On Sunday 15th September we celebrated the annual Rosebowl event in memory of Henry Chittenden former founder member of Gunnersbury triangle Club in 1928 and father of the clubs president Jean Fyfe.
This unique tournament has its own set of rules passed down for over half a century with sliding handicaps and fixed format including ladies serve first to make choosing the winner challenging.
With 30 group matches having be played at the end of the first stage it was amazing that 87% of matches played were 3 games to 4, the strongest win was 5 games to 2 and only one pair had remained victorious throughout ( well done Penny and Ronan).
So we now moved on to the semi which saw Joy and Jonathan beating Sue and Sam to reach the finals and Claire and John finally ending the impressive run of Penny and Ronan.
I guess if you have read this far it is not tricky to predict the final score….
After a very exciting final and extremely close fought points in the seventh game the Henry Chittenden Rosebowl was won by Claire and John 4 games to 3.
A fun tiebreak knock out event finally free of handicaps took place and congratulations to winners Jennie and Alex and finalist Yan and Stephen.
Marina Foxlee, our Tennis Chair, has been named as LTA’s Volunteer of the Year.
The LTA award “recognises the inspirational individuals and venues, including 25,000 volunteers and 2,700 clubs”. Winning the national award after county and regional stages, is a huge accomplishment for Marina personally and for Gunnersbury Triangle Club.
Marina masterminded a £200k refurb at the club which included putting in a new kitchen, toilets and showers, easy access toilet and step free access to the clubhouse.
After the award ceremony, Marina met the Duchess of Cambridge who asked about the club. Marina described GCT as very community focussed, with many long standing family members, that warmly welcomes everyone, whatever their age or ability. Marina highlighted the programmes that our Head Coach Debbie runs to build community engagement and encourage juniors and families to play.
Marina also met Judy Murray and many of the LTA leadership team. They all talked about the LTA mission to grow tennis by making it relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable for all. GTC very much supports this vision by providing opportunities for all to play, whatever their standard.
Winkworths, our sponsors, were very generous as always. Paula from Winkworths attended on the day and presented prosecco or wine and a sports towel to all finalists (the Club donated cans of new balls). The winners received their trophies from Philip Standing who did a sterling job as organiser of the Annual Championships. Thank you Philip – all your hard work was very much appreciated.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable Finals Day. After a bit of drizzle at the start it turned into a warm, sunny day, albeit with a slightly tricky wind for the players to negotiate in mid afternoon. There were some fiercely contested and entertaining matches.
Ian’s win over Phil in 3 sets was hard fought and “payback” for last year’s semi final result when Phil defeated Ian 7-6, 7-6.
In the Ladies Singles it was all going Pip’s way until Cat’s brother showed up. This gave Cat (playing in her first final) a boost and the 2nd set was a much tighter affair.
Cat & PipIan & Phil
The Ladies Vets Doubles was a nail biter and only decided by a 3rd set tie breaker. Many congratulations to Jenny F for winning a trophy in her first year at the club. This result also meant that Jennie Scott, playing in 3 finals, had one win on the day.
Jenny F, Jennie S, Bridget & Zabrina
Sadly the Men’s Doubles was a non event. Hope you enjoyed your holiday Tom!
Now, David Sinclair is no spring chicken but he battled through two 3 set matches on the day and was victorious in both –The Men’s Vets Doubles with Russ and then with Amanda against Russ & Jennie in The Mixed Vets Doubles.
At the other end of the age spectrum we turn to young Lydia Minko who, at only 13 years of age, won the Ladies Singles Plate defeating Wiebke 6-1, 6-3. It won’t be long before she’s making a name for herself in the main competitions – excellent play Lydia.
Lydia Wiebke with Philip
A special word about our Pip.
She has now won 11 singles titles in a row. Debbie James won 12 (not in a row) so there’s plenty of time for Pip to break the club record.
She has also won the Ladies Doubles 10 times with 2 partners (Ana Soto & Jane Cooper) and the Mixed Doubles 8 times with 4 partners (David Kay, Martin Traynor, Andy Oram and Ian Bailes). Thank goodness she’s not yet eligible for the Vets events!
Philip with Pip & Jane, the Ladies Doubles winners and the runners up Jenny F and DominiquePip & Ian (Mixed Doubles Winners)
Emin, Cheryl, Marian & Jonathan
In the Supervets Mixed Doubles (hard to believe I know but the combined age of each pair must be 120+) Marian & Jonathan defeated Cheryl & Emin 6-3, 6-1.
The last match on court was the Men’s Singles plate where Jack Eatherley defeated Gerry Burke 6-3, 7-6. Both players did well to concentrate given the amount of barracking they received from the very boisterous and inebriated crowd.
Jack & Gerry
A big thank you to the incredible baker that is Wiebke for her delicious home bakes and to Marian for the shop bought goodies. The trusty big red teapot was kept topped up throughout the day and the crowd were able to help themselves as and when.
Many thanks also to Florence who, as official photographer, took some great shots and captured the atmosphere of the day perfectly. The full set of photos is available to view in Gallery on the Club website.
Finally, thank you to the bar staff. I gather the bar takings were pretty healthy – a special shout out here to Phil Collings who was particularly well hydrated by close of play (drowning your sorrows?)
FULL RESULTS
Ladies Singles (holder Pip)
Pip Wallbank bt Cat Vipond 6-2, 6-4
Men’s Singles (holder Phil)
Ian Bailes bt Phil Collings 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
Ladies Doubles (holders Bridget Wake & Julie Highett)
Jane Cooper & Pip Wallbank bt Jenny Furmidge & Dominique Simson 6-1, 6-1
Men’s Doubles (holders Ian & Graham)
Ian Bailes & Graham Ford walkover v Phil Collings & Tom Reynolds
Mixed Doubles (holders Pip & Ian)
Pip Wallbank & Ian Bailes bt Jennie Scott & Henrik Alexanian 6-2, 6-0
Ladies Vets Doubles (holders Bridget & Zabrina)
Jenny Furmidge & Jennie Scott bt Zabrina Collings & Bridget Wake
2-6, 6-2, 7-6
Men’s Vets Doubles (holders Henrik & Nick Feeny)
Russell Belding & David Sinclair bt Thomas Maeli & Peter Nathan
6-0, 2-6, 6-4
Mixed Vets Doubles (holders Bridget & Nick Feeny)
Amanda Dennis & David Sinclair bt Jennie Scott & Russell Belding
6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Supervets Mixed Doubles (holders Bridget & Chris Dufton)
Marian Diviney & Jonathan Goold bt Cheryl Brown & Emin Der Kureghian
6-3, 6-1
Ladies Singles Plate (holder Alison Shindler)
Lydia Minko bt Wiebke Tuechsen 6-1, 6-3
Men’s Singles Plate (holder Andrew Mayers)
Jack Eatherley bt Gerry Burke 6-3, 7-6
And saving the best til last …………………………………
Trevor Dwyer, Chairman of GTC and Philip Standing, organiser of the Annual Championships.
