Tennis club thrives after strong season

Nambour Tennis club starts 2020 with a bang.

SPORT: Brock Perry and four other teammates (not pictured) competed at the Queensland State Leagues Finals on the weekend. Picture: Patrick Woods

THE 2019 tennis season saw great success for the Nambour Tennis Club but with the new year upon us one team ensured 2020 started with a bang.

Five of the club’s finest, Brock Perry, Trevor Farrow, Mitch Illangasinghe, Kristen Cavana and Elyssa White, placed second at the Queensland State Leagues Final, held in Brisbane.

Nambour Tennis Club coach and team member Trevor Farrow said the team would have liked to win, but enjoyed the experience.

“It was an exciting experience to play on site at the Queensland Tennis Centre we played under lights on the outside court and it was a really nice atmosphere,” he said.

“It was a bit of a change from what we are used to.”

The Nambour team won division one of the Sunshine Coast Premier League in December, which bought them a ticket to the finals.

Farrow said the state competition gave players the rare opportunity to work as a team.

“It’s a team environment so it’s quite unique for tennis players to feel that and it’s good camaraderie to be sitting court side and cheering on their teammate rather than being so individualised,” he said.

“You’re not just playing for yourself but you’re playing for a team so it’s a good feeling.”

Local born and bred tennis player Brock Perry was a part of the Queensland State Leagues Final team and said he had “the desire to win” the competition after beating the winning team in qualifiers.

“We’ve beat them once at Mooloolaba and then we beat them again for the qualifiers,” he said.

“I’m very competitive and I do like trying to win.”

Nambour & District Tennis Association president Rob Nichols said the adult and senior players also enjoyed recent success.

“In the Sunshine Coast Monday Adult Competition division one, two and four were finalists in June and repeated their success again in November with the division four team winning their final,” he said.

“And in the Sunshine Coast Seniors Competition … both division one and two won their respective finals and division three narrowly missed the final.”

Farrow said he hoped the recent triumphs boost the club’s growth.

“It’s (the success is) great to keep on building and get more and more exposure to our players and to tell the local community that there is a tennis club that is starting to thrive and is competitive so we can keep on building on the local participation,” he said.

Mr Nichols said social play is an important foundation for the club, which caters for the “less competitive members”.

“In late January the club will participate in a new Tennis Australia initiative designed to encourage lapsed or new players to rediscover the joys of hitting a ball,” he said.

“There will be some revised games on offer so those who do not wish to or are physically unable to participate in conventional tennis will be able to enjoy some exercise and a social gathering.”

In June, the club received grants from the Sunshine Coast Council to have four courts resurfaced with new synthetic grass.