into the main draw
- newly crowned NSTA Champion
James
O’Brien, Steven Goh
and promising
junior
Rinky Hijikata
.
Barbecues w
ere provided free of
charge at Talus Street on Thursday and
Friday evenings, as well as the
Belle
Property
Players’ Party on Saturday
evening, and Sunday and Monday
lunches. These were very much appreci-
ated by players and spectators.
The Belle Property Players’ Party
was held Saturday evening 26th March,
when free drinks and food were available
to players and spectators. Music was
supplied and there was a large crowd in
attendance, providing a great ambiance.
For players and spectators
ancillary
activities
were held during the Belle
Property Players’ Party on Saturday
night 26th March, and between the Open
Womens Singles and Open Mens Singles
finals on Monday 28th. We gratefully
acknowledge the generosity of
Guard-
ian Funerals
in donating a flat screen TV
for the winner of the Guardian Funerals
target challenge, which attracted a very
enthusiastic and large group of all ages
and abilities.
We were extremely fortunate to have
Andrew Lim
and
Cameron Hobbs
from
North Sydney Sports & Chiropractic
on
hand for the duration of the tournament.
They were kept busy both on and off court
and provided an excellent service.
Steve Gibson
was our Referee,
appointed by Tennis New South Wales.
Steve is a highly efficient and experienced
White Level International Tennis Federa-
tion Referee who is greatly respected by
the players.
Local junior players were recruited as
ball kids
and a squad from recent Apia
International also came along to assist
during the last two days of the tourna-
ment. The ball kids were kitted out with
North Shore Open t-shirts and provided
with food and
drinks, which
topped off a
great experi-
ence for them.
Umpires
and
linespeople
were provided
for semi finals
of the Open
Singles and for all finals on Finals Day.
This was also greatly appreciated by
the players as it took the tension out of
matches, particularly important when the
players were competing for substantial
prize money.
The
Tournament Committee
, con-
sisting of
Terry Stewart, Rick Anderson,
Luca Lavermicocca, Sue Woodward,
John O’Leary
and
Sue Delmege
, worked
tirelessly in the lead up to the tournament
to ensure the venues were prepared, sig-
nage erected and all the small tasks were
attended to to ensure readiness for the
tournament. In addition, other volunteers
were called in throughout the tournament
to assist with a variety of tasks. In particu-
lar we need to single out
Terry Stewart
and
Rick Anderson
for their dedication
to detail.
In enabling the NSTA to host what
was our ‘best yet’ North Shore Open
Platinum AMT, there are many people
and organisations to thank and without
whose support the tournament would not
be possible:
Our tournament sponsor,
•
Guardian
Funerals
for their ongoing sponsor-
ship and support
Belle Property Lane Cove
•
and
James Bennett f
or their ancillary
sponsorship
North Sydney Sports & Chiroprac-
•
tic
-
Andrew Lim
and
Cameron
Hobbs
Elizabeth Chappel
•
for volunteering
to run tournament desks durng the
tournament
NSTA Court Supervisors,
•
Ian Chap-
pel, Garry Delmege
and
Rhonda
Purivs
Jenae Carroll
•
for her expert photog-
raphy throughout the tournament
John O’Leary,
•
our chief chef who
was on hand for every barbecue
The North Shore Open has now
become an important and valued event in
the Tennis Australia tournament calendar
and as we establish our tournament over
the Easter long weekend, we look forward
to being even better and bigger in the
future.
(From left)
Sherazad Reix, Katy Dunne, Rosemary
Harris, Terry Stewart
(behind, centre)
umpire Henry Brunekreef
2016
Guardian Funerals NORTH SHORE OPEN
cont
COURT
TALK -
WINTER 2016
PAGE 3