By Rita Maloof, ALTA First Vice President
Remember the Sly & the Family Stone song, “Hot Fun in the Summertime?” Our summer league players had fun, but boy was it hot! Between Mixed Doubles, Senior Men, Senior Women, and Pickleball, close to 10,000 matches were played. Thankfully, we were fortunate to have only a few reported cases of extreme heat distress. The heat tends to bring out the best and the worst in us, and yet our summer sportsmanship winners overcame their own challenges to rise to the assistance of others.
It’s easy to recognize extraordinary behavior, but there’s only a small few who will take the extra step and act on what they witnessed. Thank you for taking the time to bring outstanding acts of sportsmanship to our attention.
Beth Gallof, Berkeley Hills
Country Club, Mixed
Doubles B8
Nominated by Karen Jones, Captain, Medlock Bridge
Medlock Bridge had a player who was suffering from the heat today to a point that she could not stand without getting dizzy. Beth Gallof (our opponent) was playing on the court next to where the distressed player was playing. She came over to help and would not leave our player until she was sure she was ok. When asked, Beth said, “If this is taking too long, I will gladly retire from my own match to sit with her.”
I really want to express my gratitude to her for her care. Beth’s behavior was a fantastic display of sportsmanship.
Angelia Huggins and
Maria Pittarelli
Plantation North, Mixed
Doubles B4
Nominated by Jodi Bossak, Captain, Chadds Walk
Because of the holiday weekend, we literally had ONE woman available to play on Saturday morning (out of a roster of roughly 20 people). Angelia, Maria, and their entire team moved around T2 matches and other commitments so that we could play ALL FIVE LINES early. They were communicative, beyond kind, and truly exemplars of not just ALTA values, but tennis values. I could not be happier with their partnership and willingness to get all these matches in. They are wonderful and I want to make sure they are recognized.
