The Gllangcolme Tennis Festival has a new home, and the change of venue appears to have gone over well with the Greater Victoria tennis community.
The 35th annual event, typically hosted by the Langford Tennis Club at Royal Roads, moved to the new red clay courts at the Bear Mountain Tennis Centre this year, and the maximum number of 32 teams competed between June 22 and 25 in the triple-knockout mixed doubles tournament.
“Competing on the clay courts was a big plus as most players had not yet experienced this unique surface,” said event organizer Ranjan McArthur.
“As expected, we fielded many comments about how easy the clay was on the body, with some players playing six hours of tennis per day on Saturday and Sunday. The only complaints were about the heat wave we experienced over the weekend.”
Langford Tennis Club president Sue Grandmaison noted that the brand new facility created some excitement among the tournament’s regulars.
“It was exciting to reach the maximum number of 32 teams registered two weeks in advance of the actual tournament,” she said. “I think people were excited to give the new venue a try.”
The team of Mariko Takumura and Chris Freitag took home the ‘A’ final over the pair of Josee Paris and Mike Nichol. Tracy Stone and Bernard Deschenes won the ‘B’ final while Jo-Anne and Robert Bettauer won the ‘C’ final.
The tournament’s unique name is derived from the original four communities that participated in the event – Glen Lake, Langford, Colwood and Metchosin.
joel.tansey@goldstream