A sports fan once reasoned that the basic premise of tennis is to get the ball over the net but keep it within the bounds of the court; failing this, the goal is to keep the ball within the borders of the neighbourhood.
Manage to smack that ball over a neighbour's fence, however, and you just might find a new partner to play with.
This is the target of Ingrid Schneller who believes the tennis courts in her Main Street borough are a place where neighbours can congregate, play together and compete annually in a friendly tournament.
"I'm challenging the Tupper alumni to come out and participate," said Schneller, a Tupper graduate herself who first picked up a racket and played on the school's courts as a teenager. Now a mother to a 13-year-old son, Schneller is supporting the Tupper Community Team in organizing a tournament at the end of a two-week summer tennis camp.
"If you can hold a racket, you can have some fun."
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House contributed a $250 grant and the friendly tournament, set for 2 p.m. July 28 at the school's four courts, will include mixed doubles categories. An example of the inherently social sport, doubles tennis brings together players of both genders and different generations. Schneller will play with her son. She left one tennis club that uses public courts because membership was restricted to players 19 years and older.
"Teens who can hold their own have to sit on the sidelines," she said. She found that even tennis lessons were frequently segregated by age and her primary goal was to get active on the court with her son.
This will be their first time competing together--and it likely won't be their last.
Now in its 80th year, the Stanley Park Open has had competitive categories for families since its inception in 1931, although records don't show the numbers or make-up of those doubles teams, said Tennis B.C. CEO, Ryan Clark.
"However, we can confidently say that mixed doubles events have been a large growth area for the sport. There used to be a handful of events each year, now most every event across the province has mixed doubles with multiple categories throughout the year," he said.
"People are looking to maximize their recreational time and tennis is one of the few sports that they can really, truly, go play together."
On now until July 24, the Stanley Park Open is one of the continent's biggest amateur tennis events with more than 2,500 players and more than 80 separate playing categories.
Mixed doubles were once seen as "inner-club events" for married couples, explained Clark. "Now it's part of the social element and lifestyle of the sport."
Mother-son teams like Schneller's are increasingly common. So are father-daughter, grandmother-granddaughter, uncle-nephew, boyfriend-girlfriend and so on with every possible combination of relative and romance.
Categories are determined by balancing the skill of the players or by combining the sum of their age.
"Let's say dad is kind of weak but daughter is a hot-shot junior player," said Clark. "I even see players that should be playing in the open draw but some of them want to play with their boyfriend, who is a relative beginner."
Mike Kerr is making the most of doubles tennis by making time to play with three of the important women in his life, including his daughter, mother and a close friend.
In the first match with his 80-year-old mother--together they're in the plus-125 category for their combined age--they handily won their opening match 6-0, 6-1.
It was her first tournament, ever.
"She's played a lot of social tennis but she's never played in a tournament," said Kerr. Turns out she is an incredibly competitive tennis partner. "She was analyzing the opposition in warm-up and was strategizing how to beat them."
Her focus was relentless. "I told her, 'Mom, we're up 5-0 in the second set.' She said, 'Yes, but it's better to win.'"
Kerr has played in the tournament since he was 10, he said, remembering the support he got from his mother as a sideline spectator. Finally, their team has taken to the court together.
This kind of tennis is emblematic of today, said Clark. "For parents, they bring their coffee down and watch their kids play, first." Then they can play with their kids or play their own friends and build social networks with other families that centre on tennis and an active lifestyle.
Thinking of her son and the grassroots tennis events she'd like to see sprout in neighbourhoods around Vancouver, Schneller said, "It's one of those few activities we can do together, all our lives."
Twitter: @MHStewart
