TENNIS TOURNEY

Waipawa Mail, Volume LXVIII, Issue 49, 12 January 1940, Page 2

TENNIS TOURNEY

H.B. CHAMPIONSHIPS INCLUDED

BIG ENTRY EXPECTED. With a record behind it possessed by very few clubs in New Zealand, the Waipawa Tennis Club will bold its fifty-fifth annual tournament next week, commencing' at 9 a.m. on Monday. Associated with it in the early days were Miss Nunnelly, many times champion of New Zealand, the Misses Hitehings, of Napier, and of the male players Parker, Gore, Lusk, F. M. B. Fisher, Hassell, the Powdrells, and many others prominent in the tennis world of those days. Then there were no motor cars, and travelling had to he done by train, necessitating a stay of upwards of a week in the town in which a tournament was being played. But that did not matter. It was made the occasion of an annual holiday, and the players enjoyed themselves —off the courts as well as on them. To-day, with modem transport service, many players travel home each night, and to that extent present-day tournaments are robbed of some of their interest. To off-set this, however, there are now many more young people playing the game nowadays, and numbers of them give promise of developing into first class players. Some of these will be seen in action here next week. Up to the present excellent entries have been received, a special attraction being the Hawke’s Bay Provincial Championships, and it is anticipated that by the time the list closes at 8 o’clock to-morrow night the total will easily outdistance last year’s.

A considerable amount of attention has been given to the courts during the past week, and although the season has been a trying one it is expected that they will play well. Arrangements are being made for morning and afternoon tea to be available on the ground, and soft drinks and ices will also be on sale. A charge of one shilling will be made for admission to the ground each day, but season tickets will be available at 2s fid. For the entertainment of the visitors a dance will be held in the theatre on Tuesday evening.