Charlie McLean takes on technical director position

Charlie McLean is the new Tennis
Manitoba Technical Director

Tennis Manitoba is pleased to announce the appointment of Charlie McLean as Technical Director of tennis in our province. Charlie’s knowledge and experience will greatly support Tennis Manitoba's efforts to improve player development among competitive juniors aged 18 years and under.

Charlie’s extensive tennis background includes:

• Coach to players reaching ATP and WTA world rankings
• Tennis Canada Coach 3 – Level 3 certification
• Team Captain – Under 10 British Champions
• British Lawn Tennis Association Development Award – Level 3
• British Lawn Tennis Association Performance Coach – Level 3
• Tennis Alberta’s Coach of the Year – 2011
• Current Head Professional at World Health, Calgary
• Current High Performance Co-ordinator with Tennis Alberta.

The Tennis Manitoba Technical Director is currently a part time contract position with responsibility for creating long term player development plans and programs which involve Tennis Manitoba staff and Manitoba-based tennis coaches. Charlie starts December 14th with a series of player identification sessions in Winnipeg.

Kids team tennis leagues to start January

Kids tennis leagues will be starting up again this January at several locations throughout Winnipeg. The leagues are for children ages 12 years and under who are new to tennis. Participants can play right away due to the modified tennis format which uses slower balls, smaller courts, and right sized racquets.

Kids team tennis league details

• Tennis experience is not required
• Modified tennis equipment is provided
• Kids will be placed on a team with a coach
• League sessions also include practices
• Kids earn points for their team
• All participants receive a T-shirt and modified ball.

The Tennis Manitoba kids tennis leagues offer children the opportunity to develop their individual and team tennis skills in a fun, yet competitive atmosphere. For more information or to register, visit tennismanitoba.com/aces

First time champs at WWC Indoor Singles Open

Kylie Waschuk and Lisa Bayko meet in the Women's Open
finals at the 2012 WWC Indoor Singles Open.

The Winnipeg Winter Club saw several new champions crowned at the recent 2012 WWC Indoor Singles Open. Shane Nicholls secured his first Open Men's title by methodically marching through the draw without dropping a set in the process. Nicholls kept his composure in the championship final, outlasting the fiesty unseeded Mike Lodewyks in a hard hitting, back and forth battle.

Even the Men's 3.5 seeded players had difficulty making their way through to the semifinals in the draw. After the dust settled, unseeded Joe Cyr had sliced and diced his way to win the championship over fellow unseeded finalist, Gene Podliesecki.

However, the Men's 4.5 number one seed, Patrick Fu lived up to his top billing going into the event. Fu was able to take the title losing only 11 games in his 4 matches.

Kylie Waschuk continued her dominating local play, as she dropped only three games while cruising to defend her Women's Open title. The win for the 16 year old junior moved her up to a year ending second spot on the Rogers Rankings for females in the province.

In other women's events, Samantha Lee from Brandon was victorious in the Women's 4.5, and Shauna Filuk took the Women's 3.5 title. The tournament organizers acknowledged the largest turnout for the women's events in recent memory. We certainly hope this trend continues for future Tennis Manitoba Open Tour tournaments.

The 2012 WWC Doubles & Mixed Christmas Classic is the final tournament on the Tennis Manitoba schedule, and takes place at the Winnipeg Winter Club on December 15th - 20th. The online entry deadline is Tuesday, December 11th at 11:59pm. Don't miss out on your last opportunity to compete for doubles supremacy in Manitoba.

> Register today for the WWC Doubles & Mixed Christmas Classic