TENNIS VETS QUEENSLAND ASSOCIATION INC

PRESIDENT'S REPORT 2003-4 Alan Hocking President

This is my first report as president of Tennis Vets Queensland and at the outset may I express my sincere thanks to all those who have laid the foundations for the success of this year, and those who have contributed so much time and effort into what has been a very busy period.

Highlights of the year are:

2004 Australian Tennis Vets Championships

The venue for the Australian Tennis Veterans Championships for 2004 was the Gold Coast with Team events from 12-16th January, 2004 and the Individual events 19-23rd January, 2004. Headquarters were the Gold Coast Veterans Club and the Miami Tennis Club.

An event of this size could not have been staged without the support of so many volunteers and helpers and our sincere thanks go to all those who contributed in any way to the success of this event. To the many volunteers who helped with driving, court captains, social organisers, merchandising sales, court maintenance, event sales, catering and other aspects of the championships we are extremely grateful.

We were delighted to have with us as referee Les Killer and Steve Longworth with his computer program was able to provide invaluable assistance to our Tournament Director. Tournament Director Gail Bates was outstanding in the handling of this event.

One hundred and fifty teams were involved in the teams events during the first week with over six hundred entries for the individual events. New Zealand had five teams entered and during the second week there were players from Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan and USA competing.

Fortunately the weather was favourable and although not always "Queensland perfect" we only lost a few hours playing time throughout the two weeks, and thanks to the excellent tournament management there were no major disruptions in the programme.

The Championships got off to a great start when they were officially opened by one of Australia's legends Ashley Cooper, and throughout the fortnight the high standard of organization continued through to the social events, transport, court facilities, catering and overall tournament management.

Major sponsors were Harbour Town Outlet Shopping, Gold Coast City Council, Sharks Football Club, Tennis Queensland Head/Penn with many other organizations helping in some way towards the financial success of the event.

These championships, hosted by Queensland, were a resounding success. Therefore, on behalf of all members I would like to sincerely thank the organising committee for their tireless efforts over the preceding eighteen months. Well done!

The 2004 Australian Championships Organising Committee: Chairman; Bruce Hallt, Secretary; Coral Vickers, Treasurer; Peter Hurwood, Tournament Director; Gail Bates, Members; Merle Anderson, Joy Rigter, Julianne Daniel, Bob Martin, Ed Horne, and Marilyn Davis.

Queensland Titles 2004

Our State Titles were held at the Gold Coast Veterans Tennis Club and other centres on the coast from Friday July 2nd until Monday July 5th 2004. The singles events were conducted as knock-out events, whereas all others used the round robin format. In near perfect Queensland weather, with record entries from around Australia and New Zealand it proved to be an outstanding success. As usual our Tournament Director Gail Bates did a magnificent job and our sincere thanks to her and all those who contributed to make this a great weekend.

Australian Representatives

This year we had eleven players selected to represent Australia in what is now known as the ITF Seniors and Super Seniors team events. Seniors 35-55 age group were held in Turkey in May 2004 with the Super Seniors being held in Philadelphia in September, 2004.

Veteran of the Year

This year our "Veteran of the Year" is Col Arnell from Gympie club. Col has been one of the stalwarts of the Gympie Veterans Tennis Club for many, many years and anyone who has been involved with the annual tournament or the Cooloola Cup knows the extent of Col's dedication in the organising of these events as well as the day to day running of the club.

Tennis Queensland Veteran Player of the Year (2003)

We congratulate Max Bates on receiving the prestigious Tennis Queensland tennis player of the year award for his performances not only at the world titles but his consistent performance and sportsmanship at veteran level over so many years.

Tennis Queensland Administrator of the Year (2003)

We are fortunate to have Peter Hurwood as our Treasurer and it is very fitting that Tennis Queensland should recognise Peter's outstanding contribution to tennis on the Gold Coast as well as his involvement with our association.

Web Page

This year we were able to get a web page established and it is hoped that this will serve as a ready reference for all members and those interested in learning more about the activities of our association. Web page is www.tennisseniors.org.au/qld

Finances

Thanks to the tremendous amount of work undertaken in organising the Australian Championships we have had a most successful year and our finances are in excellent shape as shown in the full audited accounts.

Committee

I would like to thank all those who have contributed to the success of the past year, with a very special thanks to our Vice President Bruce Hallt, our Secretary Coral Vickers, our Treasurer Peter Hurwood and Tournament Director Gail Bates. Very few realise the amount of time they have given to our organisation over the past twelve months and all members should be extremely grateful that we have such a dedicated group giving of their time and talents for Veterans Tennis in this State.