Bairnsdale Tennis Club (BTC) travelled to Sale last Sunday to try and wrestle back the annual Challenge shield which Sale has held since 2020.
Each club fielded 32 players, a combination of juniors and seniors, with players competing on behalf of their club and town.
This year, Lakes Entrance Tennis Club joined with the Bairnsdale players to add another dimension to the challenge.
Like the Davis Cup, each town has a captain, being the respective club professional coaches, Jason Yap from Sale and Mike Spruzen from Lakes Entrance, who pick the overall teams and individual match-ups.
The competition started with a round of doubles for both the juniors and seniors.
The juniors relished the chance to showcase their skills and the standard of tennis was a credit to them all.
The improvement achieved by the children over the past season has been remarkable and the tennis was captivating for those that assembled to watch.
The Sale team found the early doubles matches tough work, however held their own and, as the matches progressed, finished round one with an overall lead.
The next round was a singles rubber for the juniors, the juniors relished the challenge, showing the benefit of the hard work they have been doing over winter.
By the end of round two, Sale was able to open up a decisive lead.
During the break for lunch the Sale and Bairnsdale players were joined by the Gippsland Sports Academy (GSA) players who were training at Sale under GSA coach Jason Yap.
Everyone seemed to relish the large spread put on by the Sale Tennis Club volunteers.
The final round saw the teams mixed up with the Sale and Bairnsdale players joining together for a last doubles rubber.
The opportunity to play alongside a player from another club is a unique experience for many and a wonderful feature of a “friendly” challenge.
At the conclusion of play Sale was declared the winner and will now hold the Challenge shield for another year.
BTC president, Marg Supplett, thanked the Sale hosts, coaches, players and the parents who made the trip to Sale.
Supplett presented the best and fairest awards for Bairnsdale to Alexis Dipetro, Jack Ellett and Ishka Stephens.
Sale president, Robin Lowe, was on hand to accept the Challenge shield and thanked Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance for their friendly competition and the players, coaches and volunteers who helped with organisation and catering.
The best and fairest awards for Sale were presented to Iris Fyfe, Isaac Lazzaro and Damien Theobald.
Events such as the annual Challenge shield are important for the development of junior players in regional areas as they provide a rare opportunity for them to be part of a larger team representing their club and to compete with and test themselves against their peers from other areas.
Players from both clubs are already looking forward to the 2025 Challenge with Sale making the trip to Bairnsdale with ambitious plans to retain the shield.
