Tennis: A Labor of Love on Labor Day

The sun came up on the 8:00am US Open-themed Labor Day event with three participants going down before a single point was played. Sandi Hill was sidelined with a broken toe, Gabe Gebara’s back laid him low and wife Sandy just wouldn’t go without him.

Nevertheless, the show went on. Event organizers, Diane and Wennie Johannes, and your ever-willing tennis pros swung in to fill the vast voids created by the “missing-without-action.” With the inclusion of the “Poker-chip Rule,” and valuable prizes awaiting chip possessors at event’s end, the competition was furious…not really, but I’ve gotta write something; don’t I?

Anyway, participants received red, white, and blue poker chips (in honor of the US Open) that they were allowed to give to opponents in order to take a “do-over” or “Mulligan” on any point. The chips were extremely valuable because they were eventually redeemed for Gulf Harbour gift cards ($20), and autographs from our local celebrity Randy Thomas-Wohl (priceless)…ok, ok, so there were no Thomas-Wohl autographs, but bragging rights were dispensed, and those truly are priceless.

Although a far cry from the normal sellout, the 19 members who participated in the 8:00am session had a good time, and we have pictures to prove it (Click here for proof). The big winners of the 8:00am session were Carol Shapiro (16) and Chuck Klucka (20) for “most games won;” Rick Fox for “most chips won” (14), and Ed Bonkowski and Judy Wilson for “lucky number draw.”

By 10:00am the sun had climbed high and hot over Gulf Harbour’s sky. Participants for the second session of the day rolled in wide awake and unaware of the twist Lady Di and Queen Wennie had in store for them. Given the number of upsets at the US Open in the Big Apple, and the inclusion of the “Poker chip Rule,” I chose not to bet on any of the pre-match favorites.
Although there are several stories about the competition that could lead the way here, the headline has to be the return of Linda Gardiner, and as a result, Bryan Schwartz, to the courts after a protracted absence due to illness. We welcome Linda and must also extend warm welcomes to Amber Anderson and Bill Harwin, both of whom were playing in their maiden tennis event…and they did quite well I might add.
Back to the competition…Prior to making the pairing for the third round of the second session, the Tennis Department and event organizers consulted with the Club’s legal team, to be certain we would not be liable for any damages. We were assured that we had comprehensive liability coverage (in the millions of dollars) against bodily harm, relationship dissolution, alimony and palimony, so we could go ahead and have a couples round.

Some of the very competitive matches included the Rolleros (Jim & Carol) against the Hyndens (Jim and Mary Jo), with each couple winning three games before the ending whistle. One of the hotly contested matches was the Canfields (Alan Jr. and Lili) versus the DeLeeuws (Paul and Martha). In more than 30 minutes of play, the scoring finished at 2 – 1 for the Canfields. Every other contest during that round totaled at least six games, twice as many as the Canfield-DeLeeuw affair. Must have been a battle!

As for who took home the prizes in the 10:00am group, Charlie Beagan (21) and Joy Jones (15) took the “most games won prize;” Meg Jacobs (21) took honors for “most chips won;” and Manny Lima and Lili Canfield won the “lucky number draw.” But these events are more about having a good time playing the game we love and interacting with your tennis neighbors, and with that in mind, all 51 participants were winners.

Next up for Gulf Harbour Tennis is the annual Boot Camp, a four day event that allows participants to receive instruction from several area tennis professionals. There are still some openings, so logon to the Club website, select October 4 – 8 on the Club Calendar and register for some fun instruction.