2014 Prairie Regionals

Morgan Waller (SK) and Mackenzie Miller (MB) book
 their ticket to U14 Canadian Nationals.

2014 Manitoba - Saskatchewan Outdoor Nationals Qualifying Event

Tennis Manitoba along with Taylor Tennis hosted a two day regionals tournament which, at the completion, identified players that will travel to the Canadian National Championships.

Congratulations to all that competed.

U12 girls qualifying for nationals in Montreal:

• Reece Carter - MB
• Elinor Shpunt - MB
• Shia Holms - SK

U12 boys qualifying for nationals in Montreal:

• Josh Saban - SK
• Sahand Marzban - MB
• Ben Lortie - SK

U14 Girls qualifying for nationals in Montreal:

• Morgan Waller - SK
• Andreea Ababei - SK
• Mackenzie Miller - MB

Other Manitobans heading to the nationals are:

U14 boys in Montreal:

• Daniel Gharagozloo
• Sahand Marzban

U16 Boys in Mississauga:

• Daniel Gharagozloo

U18 Boys in Mississauga:

• Cole Lacap
• Shrey Gupta
• Daniel Gharagozloo

View Prairie Regionals photos.

Team Prairies Nationals Preparatory Camp

Jared Connell and Emerson Gusmini along with help from Denise Fernandez and Robert Kennedy ran a day camp at Taylor Tennis to prepare the recent qualifying players for the Canadian national championships in August. Great effort was shown by all participants.

Good luck to all at nationals!

Thank you to Narom Sing for the photos. (Click here to view.)

2014 Junior Outdoor Regionals / Nationals

Eligible juniors wishing to participate in the 2014 Outdoor Prairie Regionals / Canadian Nationals are required to communicate their participation commitment prior to 12:00 pm (noon) on July 8, 2014.

The up-coming Prairie Regionals are used as a selection tournament for juniors from Manitoba and Saskatchewan wishing to represent our region at the Outdoor Rogers Junior Nationals. Those that would like to participate should review Tennis Manitoba’s Junior Nationals Selection Eligibility, Process and Policy Updates.

The 2014 Outdoor Prairie Regionals take place July 22 - 24 at Taylor Tennis, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

In addition, a full day training camp is scheduled for Friday, July 25th.

Juniors that would like to compete at the 2014 Outdoor Prairie Regionals (or Outdoor Rogers Junior Nationals) are required to communicate their commitment no later than 12 pm (noon) on Tuesday, July 8, 2014. Please email Jared Connell at jared@tennismanitoba.com with participant details (i.e. player name, age categories wishing to complete, contact email and phone number). Only those juniors that meet Tennis Manitoba’s Junior Nationals Selection Eligibility will be selected.

See also...
 » Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour
 » Rankings Update: Rogers Rankings for Manitoba Juniors
 » National Junior Open Series

Tennis Manitoba’s Junior Nationals Selection Eligibility, Process and Policy Updates

Eligibility 

In order to represent Manitoba as a member of Team Prairies at the Rogers Junior National Championships, a junior must be a Canadian citizen and/or permanent resident of Manitoba and compete in a minimum of two Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour tournaments in their age category during the past 52 weeks (which includes Regionals). Students attending school out of province are eligible assuming they meet the residence criteria. In addition, a junior must be in good standing with Tennis Manitoba (membership, financial, discipline, etc.).

Process and Policy
Tennis Manitoba (TM) will use the new Tennis Canada national ranking system to determine provincial rankings to select juniors to represent Manitoba to compete with Saskatchewan in a Prairies Qualifier (Regionals) for the opportunity to participate at the Rogers Junior National Championships. 

Manitoba’s top four juniors of each age category and gender may have the opportunity to participate in the indoor and outdoor Regionals, where Tennis Manitoba reserves the right to appoint one selection due to exceptional circumstances as well as limit participation to only the top eight ranked juniors for each age category / gender.

Draws at Regionals will contain up to eight juniors, with participating provinces having the opportunity to increase provincial representation to fill the draws.

Wildcards for Regionals may be granted only for extraordinary circumstances. If a junior desires to compete for a Nationals spot and has extraordinary circumstances such that they were not able to participate in sufficient TM sanctioned junior tournaments within their desired age category and/or has a competitive justification for the request, they must notify TM of these in writing thirty (30) days prior to Regionals to be considered for a wildcard.

2014 Outdoor Regionals
Outdoor Regionals selections will use a cut off date of July 20, 2014, which is one day after the completion of the Deer Lodge Jr Classic.

2015 Indoor Regionals
Indoor Regionals selections will use a cut off date of one day after the completion of the 2015 Winnipeg Winter Club Junior Open (January 2015 dates to be determined).

TM reserves the right to make reasonable discretionary decisions toward the goals of and in concert with the policy regarding issues unforeseen within the policy as it currently stands.

Policy updates and TM sanctioned junior tournament schedule and results will be posted at Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour.

Manitobans Shine at Under 12 Nationals

Sabrina Alano, with Team Prairies coach Jared Connell,
 was the 2nd Flight champion at the Rogers U12
Junior National Championships in Calgary, AB.

Manitoba juniors fared well at the 2014 Rogers U12 Indoor Junior National Championships, which wraps up today at the Tennis Academy in Calgary, Alberta.

After early round robin play, all three juniors from Winnipeg were able to avoid the bottom flight draw, which is often filled by participants from smaller population provinces.

Leading the charge was Marcello Audino, who went 2 - 1 in his preliminary round robin matches to qualify for the boys' championship flight. Marcello ended up with a 13th-16th placement, which should give him strong seeding consideration at the Under 12 Nationals which take place this summer in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

It was Sabrina Alano who brought home the hardware, going 4 - 2 in her singles matches to win the second flight championship.

The youngest member of Team Prairies, a team comprised of six juniors from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, was 9-year-old Reece Carter who went 3 - 3 in match play. Reece managed to win the second flight consolations while attending her first Canadian Nationals.

In other nationals competition, Winnipeggers Anna Gavalova, Cole Lacap and Jennifer Wang particpated in the Rogers U16 Indoor Junior Nationals held at Club de tennis Île-des-Soeurs in Montreal. Next week Maya Arksey, Daniel Gharagozloo and Mackenzie Miller will travel to Vancouver for the Under 14 Nationals, while Zack Baron, Shrey Gupta and Cole Lacap participate in the Under 18 Nationals which take place in Markham.

Many of the nationally competitive Manitoba juniors are members of the Tennis Manitoba Provincial Team, which is coached by Jared Connell. The Team has weekly on court practices, fitness sessions, and travels together for out-of-province competition.

Junior qualifying for this summer`s outdoor nationals starts with tournaments scheduled on the 2014 Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour. For more details visit www.tennismanitoba.com

See also: 2014 Rogers Indoor Junior Nationals photo album

2013-14 Provincial Tennis Team

Team Manitoba tennis at the 2013 Canada Summer Games,
Shrebrooke, Quebec.

Tennis Manitoba has announced details of the 2013-14 Provincial & National Training Center Program. The 28 week program includes weekly on court sessions, strength and conditioning training, quarterly fitness testing and out of province competition.

Team tryouts are scheduled for 4 - 7 p.m., September 28, 2013. Competitive junior tennis players interested in participating in the team tryouts, are asked to register prior to 12 noon, Friday, September 27th. To access the tryout registration form, click here.

The following is an overview of the program:

1. Coaching Staff

• Head Coach - Jared Connell
• Assistant Coach - Robert Kennedy
• Assistant Coach - Marlon Goldburn

2. Open Tryout

• An open tryout for is scheduled for 4 - 7 p.m., Saturday, September 28 at Tuxedo Tennis Club for junior tennis players (boys and girls) in the U12 to to U18 age categories.
• In the event of inclement weather, please meet at Taylor Tennis Club.
• There is no fee for the tryout session.

3. Team Selection Criteria

• Team members will be selected by the coaching staff, with selection notifications made by September 30th.
• Selections will be based on past tournament performances / results, program commitment, physical competencies, match play and tennis skills.

4. Program Dates

• Session 1: 8 weeks, week of Sept 30 - Dec 9, 2013
• Session 2: 10 weeks, week of Jan 6 - Mar 24, 2014
• Session 3: 10weeks, week of Mar 31 - Jun 9, 2014

5. Program Training

• On court tennis: 1day per week, 2 hours
• On court fitness: 1 day per week, 1 hour (following tennis session)
• Strength and conditioning: 1 day per week, 1 hour
• Fitness testing: 5 tests throughout program
• Training session days will be separated by age group / ability level
• Training days to be announced

6. Program Travel

• Tournament 1: Edmonton, AB, Nov 1 - 3, 2013
• Tournament 2: Saskatoon,SK, Nov 30 - 31, 2013
• Tournament 3: Edmonton, AB, Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2014
• Tournament 4: Prairie Regionals, Saskatoon,SK, dates TBD (mid-March)

7. Program Apparel

• Each team member will receive a tracksuit, 2 training shirts

8. Program Fee

• Costs are currently being finalized. An approximate fee of $1,600 per player for the 28 weeks. The program fee does not include travel expenses.

9. Player Agreement

• Team members are required to adhered to a player agreement, which is to be signed by the player, parent / guardian, and personal coach. Included in the player agreement will be competition schedules that include participation in all regional and national championships that the player qualifies for in their respective age group, fitness programs / testings and results, technical improvements, training attitudes and behaviour. Periodic evaluations will be held throughout the program.
• Program participants will be chosen on the above criteria. There are limited number of team spots available in each age group. Players are selected to a particular age category based on their date of birth and/or ability. Each group will consist of a combination of boys and girls.

10. Code of Conduct

• All team members are required to sign a Tennis Manitoba Code of Conduct agreement.

Manitoba Juniors Take on Canada's Best

Kylie Waschuk made it to the round of 16 at the Under 18
Rogers Outdoor Junior Nationals, losing out to the no. 1-seeded
player, Gloria Liang from Ontario. (Photo: Kristin Muller)

Five of Manitoba's top junior tennis players qualified to play at the 2013 Rogers Junior Outdoor National Championships this past August, for an opportunity to compete with the best junior players in Canada.

For Sabrina Alano (Under 12), Jennifer Wang (Under 14), and Shrey Gupta (Under 16), it was their first appearance at the junior nationals.

Just prior to the junior nationals, Wang and Gupta, along with Kylie Waschuk (Under 18), made a successful run at the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Quebec, tying an all-time best Team Manitoba tennis result by placing fifth.

David Krowiak (Under 14) joined Wang at the Under 14 nationals, making it the third time he has competed at a national level.

There are eight junior national tournaments a year; one indoor and one outdoor for each of the Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18 age categories. The outdoor junior nationals were held in Mississauga, Ontario, and Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

Tennis Canada often uses the results from the junior nationals to determine which players represent Canada at some of the big international events like the Junior Davis Cup, Junior Fed Cup and World Junior Tennis competitions.

Manitoba juniors that participated at the junior nationals were selected from results at Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour and Prairie Regional qualifying events. For additional information on competitive junior tennis in Manitoba, please visit www.tennismanitoba.com.

See also:
> 2013 Rogers Outdoor Junior Nationals photos
> Looking for gold at Mont-Tremblant

Manitobans Participate at Senior Nationals in Vancouver

Manitoba was represented at the Steve Stevens Senior National Championships recently held in Vancouver, BC. A total of 444 players from across the nation participated at the event held at the Vancouver Lawn Tennis and Badminton Club, Arbutus Club, and Jericho Tennis Club.

Making the trip from Winnipeg was Mark Lloyd (35+ age group), Tom Brown (50+), Chris Shay (50+), and Glen Ziprick (55+).

Tennis players who are 35 years and older, that are interested in participating in future senior nationals can contact Tennis Manitoba for entrance requirements.

A complete listing of national senior events can be found on the Tennis Canada website at www.tenniscanada.com.

See also: Champions Crowned at Senior Nationals in Vancouver

Tennis Manitoba goes mobile

The new Tennis Canada Android app (shown here), makes
 it easy to stay up to date with tournaments in Canada.

Tennis tournaments in Manitoba, as well as across the country, have just become easier to find. With your iPhone or Android smartphone, you are now able to stay in touch with current events and search for ones close to you. The new Tennis Canada mobile apps provide instant access to players, draws and results.

    

You can also find tournament details on the web at tc.tournamentsoftware.com

Related news: Tennis Manitoba launches new tournament system

And They’re Off!

2012 Rogers Outdoor Junior National Championships

Tennis Manitoba is proud to be sending select high performance juniors to 2012 Outdoor Junior Nationals these next few weeks. U12s include David Krowiak and Shawn Sophasath. U16s include Connor Davies and Kylie Waschuk. And U18s includes Shane Nicholls. 

This is the first Nationals for Shawn and Connor. Kylie is going with the most Nationals experience and with a solid season of preparation having just completed the Western Canadian Junior ITF Circuit, which had stops in Edmonton, Vancouver, and wrapped up in Winnipeg. Connor and Shane also participated in Winnipeg’s U18 ITF tournament in preparation for Nationals. 

For Shane, this Nationals holds more sentimentality than others: it’s Shane’s final year of junior eligibility. He’s already topped the year off by winning Boys U18 at the Manitoba Junior Open earlier in the summer. So here’s to his and the whole team’s growth and success!

Interestingly, the majority of the junior categories for the outdoor national tournaments are played on clay. Clay is an increasingly popular international surface. Tennis Canada intentionally includes clay as one of its surfaces for what it offers in terms of a player’s greater all round development, injury prevention and longevity and integration into the professional arena. Clay courts can be found in Winnipeg at one of Tennis Manitoba’s member clubs, Taylor Tennis Club.

2012 Rogers Outdoor Junior National Championships schedule:

• Jul 29-Aug 4: U12 Rogers Outdoor Junior Nationals, Mont Tremblant, QC
• Aug 5-10: U18 Rogers Outdoor Junior Nationals, Mississauga, ON
• Aug 6-12: U14 Rogers Outdoor Junior Nationals, Mont Tremblant, QC
• Aug 14-19: U16 Rogers Outdoor Junior Nationals, Laval, QC

See also:

• Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour
• Tennis Manitoba’s Junior Nationals Selection Eligibility, Process and Policy

Tennis Manitoba’s Junior Nationals Selection Eligibility, Process and Policy

Eligibility

In order to represent Manitoba as a member of Team Prairies at the Rogers Junior National Championships, a junior must be a Canadian citizen and/or permanent resident of Manitoba. Students attending school out of province are eligible assuming they meet the residence criteria.

In addition, a junior must be in good standing with Tennis Manitoba, any other Canadian provincial tennis association and Tennis Canada (membership, financial, discipline, etc.).

Process and Policy
Tennis Manitoba’s (TM) Junior Nationals selection process and policy is designed to foster a competitive TM points race to put forward a team of juniors that competitively best represents Manitoba and supports participation in TM sanctioned junior tournaments. It leads toward the selection of the top three juniors of each gender and age category to compete with Saskatchewan in a Prairies Qualifier (Regionals) for the three spots in each gender and age category available to Team Prairies. TM’s top three are determined by TM sanctioned junior tournament accumulated results and subsequent rankings (which are based on TM’s ongoing fifty-two week ranking system and a “Best N” formulation; see http://tennismanitoba.com/tournaments/junior_tour.html#rank) and respective commitment in writing prior to Regionals to participate in Nationals should they earn a spot.

If a junior who is within TM’s top three does not desire to participate at the Nationals and subsequently is not allowed to participate in Regionals competition, the opportunity is then passed to the junior holding the fourth ranking position.

The junior holding the third position to compete in Regionals may be challenged for that position by a junior granted a wildcard. Wildcards are granted only for extraordinary circumstances. If a junior desires to compete for a Nationals spot and has extraordinary circumstances such that they were not able to participate in sufficient TM sanctioned junior tournaments within their desired age category and/or has a competitive justification for the request, they must notify TM of these in writing thirty (30) days prior to Regionals to be considered for a wildcard.

TM reserves the right to make reasonable discretionary decisions toward the goals of and in concert with the policy regarding issues unforeseen within the policy as it currently stands.

Policy updates and TM sanctioned junior tournament schedule and results will be posted at Tennis Manitoba Junior Tour.

Western Canadian Senior Indoor National Championships

Longtime doubles partners Geoff Kirbyson (left) and Peter Otto
shoot for a fourth straight national senior men's championship.
(Photo on file, courtesy of Winnipeg Free Press.

We're playing a little catch up here, but kudos to the Manitobans that travelled to Vancouver in March to participate in the Western Canadian Senior Indoor National Championships. There were 210 players representing 7 provinces, and more than 350 matches played at four different sites.

Representing Manitoba were:

• Leeha Bryk
• Geoff Kirbyson
• Peter Otto
• Tony Weekes.

Geoff Kirbyson and Peter Otto just missed out on their attempt to collect their fourth championship, as they were fianlists in both the Men's 35 Doubles and Men's 40 Doubles. More info...