We know there are a lot of great people playing recreational tennis in ALTA leagues; we just don’t always hear about them. So, it warms our hearts when members take the time to let us know about little acts of kindness that happen on court. And we love awarding those acts of kindness with sportsmanship awards. Here are few of the stories from the spring season:
River Glen–Johns Creek
Thursday Women C8
Captain: Amy Kippels
Nominated by: Joan Merkle, captain of Bitsy Grant Soft Courts Thursday Women C8
The story: My team would like to nominate the C8 team from River Glen for a sportsmanship award. Their team had three courts available to play our match on March 21. One of our #3 players was not there at 9:20 a.m. Her partner called her, and she said she was in the parking lot. When she still did not show up, her partner called her again. She had made an understandable mistake. She was at Blackburn, where the other Bitsy Grant team was playing. She had read the schedule incorrectly. She was so distressed! The River Glen players were so understanding. They said to tell her to calm down and drive safely. They waited until around 10:15 a.m. for her to arrive. These nice ladies said they wanted to play tennis and to win a point on the court, rather than by default. That is what ALTA is all about!
Wyngate North in Woodstock
Men’s League B4
Captain Chip Baldwin
Nominated by: Dale Greig
The story: Chestnut Creek was hosting Wyngate North, and I was playing line 4. We began the match about 11:15 a.m., which was a little late to begin playing, as I had a family commitment to pick up my child at 1:00 p.m.
Wyngate North won the first set 6-4. We won the second set in a tie-break, and it ended around 12:50 p.m.
I gathered the four of us on the court and stated that we would have to retire and forfeit the match, as I didn’t have time to play a third set. Jim, a player on Wyngate North, asked if I had time for a 10 point tie-break instead of a full, third set. I truly thought this was a great sign of good sportsmanship, as they could have taken the match without playing further. Well, it turned out just right, as they won the tiebreak set by a 10-7 score. We need more teams like Wyngate North and captains like Chip Baldwin.
Richmond Glen in Milton
Men’s League B4
Captain Duncan Briggs
Nominated by Karl Harris, Men’s League B4 Coordinator
The story: I had a situation during the semi-finals of the Men’s League playoffs between Richmond Glen and Hembree Grove. We had so much rain during the spring post-season, and Hembree Grove had not completed round 2. The team needed lines 4 and 5 to finish in order to advance to the semi-finals. They did win that match on Saturday morning and then called the Richmond Glen captain, Duncan Briggs, who had his team waiting courtside to play the winner of the round 2 match. The entire Richmond Glen team waited until the players from Hembree Grove traveled to their courts, and they played the semi-final match. The Richmond Glen team won the match and eventually became the City Champion for that season. Here is the email that I sent to Duncan Briggs after the season ended:
I have been doing this coordinator job for many years, met a lot of good and bad captains and their players, so I want you to know the Richmond Glen team is the gold standard. It always begins with the top; that being the captain who follows the rules and does his job the correct way. In this case, your entire team deserves acknowledgement for good sportsmanship and fair play. I am honored to have worked with you guys this spring and wish each of the team members the best.
Congratulations to all of these outstanding captains and teams. Any ALTA member can nominate a player, a captain, or a team for a sportsmanship award by emailing the league coordinator.
