Tara Murray
The Macedon Ranges Tennis Association is trying to increase the number of teams that play in its Saturday mixed open competition.
The association has had a number of teams drop off in recent years, with eight teams from five clubs playing in the recently completed summer season.
The association has about a dozen clubs that are connected to the association including from Sunbury and Bacchus Marsh, but not all have teams playing at the moment.
Coordinator Daniel Thompson said the Saturday mixed competition was once the premier competition in the MRTA with four sections.
COVID hit and the competition shrunk to two sections and now just one.
“There’s no real single identifiable cause,” she said.
“The MRTA has night competitions that have gained in popularity, but not everyone wants to play tennis late into the night during the cold winter months.
Nicole Price, who has got involved with running the Saturday competition as well, said the Saturday afternoon was traditionally a family event and often the highlight of the week.
“All the kids would hang out together and play at the courts while their parents competed. Then there would be afternoon tea. It was a fun, family-friendly way to spend Saturday afternoon. The kids would then want to take up tennis too.”
The competition runs on Saturday afternoons from 1.30pm and is open to adults and A and B-grade junior tennis players.
Price said they want to grow the competition back up to where it once was.
“We had more teams and more clubs in the competition last season than we have seen in several years, and we want to build on this momentum.
“We want more MRTA clubs represented in the competition. Sunbury Tennis Club and Mt Carmel Tennis Club are both affiliated with the MRTA and we would love to see teams from both of those clubs participating in Saturday mixed open.”
People interested in playing can reach out to their local club or reach out to Price and Thompson.
Details: mrta.committee+open_coordinator@gmail.com.
