You have one more reason to visit KitsFest this weekend: Call it tennis 2.0.
After a four-year absence, the annual beach sport festival will again host men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 doubles tournament on the public hard-courts at Kitsilano Beach Park. Sixty-four players will compete Aug. 9 and 10.
Because of the format, all teams will play both days; first in a group-stage round-robin on Saturday and then, on Sunday, in either a competitive or consolation flight determined by rank.
鈥淭his is not single elimination where you play, lose and go home,鈥� said KitsFest tennis director Ryan Clark. 鈥淎ll players are in the tournament the whole weekend.鈥�
The tournament quickly filled up after it was quietly relaunched in June, said Clark. 鈥淭his is year one, part two.鈥�
Although the volleyball and basketball tournaments at the annual beach sport festival attracted more participants and viewers each year since launching in 2009, organizers cancelled the tennis tournament after just one year because none of the 10 hard courts were good enough to use. (It wasn鈥檛 good enough for a parking lot, said Clark.) They were in such poor condition, organizers argued they weren鈥檛 safe. Those same organizers, including the Canada One Foundation, lobbied the 麻豆传媒映画park board and also put in their own money to refurbish the courts, which cost roughly $600,000. Molson brewery and the Boathouse also contributed money.
The tennis tournament, said Clark, will be the start of something that grows each year just as KitsFest intends to expand into an international beach sport festival.
鈥淲e wanted to create one of the most fun tournaments that people can play in,鈥� said Clark. 鈥淲e want to build it up each year.鈥�
KitsFest events: watch or partake
- A free sunset yoga session, sponsored by Lululemon, at 8 p.m. Aug. 8
- A free Zumba class at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 9.
- Basketball tournament for men, boys and girls, beginning each day from 9 a.m. The finals are set for Sunday: the men鈥檚 at 4:35 p.m.; the boys at 3:30 p.m.; and the girls at 2:25 p.m.
- Beach volleyball tournament for co-ed fours, sixes and doubles. The four-on-four tournament runs 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The six-on-six action runs 1:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday only.
- Beach volleyball tournament for mixed doubles runs Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more details, visit .
