Tennis: new format

Press, 4 December 1978, Page 17

Tennis: new format

Tennis will take a leal from rugby’s book by changing the format for the men’s senior competition to pro- j duce a grand final for the! Bank of New Zealand chain-; pionship. But because of ail the/ major fixtures at Wilding; Park this summer the com-1 petition play-off might be a j long time coming. The situa- ■ tion was further complicated; on Saturday when a day’s; play was lost because of; persistent drizzle. “This lost round will have; to be played some time, but; i we are short of Saturdays! and might have to catch up lon a Sunday,” said the con-; jvener of the Canterbury; I Lawn Tennis Association’s I : competitions committee, Mr lA. D. Atkinson, yesterday. “We had only one spare, I Saturday up our sleeve,! iwhich we have now used,”! I he said. I Ironically, Saturday’s can-1

, cellation came after the ' eight-day Colgate tournament had been completed at! Wilding Park without a hint 1 I of rain. No club matches j were played on the previous j Saturday because of this im- j portant women’s contest. j The club competitions will I [also take a back seat when I the Wilson and Linton Cup ■ competition for Australian and New Zealand juniors [and the Australasian veterans’ tournament are held at ! the park in January, and the i Davis Cup elimination round [between Japan and New i Zealand is played early in I February. [ “It is almost an imposisible season,” Mr Atkinson [commented. The new format for the: men’s senior competition .will embrace one full round [ of seven matches, in which [each club will meet all its [rivals. The eight teams will ■lthen be divided into two

i sections, with the sides that • are first, third, fifth and seventh after the roundrobin forming section one, and the second, fourth, sixth and eighth sides making up [section two. • Clubs will carry forward i the points they have gathered earlier in the season. i and after a further series of three rounds the top team in ; each section will be found. These two clubs will then play off for the BNZ chain > pionship. In previous; i seasons the championship: ’ has been decided on purely: i a round-robin basis. This will still be the name; of the game for the women’s r teams. Only five clubs contest the senior championbship, and they will play two i: complete rounds to find a 1; winner. >. Elmwood holds both titles, l and its men’s team has won 1 its competition for six conjisecutive years.