Report by Marian Vinall
The 2024 ARC Winter Open was held at the end of October on our indoor courts and was a great success. 84 people entered a variety of events, 97 matches were played and competition was fierce during the week. Both weekends and three evenings were used and competitors were aged from 13 upwards. The tournament is an annual event in the ARC Calendar so please reserve the date for next year - the last week in October!
The Men’s Singles Winner Morgan Searle was from Exeter and was our youngest winner aged 15, with Park Lane’s Lloyd Harvey Bryant coming Runner Up. Congratulations to Katie Rowe, our newest coach at ARC for winning the Ladies Open title and to all four ladies who entered so that we could have an event!
The Men’s Doubles produced high standard tennis as ever. This year the title went to Thomas Painter and Rudolph Schutte from Ilfracombe who overcame Park Lane pair Rob Cook and Lloyd Harvey Bryant in the final.
The Ladies Doubles was a much more local affair but it was great to see some of the newer ladies from ARC playing in their first competition. The event was won by Ali Swinton and Amy Brown from Ilfracombe who beat Ginny Stapley and Cindy Reynolds (Braunton and ARC).
Vets’ Mens Doubles seemed to take up most of Saturday with many tiebreaks involved. At the end of it Andy Koval and James MacRae came out on top 16-14 in the tie break over Damon and Paul. Gerald Sussex and John Norman played in what may be their last ever tournament together after a wonderful partnership of 30 years.
Vets’ Ladies Doubles attracted 8 pairs. Overall winners gaining their second title of the week were Amy and Ali from Ilfracombe with Ali Latham and Sally Akam from ARC as Runners Up.
The Mixed Vets’ saw a large entry with play going on for 6 hours! Gerald Sussex and Teresa Poole came out victorious over Denise and Andy Koval
The Mixed Doubles was the final event of the week and didn’t disappoint! There were a large number of ARC pairs in the event and the title went to Lottie and Matt from ARC for the 3rd year in a row after beating Marian Vinall and Damon Reed.
It was a great week and lots of fun was had by everyone who entered. The next ARC Adult Tournament is the usual week-long in May with events for all categories including juniors. See you there!
