By Linda Shepherd, ALTA First Vice President
One of the key initiatives when ALTA league play first began was good sportsmanship. We love hearing from our members who take the time to share stories about their opponents going the extra mile on and off the court. ALTA takes pride in recognizing these acts of kindness with sportsmanship awards. Here are a few of the stories of our sportsmanship winners from the spring season:
Plantation North Sunday Women A5
Captain: Lisa Talbot
Nominated by Georgia O’Brien, Indian Hills CC
Lisa and I began our text chain two weeks before the match. We asked to play two lines early, since we were short players this season. We offered days and times, and she did the same. This went on day after day. After a while, we finally found a day to play, and then it rained! Again, we texted the players, checked the weather, and tried to play that afternoon, but it did not work out. Back and forth we went, texting what would work, what couldn’t work, day after day. Finally, we decided to play a line and agreed on the time and day of the match, but I had to switch my lines. Luckily, they still had a competitive match. My players didn’t realize all the effort Lisa had made for us to play early. They were very gracious. We are so thankful that Lisa is a good ALTA captain.
Peachtree City Tennis Center Senior Day Women B3
Captain: Suzanne Heil
Nominated by: Susan Rees, Sun City Peachtree
I am nominating Suzanne Heil and her team from Peachtree City for their compassion and kindness to the ladies on our team. We played her team at our facility and enjoyed talking and sharing refreshments. The same week, we had another match to be played at the same facility. Suzanne and her team came over to cheer us on and even offered us refreshments. We truly appreciated the true ALTA spirit towards us.
Saddlebrook/Cobb County Sunday Women A5
Captain: Lea Tatum
Nominated by: Terina Fowler, Hamilton Crossing Park
I had several teammates injured and some on vacation for our match scheduled on April 10. Lea helped move some people and lines around multiple times to accommodate us. We did not have to default any lines due to the good sportsmanship of this captain. She was very sweet, fast to respond, and a pleasure to work with. She even went beyond the call of duty to help with an issue that arose the day of our scheduled makeup match. She is a super captain, and her team should be proud to have her.
Edinburgh Thursday Women B3
Captain and Co-Captain: Lindsay Gerry and Susan Pope
Nominated by: Barbara Sanders and Desiree Higgins, Kingsley Estates
Our team was a Spring 2022 division winner. Our facility lacked enough courts for us to host this playoff match. We were prepared to pay for courts at a nearby facility, but Edinburgh was kind enough to host the match at their courts. They were extremely gracious about the exact start time of the match knowing we had to travel. They also were able to reserve three courts which helped shorten our day. We are thankful for their hospitality and for being so courteous and understanding.
