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NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2014

http://www.tennis.com.au/saletc/

In This Edition

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nd Club Championships

Life Members Day – Sunday September 14

Mid-Week Ladies Report

Sale Central Storage Player & Team of the Year

Junior Report

Night Pennant Grand Finals

Coaches Corner

Sale Tennis Club Wins National Good Sports Award

Evonne Goolagong Returns to Sale Tennis Club

Out & About

Calendar of Events

News Items & Email Addresses

Sponsors

Ashwood Homes Brown/Wigg Bruce Carter Fencing Crowe Horwath Accountants Davids Menswear Dyers Transport Gippsland Custom Pools Glencoe Lime

Herron Todd White

Howard & Schuback Mega Sp. Ideal Hearing John Elliman Real Estate Khayaam Hair Salon Kwik Tip Bins Lakeside Club Lazzaro Bros. Fruit & Veg Leemack Clean Pantac Security Riviera Signs

Sale Central Storage Sale Turf Club Spider Sprayers Star Hotel Subway The Paint Rig Turnbull Toyota Union Hydraulics

Warren Graham & Murphy

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62nd Club Championships Our 62nd Club Championships was completed on Sunday, November 30. Congratulations to Bree Kaandorp on winning her first Open Ladies Singles and Abe Schuback on winning his 8th successive Men’s Open Champion title. Abe remains the 17th winner of the WF McLoghlin Trophy after his victory over Nick Board. Bree is the fourth different winner in 4 years and only the 19th winner of the Sharpe Cup for the Ladies Open Champion, a very select group. Bree has been very competitive all season in her Section 1 team and this win is a reflection of the hard work she is putting in. Her opponent in the final was teammate Paige Wilson whose tennis is also developing as the season progresses.

Other highlights of the day were:

Under 18 Boys Singles final - 14 year old Taylor Stephenson, who has huge potential to be a club champion in the not too distant future outlasted Jack Foley in a 3 set marathon 6/7, 6/3, 6/3. Of course you cannot have a great match without great opposition so fine effort by Jack as well.

Under 18 Girls Singles final - Laura Jones came back from one set down to defeat Meg Gordyn in 3 sets 6/7, 6/2, 6/4

Under 12 Boys Singles final - Hunter Pearce defeated Finn Stephenson in a match which was played in great spirit and both boys demonstrated fantastic sportsmanship. Keep an eye out for these two boys in the years to come.

Full results were: Winner Runner Up

Open Men’s Singles Abe Schuback Nick Board Open Ladies Singles Bree Kaandorp Paige Wilson Open Men’s Doubles Abe Schuback Mark DiPietro

Nick Board Scott Pearce Ladies Open Doubles Carmel Elliott Karen Pollett Kerry Brown Karen Deschepper

Open Mixed Doubles Abe Schuback Nick Board Bree Kaandorp Paige Wilson Under 18 Boys Singles Taylor Stephenson Jack Foley Under 18 Girls Singles Laura Jones Meg Gordyn Under 16 Boys Singles Tom Foley Liam Wilson Under 16 Girls Singles Laura Jones Meg Gordyn Under 14 Boys Singles Charlie Harrison Hunter Pearce Under 14 Girls Singles Meg Gordyn Stephanie Flood Under 14 Boys Doubles Charlie Harrison Charlie Pritchett Hamish Telfer Jack McCaughey Under 12 Boys Singles Hunter Pearce Finn Stephenson Under 12 Girls Singles Tilly Gordyn Emily Elliott Under 12 Girls Doubles Tilly Gordyn Emily Elliott Breanna Marshall Katty Klose Under 10 Boys Singles Finn Stephenson Max Lazzaro Under 10 Girls Singles Brooke Marshall Jessica Board Under 10 Boys Doubles Finn Stephenson Baxter Pearce Max Lazzaro Coby Burgiel

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Clockwise from top left: Max Lazzaro, Taylor Stephenson, (The Special “K’s”) Karen Deschepper & Karen Pollett, Carmel Elliott & Leanne Pearce, Hunter Pearce & Ben Elliott & Club Champion, Abe Schuback

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Clockwise from top left: Taylor Stephenson, Laura Jones & Tom Foley, Paige Wilson, Hamish Telfer, Hunter Pearce, Stephanie Flood & Club Champion Bree Kaandorp.

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Our Club Championships were again organised by Abe Schuback who has worked hard to keep our Championships going against a trend of other Gippsland clubs abandoning their annual championships. “Thank you” Abe for your efforts and dedication. A special thank you also goes to Nick Board for his assistance with running the tournament and Carmel, Ben and Emily Elliott for running the canteen. Lots of parents also assisted with the mopping of the courts including Scott Pearce, Nicky Flood, Rod Jones and Andrew Stephenson. Thanks everyone for helping to keep the event going and making a really good day.

Clockwise from top left: Meg Gordyn. Charlie Pritchett, Ben Elliott & Finn Stephenson.

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Life Members Day – Sunday September 14 Sunday September 14 saw perfect weather again for our 10th Annual Life Members Day. This year we had 54 players take to the court to compete for the Ian Flint Memorial Trophy, the Keith Best Memorial Trophy and the Monica Best Memorial Trophy. We also had Life Members Don Schuback, Jan Saville and Robin Lowe participating in the day’s proceedings.

At the end of 3 gruelling sets, where in a many cases laughter was the most common skill on the court, we had our three winners.

The Keith Best Memorial Trophy was won by Karen Pollett. This fulfilled a long held ambition to win the trophy named after the Best family who were part of her early life at the Club and the wider community. The final standings were: 1st Karen Pollett

2nd Kate Hanratty 3rd Amy Flint Heidi Gallen

The Monica Best Memorial Trophy for the best performed junior went, for the second year in succession, to Emily Harrison. Emily clearly started from where she left off last year and was delighted to back up for her second win. The final standings were: 1st Emily Harrison 2nd Georgie Roberts Brooke Harrison 3rd Charlie Pritchett

The Ian Flint Memorial Trophy was won by Rod Cook. Rod has come close on past Life Members Days but this time he started well and kept on going. The final standings were:

1st Rod Cook 2nd Wayne Flint 3rd Ron Erskine Ron Crawford Mark DiPietro Mark Elliman Robin Lowe

Back: L to R: Ron Erskine, Rod Cook, Wayne Flint, Ron Crawford, Mark Elliman, Middle L to R: Amy flint, Heidi Gallen, Mark DiPietro, Karen Pollett, Robin Lowe Front L to R: Georgie Roberts, Brooke Harrison, Emily Harrison, Charlie Pritchett

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During the presentations Don Schuback unveiled the new Honour Board that he presented to the Club. Don was the first name on the old honour board which is now full so it was fitting that he was then able to donate to the Club the new one that will take us through for many years to come.

L to R: Life Members - Robin Lowe, Don Schuback, Chris Deschepper, Jan Saville, Mike Riley & Murray Fitzclarence.

Lindsay Burton with Emma Best as they try out their Hot Shots form. Lindsay was a Sale Tennis Club member for over 10 seasons and was SHTA President for several years from 1982. It is great to see some of our old members making it back to the

Club for Life Members Day.

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As part of Life Members Day celebrations we then had a very special presentation to three new Life Members of the Sale Tennis Club.

Mike Riley “Mike joined Sale Tennis Club in 1992. He joined the Junior Committee in 2000 and was

President of that Committee for 4 years from 2001 to 2004.

He also took over as our Tuesday Night pennant coordinator in 1998 and is still in that role 16

years or 32 seasons later. In that time we estimate that he has selected 1,280 players into 320

teams, kept score on 512 rounds of pennant, endured 96 washouts (sometimes more) had to

find 1,536 fill ins, presented 256 finals trophies and then showed back up again next season to

do it all again.

He is noted for the quality of each seasons fixture that has all of the necessary details on one

page so people know the “who”, the “where” and the “what” at an instant and the graphics are

always a treat. He is also fearless with his team names. While we have had Olympic sports,

both summer and winter, biscuits, beers, sports teams and locations we have also had at

topical time’s “peptides” and “steroids” and other sundry politically incorrect names to provide a

bit of humour to the fixture.

The great thing from the point of view of our Club and the General Committee is that he does

all of this without having to be asked and without the slightest bit of fuss. He just gets on with it

and his “Tuesday Night disciples” love him. We are proud to make Mike Riley a Life Member.”

Chris Deschepper “This person joined our Junior Committee in the early 2000’s as his three children were coming

through the Clubs junior ranks and served at least one of those years with Mike Riley as his

committee President. He joined the senior committee in 2003 and served as Vice President for

2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 before moving back to the General Committee for 2008 and 2009.

He has been our Stephenson Park representative for the 10 years since 2004.

These committee positons are all commendable and he made a very positive contribution at

both junior and senior committee level. However where he really shone was in two specific

areas – our Pro Circuit Tournaments and our Club renovations.

When we hosted an international Pro Circuit event for the first time in 2006 he was on the sub-

committee that was charged with administration and organisation of the event and the

extensive fund raising that was required to host it. Each event had a budget of in excess of

$30,000 dollars and the prize money was paid in US dollars in the days when 1 Australian

dollar bought 75 US cents. We estimate that over the three years that we hosted the event the

sub-committee he was part of raised over $100,000 to put on the events. However it was not

just raising funds it was embracing the whole international tournament concept. He was

involved as the emergency curator, the bus driver, the esky boy, the tour guide and a hundred

other jobs. He has the gift of the gab and was the “Charlie” on the spot at every turn. One

evening he even took a few of the American players out to the pines to go kangaroo spotting

as they weren’t impressed with the specimens in our fauna park as they quote “looked already

defeated”. I am pretty sure the bus company was not aware of the late night off road

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excursion. Without this enthusiasm I am sure that our tournaments would not have been

anywhere near as successful.

The other area in which he shined was during our club renovations and upgrades. During the

period of his time on General Committee we:

Built 2 international size show courts

Put new lights on 9 courts

Completely resurfaced 8 courts

Extended the Clubhouse

Installed new toilets and showers

Built a new Pro Shop

Completed a new kitchen

Built 2 new shade structures

And finally completed the magnificent John Leslie Grandstand. The “Charlie of all Trades” came into his own in organising a significant part of each of these projects. He donated a huge number of hours to assist complete the various renovations and upgrades and to ensuring we got a successful outcome on each project. The faculties we enjoy today are a product of that commitment.

In fact when earlier this year we discovered to our great surprise and extreme concern that we had not 1 but 2 outstanding building permits dating back as far as 2006 he was the person we turned to to make things right. You will all be pleased to learn that neither the John Leslie Grandstand or our kitchen and toilets need to be demolished.

It is with great pleasure that we award Chris Deschepper Life Membership of the Sale Tennis Club.” Murray Fitzclarence “Murray joined the General Committee in 1993 and was Vice President in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 before stepping off committee. He re-joined the General Committee in 2004 and has served continuously since. He was also our Club Captain in 1995 and for 6 years; 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Murray was also was actively involved with the Pro Circuit events from 2006 to 2008 taking on various roles from bus driver to caterer. His calm and practical nature allowed him to mix comfortably with the international players and the tournament staff and nothing was too much trouble. On one occasion when one of the international players missed the Sale train he drove them to Traralgon to catch it so that they did not miss their flight home. One year he billeted some international players, a couple of whom were from Asian countries. I recall it was a stressful time because we all told him not to leave them alone in the house in case they ate his dog! He needn’t have worried as they had too much respect for him and his kind nature to be tempted by Toto.

Much less stressful was the organisation of our inaugural Seniors Teams Event. He loves to travel around the country playing in various seniors events and figured why not one at our Club. This came to fruition in 2013 and with much help from his partner, Di Arnot, was a great success. It will be on again in December 2014 with him both helping out and playing and, I know that you all think you are too young to play seniors tennis, but check your driver’s licence

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and if your date of birth is before 1980, sadly you qualify and you should come along and join him in December.

In 2005 he took over the critically important of job of bar coordinator with Di Arnot. In that time we estimate that they have made a 1,000 trips with the red trolley in and out of the Clubhouse and stacked 95,000 stubbies and cans of beer, cider, UDL, Jim Beam and a myriad of other drinks that have moved in and out of fashion over the last 10 years. Before every function you will find him there making the sure the fridge is full and ready to go. If you are enjoying a cold beverage now it was put there by him.

Murray’s practical nature makes him the “go to man” for working bees, when the bar fridge breaks down, a courtside advertising sign needs putting up or taking down, the lights won’t work or some other thing needs to be fixed, organised or generally made right.

He travelled back from the Barossa Valley to accept his award and attend Life Members Day and it is with great pleasure that we welcome Murray Fitzclarence as a Life Member of the Sale Tennis Club.” Life Membership is the highest honour that Sale Tennis Club can bestow and we congratulate and welcome Mike, Chris and Murray as Life Members.

As always it takes a lot of people to make a successful day. Our thanks go to Karen Deschepper, Karen Pollett, Mark and Ali Elliman, Joan and Robin Lowe, Mark DiPietro, Paul Egan and Carl Sloan on the BBQ and the Best and Flint families for their assistance with the catering and organisation. Thanks to Lauren and Craig Roberts from Pastry & Pieces for donating the bread for lunch and the cakes for afternoon tea. Thanks also to our raffle sponsors Gippsland Bolts & Fasteners, Howard & Schuback MegaSports, John Elliman Real Estate, Lighthouse & Co, Star Hotel and Shadfords Group.

Sale & District Mid-Week Ladies Tennis Association

The Monday Ladies have had a very successful season with all teams making the finals.

Unfortunately 3 teams were eliminated during the lead up finals but we had 3 teams playing in the Grand Final held on Monday 8th December in Maffra.

The line-up was: Section 1 Sale Magpies V Maffra Section 2 Sale Swans V Nambrok Section 3 Sale Pelicans V Stratford

At the end of play on a morning that threatened rain all day but just held off, Sale had taken out all three Grand Finals. A great effort girls! You make us proud.

Section1: Debbie Kaandorp, Jenny Luke, Shelley Allman & Lisa Harrison

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Quote “A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do." - P. J. O’Rourke

Section 2: Debbie Krusic, Carolyn Dyer, Karen Pollett & Amanda Griffiths

Section 3 Poss Joyce (filling in for Amanda Jackson), Heather Schilipalius, Carly Griebenow & Sharon Cuthill.

A big “Thank you” from our ladies goes to Carol and David Lazzaro from Lazzaro Bros who are now donating the milk for Monday Ladies. The support of Sale businesses is the lifeblood of many sporting clubs and this kind gesture from Lazzaro Bros is really appreciated.

The Monday Ladies Xmas break up dinner was held at the Criterion Hotel on Monday 15th December.

The teams for the new season are due in early in January. If anyone is interested in playing or being a fill in please contact Debbie on 0419383281 or mdkrusic@hotmail.com. The new season will start in February, 2015.

Merry Christmas to all

Debbie Krusic

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Sale Central Storage Player & Team of the Year

Player of the Year

Women Men 1 Debbie Kaandorp 221% Peter Leemon 140% 2 Shelley Allman 164% Nathan Wallace 134% 3 Paige Wilson 150% Tony Taylor 133% 4 Di Arnot 124% Taylor Stephenson 128% 5 Kate Hanratty 120% Colin Bath 121% 6 Carmel Elliott 118% Mark DiPietro 120% 7 Sharon Treasure 114% Paul Egan 116% 8 Bree Kaandorp 111% Andrew Ross 108% If Debbie Kaandorp keeps up her current form she will be the second Kaandorp in a row to win the women’s award, with Bree taking out the 2013/14 award. In the men’s new member Peter Leemon has started very well but there is a “pack” on his heels that will be keen to overtake him if he slows even a little. We wish all players good luck. WGTA Ladders at 13 December were:

After 10 rounds in the Wellington Gippsland Tennis Association season competition for the Sale Central Storage Player and Team of the Year is really starting to heat up. Team of the Year

1. Sale The Block 137% 2. Sale X Factor 109% 3. Sale Master Chef 100% 4. Sale Big Brother 99%

Section 1 Sale X Factors 69 Maffra Aces 65 Seaspray 64 Sale Big Brother 57 Heyfield Outa Controls 55 Maffra Kings 54 Maffra Queens 51

Section 2 Sale The Block 87 Heyfield Ball Busters 70 Sale Master Chef 62 Longford 61 Stratford 59 Seaspray 59 Maffra 48 Heyfield Fuzzy Balls 36

Section 3 Rockley Slammers 93 Longford 66 Maffra 50 Rockley Aces 33

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Junior Report Saturday Junior Pennant Saturday Junior Pennant commenced on October 11 and we are delighted that we have 15 more players in 2014/15 compared with last season. We are also delighted that all of the Sale teams are competitive and that everyone appears to be having fun. Enjoy the break; take your tennis racquet with you on holiday to continue developing your game over the summer holiday period and we will see you back on court in the New Year.

WGTA Ladders at 13 December were: Friday Night During Term 3 TopSpin Tennis ran a Friday night tournament with 37 players participating over the 4 weeks of competition. Congratulations to:

Taylor Stephenson A Grade Singles Champion

Will Johnson B Grade Singles Champion

James Edney C Grade Singles Champion

Will Runciman A Grade Doubles Champion

Finn Stephenson Graded Doubles Champion

Hunter Pearce Graded Doubles Champion

Section 1 Sale Nadal 70 Sale Djokovic 66 Maffra Alfa Romeo 57 Longford 46

Maffra Ferrari 39 Briagolong 22

Section 2 Sale Isner 65 Sale Federer 58 Sale Wawrinka 52 Maffra BMW 42 Briagolong 41 Nambrok 36 Maffra Lamborghini 28 Stratford 22

Section 3 Sale Raonic 58 Maffra Cadillac 54 Sale Berdych 49 Longford 49 Stratford 39

Section 4 Longford 67 Sale Nishikori 56 Nambrok 55 Heyfield 54 Maffra Maserati 40 Briagolong 36

Section 5 Sale Dimitrov 94 Stratford 73 Sale Cilic 57 Longford 52 Nambrok 18

Maffra Porsche 13

Section 6 Sale Murray 71 Sale Tsonga 61 Longford 60 Stratford 55 Heyfield 52 Maffra Jaguar 30

Section 7 Sale Williams 63 Sale Sharapova 62 Briagolong 54 Nambrok 53 Maffra Mercedes 45 Stratford 30

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Kids Tennis Day Kids Tennis Day is on again at Melbourne Park on Saturday 17 January, 2015. Get ready for the biggest kids event of the summer! Your favourite Nickelodeon characters will join the world’s best players and entertainers in serving up a whole lot of family fun! For more details go to http://hotshots.tennis.com.au/kids/kids-tennis-day

Junior Masters Summer Circuit Since 2004 the Tennis East Gippsland Network has conducted a Summer Circuit of 4 Lead-in tournaments in the ages of 10/U, 12/U, 14/U and 16/U (as at 31 March). The 10/U will be an orange ball event from 2014/15 and the 18/U event has been introduced from 2014/15.

The leading 8 players, and in their absence the next highest point scorer, in each age group are invited to the Masters Finals at Bairnsdale in March.

Sale has 5 juniors who have competed at the first lead-in event in Lakes Entrance or the 2nd lead-in event on December 14 at Bairnsdale. Their current standings are: Boys 10 & Under 2 Baxter Pearce Boys 12 & Under 3 Finn Stephenson Girls 12 & Under 1 Lily McCaughey Boys 14 & Under 1 Jack McCaughey Boys 16 & Under 1 Tom Foley The remaining events are: 3rd Lead-in Sale – 8th of February, 2015 4th Lead-in Maffra – 22 February, 2015 Finals Bairnsdale – 1 March, 2015

Entry forms are available on line at http://www.tennis.com.au/eastgippsland/competitions and it is certainly not too late to be involved and get enough points to make the finals. Australian Open Ballkid Taylor Stephenson has been accepted as a Ball Kid for the Australian Open in January of next year at Melbourne Park. The selection process is very demanding with multiple training sessions narrowing down the applicants to the final group. These Ball Kids will then be assessed over the course of the first rounds of the Open with the best performed kids receiving main court duties during the finals. We wish Taylor all the best with his Australian Open campaign and hope that the experience will inspire him to one day return with racquet in hand as a competitor to take on the best from around the world. We look forward to hearing of his time at the AO.

Night Pennant Grand Finals Tuesday Night Tuesday Night managed to complete their first Grand Final with an outcome for about 3 seasons. We have had draws and washouts that have disrupted the flow of premierships and left our organiser, one of our latest Life Members Mike Riley, wondering if the night is cursed. However, not ever one to be deterred, Mike chose “snow” as his theme for the team names this season. While this may have seemed like too big a temptation for the weather gods, on a fine, snow free evening, the Snowmen just managed to drift past the Snowfalls and take out the pennant. Thanks as always to Mike for his tireless efforts on the Tuesday night coordinators role. We are hoping for a lot more teams in 2015 so spread the word and bring along some new players for next year.

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Thursday Night The Thursday Night Grand Final saw Life Members Day winner, Rod Cook, fronting for his 2nd consecutive Grand Final. With his new team mates could he go one better this time? Unfortunately for Rod it was not to be and Kwik Tip Bins went down to Howard & Schuback MegaSports in an a hard fought Grand Final. MegaSports were Susanne Ross (filling in for Yaeko Tobiyama) Taylor Stephenson, Nathan Wallace and Robin Lowe, while Kwik tip Bins were Rod Cook, David Turnbull, Paul Egan (filling in for Tim Rowe), and John Lorimer (filing in for Mark Elliman).

Left to right: Robin Lowe, David Turnbull, Nathan Wallace, Taylor Stephenson, Suzanne Ross, John Lorimer, Paul Egan & Rod Cook.

Snowmen: Matthew Lawless, Rosemary Iverson, Penny Monger, Barb McCubbin and Lindsay MacKay

Snowfalls: Ron Crawford, Sharon Treasure, Elsa Hodge (filling in for Astrid Krcevinac) & Russell Heathcote

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Season 2015 Now is the time to get your name on the sheets for next season’s pennants which will start in early February, 2015. The sheets are up on the Clubhouse notice board now. Night pennant is designed to cater for players of all standards so get your name on the board, sign up a friend or two and enjoy many great evenings of tennis and social activities under our fantastic lights.

We have also extended the offer for any member who brings along a friend, (who has not been a STC member in the past year) both will receive a $25 Star Hotel venue voucher. Hopefully this will allow you to share a night out with your friend and talk about how good your tennis has become – real or imagined!! Contact your friends via Facebook, Twitter or text or perhaps even phone them. Get your thinking cap on and contact your friends or work colleagues. There is no limit to the number of vouchers you can receive so “fill your boots” and bring along as many players as you can muster.

Thanks also goes to Trent and Michelle from the Star Hotel for supporting this initiative.

We have also extended the offer that if you play on more than one night you will get your second night pennant fee for 50% off.

If you require further details or to get your name on the lists please email theelms@netspace.net.au or contact the following:

Tuesday Night Mike Riley 5143 2444 Wednesday Night Robin Lowe 5144 7582 Thursday Night Robin Lowe 5144 7582

Term 4 is complete and the coaches hope that all students have enjoyed their lessons as much as the coaches have.

This term we have had the opportunity to be involved in school clinics with Gippsland Grammar and also Briagolong Primary School, as well as the excitement of coaching alongside Evonne Goolagong at the Indigenous Come N Try Tennis day.

The Christmas holidays are always a long break between tennis lessons and pennant matches but…...

There is plenty of tennis available over the break, with the:

Mini Aussie Open January 19th & 20th

Leongatha Tournament Trip 4th – 7th January

peeWee & Beginner Clinic 19th & 20th January

We hope that all players practice their tennis over the break and remember we are available for private lessons throughout the holidays.

Have a great break and we look forward to seeing you in 2014

Please keep up to date with what’s happening in tennis with facebook

Good luck and enjoy the summer break

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Sale Tennis Club Wins National Good Sports Award Sale Tennis Club President, Robin Lowe, has won the Good Sports Awards Club Champion of the Year for Victoria and the National award for Australia. The Good Sports Champion Award recognises a club volunteer that has demonstrated leadership and promoted the values of the Good Sports program amongst their peers and local community.

Since joining the Good Sports program in 2004 Sale Tennis Club has achieved sustained cultural change in the way it handles alcohol and has strived to improve the health and safety of all members and the wider community. Over the past 10 years the club has been recognised for its efforts with Regional, State and National Good Sports Club of the Year awards as well as being both State and National winners of the National Drug and Alcohol Awards Excellence in Creating Healthy Sporting Environments.

ADF Head of Community Programs, Maree Sidey, paid tribute to the winners for setting an example that the whole community can and should be proud of. “The awards honour ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things every day in sports clubs across the country. Each and every one has a fantastic story to tell and they are true inspirations to individuals and clubs everywhere,” said Ms Sidey. “Sport has the power to inspire, bring people together and help achieve dreams. We want to reward the people and clubs whose dream it is to see a healthier future for their communities.”

At the award ceremony, held on November 20 at the MCG, well-known ABC sports broadcaster Angela Pippos presented the State Awards and also announced the National Awards in each category. Angela then compered a panel of sporting leaders, Matt Finnis, CEO, St Kilda Football Club, Andrew Gaze, Australia’s most awarded basketballer, Nicole Livingstone, Olympic swimmer and Meghann Lanning, Captain Australian Women’s Cricket Team, who shared their personal and professional views on key issues of governance, leadership and integrity in Australian sport – past, present and future.

Olympic silver medal rower and Good Sports Ambassador Kim Crow, Robin Lowe and ADF Chairman Michael Doery

The National Good Sports Awards help celebrate Australia’s great grassroots sporting culture and the people who make it truly special. The Awards recognise community clubs and people who are at the forefront of breaking the link between alcohol and their sport. Everyday sports club champions aren’t just made on the field – they breathe life into their club and set an example for the next generation. Without them the great Australian community sports club would not exist.

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Good Sports is an alcohol management program initiated by the Australian Drug Foundation that has operated since 2000 that helps community sporting clubs strengthen their membership and community relations by promoting a culture of responsible drinking and becoming safer, healthier and more family-friendly places.

With over 10 years of research evidence, the Good Sports program has been found to reduce harmful drinking, behavior and drink driving while helping clubs increase members, sponsorships, revenue and public image.

Sporting clubs from a very diverse range of sports make up the over 6,500 sporting clubs which are now part of the Good Sports program across Australia. This remarkable achievement shows how much community sporting clubs value the responsible drinking model as well as the support from program staff. On a day that turned out to be lucky for Sale Tennis Club, our Club website manager and Wednesday Night player, Michelle Shanahan, won the lucky door prize of a cricket bat signed by the victorious Australian Women’s Test Team and presented by Australian Captain Meg Lanning.

Evonne Goolagong Returns to Sale Tennis Club Following successful Tennis Come and Try Days in 2012 and 2013, Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, returned to the Sale Tennis Club on Tuesday November 18 as part of the “Learn Earn Legend!” program.

The free event was aimed at indigenous boys and girls aged from 5 to 15 years and included tennis coaching from National Indigenous coach, Roger Cawley and a team of indigenous coaches as well as Sale Tennis Club coaches’ Nick Board and John Christmas. The day also included MLC Hot Shots, developed to introduce young children to the game as well as the opportunity for further coaching leading to tennis scholarships.

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Out & About Trivia Night Following a successful night earlier in the year Sale Tennis Club will host a Trivia Night again in 2015. The date is confirmed as 21 February, 2015. The last event was a great night out so mark your diary early and we will welcome a big crowd to the Sale Tennis Club for a fun night of trivia and laughs. For more details contact Paul Egan on 0400921417 or Mark DiPietro on 0409521921.

Sale Tennis Club President, Robin Lowe said “We very much look forward to welcoming Evonne back each year. Evonne has been to our Club on several occasions now and has been extremely generous with her time. As a 13 time Grand slam legend, Evonne is inspirational with the children and it shows in the results she gets and the scholarship opportunities that she has helped to create. Her passion for the game of tennis has not diminished and she understands the importance of continuing to create inspiration and opportunity for our indigenous youth.”

The 2014 event saw 59 indigenous children take part in the program (it would have been 60 but 1 unfortunate child got sick on the bus on the way and had to return home) which resulted in local children being assessed for scholarships through the Evonne Goolagong Foundation.

The program has been further strengthened in the last 12 months by targeting of students and their teachers in the primary schools throughout the district and by having the program included in their curriculum for indigenous children.

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Brace Yourself!! Club Captain, Mark DiPietro, had knee surgery before the start of the summer season so it is no surprise that he wears a knee brace to assist support the offending joint. What was a surprise was when he recently took the court with the brace on the wrong knee. On the bright side at least he did remember to bring the brace and it did keep the good knee good. Former Club Captain, Murray Fitzclarence, on the other hand arrived in Heyfield for his match with his only footwear a pair of thongs. As it was hot and it was not beach tennis having only his Havaianas was always going to end in tears. Was he faced with the 1 hour round trip home to collect some tennis shoes or did someone have a spare pair his size? Luckily Taylor Stephenson had a spare pair that fitted and the trip home was avoided. Come in Spinner!

Alice Springs 2014 “The Friendly Games” by Di Arnot My trip to Alice began a day later than usual and I arrived on the Sunday missing out on the “greeting” drinks at the airport and the opening ceremony starring Dragon (with Mark Hunter’s son as lead) Clearway and the Beatnix. Everyone I spoke to had a great night. Tennis began Monday, singles are played in the morning everyday and all doubles events in the evening. There is no shortage of entertainment; if you are not playing you can go next door and watch basketball, athletics, hockey or baseball as they are all on the same grounds and it’s never far from any of the other sports if you are watching or competing. Being so close, people often double up their sports, especially with the athletics, have a game of tennis then go and throw a javelin, it’s all part of the fun. My personal results….my trusty friend Bev Virgin from Adelaide helped my repaired shoulder and I to a Gold medal and I missed out on Bronze in the mixed with my “partner required” by one game. Closing ceremony, which I missed as well this year, was Chocolate Starfish, Forever Diamond and The Cast…..oh and Darryl Somers is often there to give out your medal. Looking forward to 2016, see you there maybe.

The Sale Tennis Club spinning wheel has had the biggest facelift since Joan Rivers discovered cosmetic surgery. Darren Hickling at Riviera Signs has very kindly donated his time and the materials to restore it to better than its former glory. It is now fully renumbered and ready for another 25 years of community service.

However now when it is in service at our Club or at the various schools around Sale it will be easily identifiable with its bright paint job and the Club logo. Thanks to Darren and the Riviera Signs team for their work on our wheel and also for donating the time to install the new honor board that was donated by Don Schuback. We are now as flash as a rat with a gold tooth!

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Day 5, Mixed teams day. Unfortunately we had to let some others win the medals that day and obviously a day off was no good for me as my calf muscle decided to give up on me (not my shoulder as you would expect). Maybe our name didn’t help “MP 4’s” (menopausal purple 4’s).

Day 6, last day, Men’s and women’s team events. Murray played with Peter, Tony and Dave and they took it all in their stride and Gold was the only colour for them. I had a fill in for me (the lady I played for the first day, she owed me) and the girls won Silver.

Obviously we had an amazing time (again), artists appearing every night at the convention centre with Ian Moss, Magic Carpet Ride (they’re really good) late for Woodstock, The Mods, Pink & Lady Gaga tribute show, Rolling Stones experience, Melbourne Ska Orchestra and DJ Tallie. Certainly plenty to keep you entertained….and tired. Next event country week in Swan Hill, February 2015. By Di Arnot & Murray Fitzclarence

Off again to Queensland’s Gold Coast for the worlds biggest and best biennial masters games, over 12,000 competitors this year. A new “big brother” house which we shared with 6 other people and a diversity of sports. Five tennis players, one netballer and one beach volleyball player. Sunday begins the competition and Murray and I were not due to play until the afternoon, but arrived to watch the others in the morning and we were both asked if we could play for people that hadn’t turned up. With our own events we ended the day with 10 sets; tough first day. Murray won a Bronze medal and a Silver medal in the two events. Day 2, I played with my trusty friend again, Bev, and we hit our way to a Bronze medal. Murray played with Peter French, who some met at last year’s team event at Sale, and the first Gold medal was in the house.

Day 3, Murray teamed with Anne Crouch, another of our Adelaide friends, and another Gold medal to the tally. I played with Tony from the Sunshine Coast (yet another new friend through tennis) and we also brought home Gold.

Day 4, Wednesday is a day off and more eating and drinking was had.

Pan Pacific Masters Games 2014

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Australian Rankings – December 2014

Security!! Sale Tennis Club was successful in its application for funding under the Community Safety Fund program to upgrade the lighting and security around the clubhouse where break-ins and vandalism have been a problem over an extended period of time. Our upgrades now include new movement sensors throughout the clubrooms, digital cameras inside and outside of the clubhouse and better lighting around the immediate vicinity of the clubhouse. The objective is to provide a better deterrent to the would be bad guys, including high quality video that will help to apprehend them, and a safer environment for the people who use our facility. Wellington Shire Citizen of the Year Scott Pearce was one of 11 people nominated for the Wellington Shire 2015 Citizen of the Year. Nominations came from many different sections of our municipality and reflects the depth of the volunteering and service that exists within our community. Mayor Carolyn Crossley presented the awards in early December. Such a nomination is a significant honour and we congratulate Scott on his community involvement. The eventual winner was David Harrington who has help raise over $1 million for cancer research and treatment through the Relay for Life program. Merry Christmas

We wish all of our readers and supporters a very Merry Christmas. We hope that you all finish 2014 in absolute style and look forward to a safe, happy and healthy 2015.

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Quote A lot of people ask me if I was shipwrecked and could only have one book, what would it be. I always say “How to build a boat.” Stephen Wright

Calendar of Events

December 20 Round Robin Event – Sale TC

January 4 – 7 Leongatha Tournament Trip – TopSpin Tennis

January 17 Tennis Kids Day – Melbourne Park

January 19 Australian Open begins – Melbourne Park

January 19 & 20 Mini Aussie Open & PeeWee & Beginner Clinic

February 8 3rd Junior Masters Lead-in Event – Sale

February 21 Trivia Night – Sale Tennis Club Clubrooms

February 22 4th Junior Masters Lead-in Event – Maffra

February 27 2nd Working Bee – Sale Tennis Club from 4.30 pm

March 1 Junior Masters Finals – Bairnsdale

March 14 WGTA First Semi Finals

March 15 WGTA Preliminary Finals – Sale Tennis Club

March 21 WGTA Grand Finals – Sale Tennis Club

May 30 Entries Close – Sale Open Junior Tournament

May 31 Sale Tennis Club AGM – Clubrooms

June 6 – 8 Sale Open Junior Tournament

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Sale Tennis Club Inc, Stephenson Park, 51 Guthridge Parade, (P.O. Box 659) Sale, 3850. ABN 61 525 038 097