The Tournament Must Go On

On April 12 and 13, many schools from around southern Vancouver Island joined here at Brentwood for our 2019 Spring Invitational Tennis Tournament. Our fingers were crossed that it would be a sunny weekend - which it was for the first day. The tournament had actually been postponed due to wet weather the previous weekend. Nevertheless, we were prepared for whatever Mother Nature threw our way. There were only four Grade 8s, including myself, who participated in the tournament. On the first day, my doubles partner and I played only two half-hour matches during the four hours I was there, so we spent more time waiting for our matches than actually playing them. However, we found things to do so the wait was enjoyable. A volleyball net was set up on the field beside the tennis courts so we used it for a while. Of course, we didn't really know how to play volleyball, nor did we have the interest to learn, so we hit a tennis ball over it instead, similar to badminton. The other Grade 8s also came to watch and support us during the last 45 minutes of their academic day. At the end of the first day, we had one win and one loss in our category, meaning that we could move on. Every team was guaranteed two or three games, but if we won any of them, we would keep going. That was the case for us. Day Two brought rain and wind, the exact opposite of the previous day. Luckily, plans had been made to continue the tournament inside the tennis bubble at Arbutus Ridge. My partner and I had one final game there, which we lost, and that put us in second place in our category. Regardless of the end rank, enjoying tennis was the main goal, and I was more concerned with playing lots of games than winning only a few. The event may have not have worked out perfectly due to the weather, but it was still an undoubtedly excellent tournament. Jack D, ‘23