Collaroy Tennis Club’s now annual pilgrimage to the picturesque South Coast town of Ulladulla for their Seniors Tournament was another fun and successful trip. Numbers were a little down this year, with the absence of last year’s first-time tournament players like Anna and Gareth G. and Kim G. and Steve V., plus injuries to stalwarts like Dave K.
But those who did travel had a brilliant time and again, brought home some prizemoney.
Huge congratulations to Kim D. and Felicia for starting the tournament on an incredibly positive note for Collaroy. Kim won the Women’s Singles event on the first day of competition (Friday)… defeating Felicia in the Final! An all-Collaroy result first-up!
Saturday saw the start of the Doubles events and Collaroy was again well represented. Club Vice-Captain Kenny again teamed up with Michelle Windsor from Hunters Hill in the 110 Combined Mixed event and while the pair couldn’t repeat their famous victory of two years ago, they had a lot of fun trying.
Garry M.S. and Julie K. joined Ros and Les along with tournament debutantes Kate B and Eric in the 140-150 Combined Age Mixed Doubles. Again, our pairs didn’t make it to the winners’ circle but acquitted themselves well. A special shout out to Les who only 7 months ago underwent surgery for a double knee replacement! Amazing to be back on court, let alone playing a tournament with only that amount of recovery time. (Apparently Ros’s cooking has special recuperative powers.)
On Sunday morning, Kenny and Wil teamed up in the 110 Combined Age Men’s Doubles. As the accompanying Score Sheet shows, this was an extremely closely contested event. In Kenny’s own words: “There was a stand-out pair who went through undefeated, but then only 2 games separated the next three pairs on total games won.”
Kenny and Wil played really well, going down only 3-5 to the eventual winners and taking home the prize cheque as Runners Up. This was Wil's second 'collect' having also been Runner Up in the Men’s 45/50 doubles event, playing with Owen Hayford from Northbridge.
Kenny later reported: “The weather was perfect for tennis across all three days, although as seems to happen every year, a storm rolled in on Saturday evening putting a stop to play at around 7pm. This wasn’t a bad thing, resulting in an earlier-than-anticipated start at the local watering holes.”
As always, Tournament Director Mary Lou Barclay ran a tight ship and provided another event that was thoroughly enjoyed by all who participated. There was wine and cheese supplied on Friday evening to welcome all players and those who wanted to, could enjoy dinner at the tennis club on Saturday night (though the local restaurants also have their appeal).
Mary Lou sent her best wishes to those CTC members who couldn’t make it this year and said she hopes to see a record contingent of Collaroy players in Ulladulla in 2026.
Back home, Garry weighed up his 2025 experience down south as follows:
“To all those Collaroy members who played the Seniors Tournament at Ulladulla this year, well done! It’s such a great location and the event is always extremely well organised. Julie and myself had a great time with the Collaroy ‘touring party’.
“We were so lucky the weather stayed kind across the weekend, with only Saturday night tennis washed out, (providing time for some welcome rehydration). As always, the standard in Ulladulla was very high with great tennis played in the right spirit, across the entire weekend.
“For those from Collaroy who weren’t part of this year’s fun, I highly recommend you make plans to join us in Ulladulla next year. It’s one of the most enjoyable Seniors Tournaments that Julie and I play, mixing it with new and old friends. I may be a ‘Tennis Tragic’, but surely there’s nothing wrong with that!”
Kate added: "Growing up in the Southern Highlands, I spent many summer school holidays in Ulladulla and Mollymook, so this was a wonderful trip down Memory Lane. Eric & I thoroughly enjoyed the Ulladulla Seniors Tennis event - our first time 'on tour'. The entire experience was beyond our expectations. Camaraderie on and off the court was amazing. The organisation of the event was exceptional! As for the match results... well not everything goes according to plan."
Well done Team. For those interested, there are Seniors Tournaments run all year round, with a great end-of-year event in Nelson Bay. No doubt another Collaroy contingent will be heading north for that one.
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