Friday, December 18, 2015

UNDER 10 NEWS


2015 OTA U10 TDC CUP

The OTA hosted the inaugural U10 TDC CUP on November 28 - 29th at the Aviva Centre.  This event was offered to provincial Tennis Development Centre’s across the province offering an opportunity for clubs to enter a team of two boys and two girls born in (2006, 2007).  The event had a total of 12 teams with 4 players per squad for a total of 48 players. Judging by the smiles in this photo a good time was had by all.

Format:                                      

Each team played one another in their round robin group, playing a total of 3 teams during round robin preliminary play.  All matches consisted of two girls’ singles matches and one girls’ doubles match, two boys’ singles matches and one boys’ doubles match for a total of 6 matches.  Each match was timed at 40-minutes with no ad scoring on full court with the green ball; players played as many games as possible in the 40 minutes; each game won counted towards their teams total; thus, a team’s total score was accumulated of the total games won from the six matches played.  The round robin result’s during prelim competition was determined by total games won per team.  Teams were then reordered and placed in championship/consolation flights based off their team result.

The teams placed as follows:- 

1. Ontario Racquet Club. 2. Toronto Tennis Academy (WC). 3. Waterloo. 4. Toronto Tennis City. 5. ACE - Burlington #1.  6. ATI (Veneto). 7. ACE - Burlington #2. 8. Mayfair. 9. Toronto Lawn. 10. NYTA. 11. Niagara Tennis Academy. 12. Ontario Racquet Club #2.
    
Team Spirit Award: Toronto Lawn

Fair Play Award: Phil St. Pierre, Claire Podolsky, Edward Liu, Tea Budisic, Aakash Kapur.

CHAMPIONS EVENT FEBRUARY 12 to 15, AVIVA CENTRE

The third Champions event is scheduled for Feb 12 to 15, 2016 at the Aviva Centre in Toronto. Entry deadline is February 7. For complete rules and regulations please go to and to enter go to

All players competing in the OTA Champions event must be born no later than 2006 January 1st.  Players who have won the event in past years are NOT eligible to compete in this year’s event. All competitors must be a registered OTA member. 

All players will be randomly placed in a preliminary round robin box. Players will advance to their respective flights based on their preliminary results. Full court - green dot balls. Best of three short sets up to 4, tie breaker at 3 games all up to 5

“The Champions” is the brain child of Mr. Murray Rubin, a life-long tennis enthusiast and member of the York Racquets Club in Toronto. Mr. Rubin has donated over $40,000 to “The Champions”, to be used to pay for the one-on-one coaching of the young winners and finalists, payable over a two year period. Muuray is a long time supporter of tennis in Canada and Ontario whose “goal is to help produce a Canadian world champion”. The OTA will administer the tournament and the coaching dollar grants offered to champions and finalists.

SENIORS NEWS




STEVE STEVENS CELEBRATES 99TH BIRTHDAY
Tennis Canada Tennis Development Staff and a few long time friends helped Steve Stevens celebrate his 99th birthday at the Toronto Lawn on November 17th.Steve is now living in a Seniors Residence and rumour has it he is already planning his 100th birthday celebration. 

For those who are new to Seniors Tennis or who do not yet qualify because of lack of years, Steve Stevens was, until recently, the lead person for Seniors Tennis for Tennis Canada since 1984. He is a tremendous promoter of seniors;tennis and Canadian players participating in the ITF World Team Championships and has seen participation in these events grow significantly. Steve is also a past President and Board member of the OTA and a former General Manager of the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club.
INAUGURAL AMERICAS MASTERS GAMES IN VANCOUVER AUG 24 - SEP 4, 2016
The International Masters Games Association (IMGA) was seeking to establish a continental Games in the Americas region as a companion to the World Masters Games. After successfully hosting the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Vancouver was the perfect site for hosting the inaugural AMG with infrastructure, sports hosting facilities, and the local knowledge necessary. The inaugural Americas Masters Games, organised by Sport BC, will be held in Vancouver August 26th to Sept 4th 2016.
Anyone over the age of 30 can participate in the Games. Participants will need proof of age and valid identification but no sport qualification is required.
25 sports, including tennis will be offered for the AMG 2016 program.
It is hoped that upwards of 10,000 people will participate. You are encouraged to register early to guarantee your spot in the competition, and to allow time to arrange your travel and accommodation.
The Athlete games package fee is CAD $215.00 plus applicable taxes and booking fees.  Additional sports cost CAD $75.00 plus applicable taxes.
Managers/Coaches costs will be CAD $50.00
Family and Spectator costs will be CAD $50.00
All three packages include:
  • Access to spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremonies
  • Official Americas Masters Games 2016 Welcome Kit
  • Americas Masters Games 2016 Accreditation Badge
  • Access to the Games ‘Health and Sport’ Expo in the Games plaza
  • Olympic-style format in first Masters Games of the Americas region
  • Competition performance medals and Award Ceremonies
  • Nightly Events, Beer Garden and Entertainment in downtown Games plaza
  • Discounts on Vancouver Restaurants and Tourist Attractions

For more information on this please go to www.americasmastersgames2016.com
The next World Master Games will be held in Auckland New Zealand April     2017 for more information go to www.worldmastersgames2017.co.nz  The inaugural World Masters Games were held in Toronto in 1985.

REMEMBERING GUS

Remembering Gus: Extraordinary Tennis Volunteer

On Sunday Dec 13, 2015 Gus Morhart  passed away. He was at his winter home in Florida, probably working  on his latest project, the Islamorada Tennis Club in Florida. Gus had bought this property wanting to provide young Canadian tennis players with a safe and affordable place to train in winter.  He had already installed an OTA banner and was looking for an OTA flag to hoist above the property, such was his loyalty to the organization he had devoted much of his time and energy to for more than 25 years.

Gus was a doer, a builder, a practical person. He never wanted to be in the limelight, he just went about making a better world through tennis in his own modest and generous way. The ability to take an idea and turn it into reality made Gus such an exceptional and valuable individual. He never judged people, he never considered the shortcomings or argued about the constraints or potential problems, he just did what he saw could be done.  For example, after an exploratory discussion about raising  the profile and image of the Ontario Junior Closed Championships, Gus made improvements a reality by making single sticks and score cards for the courts and umpire chairs. He came at dawn to put up the banners on the courts, on finals days he brought the bouquets of flowers which were presented to all the girls with their trophies. It was Gus who provided the bowl of candies at the tournament desk, who built the large scoreboards, who organized the barbeque and who watched and supported every junior who played in the event.

Gus was also the transporter of players, both for the pros on the grounds at the Rogers Cup or for the kids around junior nationals. Whether it was a junior who needed picking up at the airport or Milos who needed to be taken to hospital, Gus would be there with his trusty dark green van covered with logos no matter what time of day or night. And then he would be there to support the juniors at the big events in Florida in December, Canada T shirts for every Canadian player, accommodation at his place in the Keys, fish from his freezer, he shared everything he had.

Gus was modest, kind and generous of spirit. He derived great pleasure from giving, particularly if the gift was appreciated.  He wanted very little for himself. I remember when the OTA held a special lottery that it was Gus who was first to buy tickets. When he won a trip to Wimbledon in the lottery, he gave it to a junior so they could afford to go to play in the junior event and when they thanked him with a towel from Wimbledon, he gave that away as appreciation to a fellow volunteer.

Gus was officially recognized many times by the OTA (DSA and other awards) by Tennis Canada and by the Ontario Government (Syl Apps award). But I really think for him the best reward was a smile, a small favour, a helping hand, a hug  and a willingness to help tennis.
It is the juniors who played at Kew and their parents who remember Gus most fondly. We are planning to include a collection of photos and memories of Gus in the OTA Year Book which will be published online in January.  If you have a special photo or memory of Gus that you would like to contribute please send it to me, pamolley@sympatico.ca or the OTA office ota@tennisontario.com and we will try to include it in our collection.


As of today there are no details available for a celebration of Gus’s life, we hear that one will be held after the holidays and we will notify you as soon as we know the time and place.

Photo by Peter Figura.

BIANCA ANDREESCU WINS THE ORANGE BOWL



BIANCA TAKES HER SECOND ORANGE BOWL TITLE.
Bianca Andreescu (Toronto, ON) completed a spectacularly successful 2015 season with the most significant victory of her young career on Sunday at the Metropolia Orange Bowl in Plantation, Florida. She captured the U18 girls singles title by defeating American Kayla Day in the finals 7-6, 6-2. 
Bianca won the Under 16 Orange Bowl singles title and was a runner up in the Under 14 Orange Bowl in 2014. Andreescu’s other results in 2015 include, winning the singles and doubles titles at the Condor De Plata in La Paz, Bolivia in February, reaching the final of the Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France Grade 1 event, reaching the final of the Gatineau National Bank Challenger (a WTA event) and was a finalist in singles and a champion in doubles at the Yucatan Cup, Mexico.  She was also the Rogers Canadian Junior Outdoor National U18 singles and doubles champion.  
It is expected that her year-end World Junior ranking will be in the top 10 making her the highest ranked 15 year old in the world. She is the third Canadian junior to win the Under 18 Orange Bowl. Carling Bassett tool the title in 1982 and Gabriela Dabrowski in 2009.
Bianca trains as part of the National Tennis Centre and is coached by former French star, Natalie Tauziat
OTHER ONTARIO JUNIORS WIN HARDWARE IN FLORIDA
It’s December, the month when tens of Ontario juniors travel to Florida, often with their family in tow, to test their skill in a series of the junior tournaments which attract competitors from around the world and maybe enjoy a little rest and relaxation in the sun.  There is the Eddie Herr, the Orange Bowl (aka the Junior World Championships), the junior Orange Bowl and for the even younger crowd there is the Little Mo International.
The Junior Orange Bowl is the final event and it will be completed on Dec 22nd
Several Ontario players won trophies in the Little Mo tournament, named after former player Maureen Connolly  and supported by the Maureen Connolly Brinker Foundation. This event takes place in Palm Beach Gardens and is hosted by BallenIsles Country Club, PGA National Resort and Spa, Eastpointe Golf and Racquet Club and at the Palm Beach Gardens Tennis Centre. This year under 13 and under 14 events were added to this tournament which has events for every age from under 8 to under 12 in one year increments. Green dot and Yellow ball events are played for the 10 and under age categories.
Boys 8 (green) singles  Nicolas Arseneault (Richmond Hill), champion. Zachary Kimmelman (Thornhill), 3rd.
Boys 10 (green)  singles Daniel Tsukinovsky (Richmond Hill), champion
Girls 10 (yellow) singles Kayla Cross (London) champion, Madison Lee (Mississauga) 3rd, Valeria Ray (Toronto) 4th.
Girls 11 singles Dasha Plekhanova (Toronto) champion, Arina Artemyeva, 3rd, Dharani Niroshan (Richmond Hill) 4th
Girls 14 singles Alexandra Arkhipov, champion.

The doubles events and the boys 11 singles have not been updated on the event web site so we do not have access to those results yet. We believe that there were some trophy winners in the doubles which we will publish if we get the information.