As in 2022, the club’s Over 40s Tournament for 2023 was played over the morning of Saturday 29 April and all day Sunday 30 April to avoid the cramming of all the matches (33 in total) for three events into one day.   This worked well again although the number of entries for the mixed doubles was a mere 10 instead of the record 17 last year.   

To avoid a recurrence, a cap of 16 entries was placed on each of the three events but, due to absences, predominantly of men, the entries did not approach this limit this year.   There were 7 entries in the men’s doubles (MD), 10 in the women’s doubles (WD) and 10 in the mixed doubles (MXD).   All first match losers were transferred to consolation events, including the results of second round matches, which in the case of the MXD consolation event, resulted in an extra match being played.    

The format used was best of 13 games (first to 7 with a tie-break at 6-all if required) and a "sudden death" point on second deuce.  This was varied in the MD event where the men asked that their matches be best of 17 games (first to 9).   Since the time was available on Saturday morning, this request was granted so the MD matches were longer in duration.  However,  the best of 13 games was retained for all WD and MXD matches, which needed to be completed on Sunday.         

The weather was very tennis friendly on both days, being warm, cloudy and with little wind.  These conditions were greatly appreciated by the participants - although the tournament director denied having any influence on the conditions.   

Generally, the scheduling of matches went smoothly on both days, other than early MXD consolation matches being held up.   Early entrants sat at opposite sides of the draw and had to wait before their opponents became available.   However, by driving the MXD main event matches forward and dealing with the MXD consolation event matches later, all matches were completed by 5pm on Sunday.   

There were no repeats of Susie Tocker's epic 5 matches in a row this year but, on many occasions, pairs who had just completed a match, were immediately presented with another one to play.   Generally pairs, having warmed up, were happy to carry on with a short break only.  

Many matches were tight and, of the 33 matches, on 5 occasions the opposiing pairs opted to decide the match by a tiebreaker game.   

It appears from the many complimentary comments from participants, especially concerning the "conjured up" weather, that they had a good time over the two days, and enjoyed the obvious cameraderie among all the competitors.  Many matches had appreciative spectators who applauded great shots and "gets".   

While there were fewer entries this year, the whole tournament ran smooothly and  there appears to be little reason to make changes next year.   One possibility would be to play all WD matches on the Saturday morning  with the MD and MXD matches being played on Sunday, to give the women more time to recover before the MXD matches.   However, this would exclude entries from those women who work on a Saturday.   The same applied to men working on a Saturday this year.   Court 3 was reserved on Saturday afternoon for MXD matches to be played early but two pairs only opted to take advantage of this opportunity.     

Once again, it was great to see our more mature club members in action.   With some of our younger players now stealing the limelight at the club's Open Championships, they may enjoy their very own tournament without the glory being snatched by teenagers!          

For the record, the tournament results were as follows:

Men’s Doubles

Winners: Raj Chakraborti & Warren Fraser

Runners-up: Rodney Moon & Adam Pryor

Men’s Doubles Consolation

Winners: John Hughes & David Humm  

Runners-up: Allister Ford & Greg Lynch   

Women’s Doubles

Winners: Wendy Thompson & Tricia Will

Runners-up: Janina Pawlak & Glenda van Drimmelen-Craven

Women’s Doubles Consolation

Winners: Megan Healy & Jenny Sparks

Runners-up: Liz Bergin & Iris Humm 

Mixed Doubles

Winners: Glenda van Drimmelen-Craven & Kevin Wilson

Runners-up: Sally Marett & Warren Fraser

Mixed Doubles Consolation

Winners: Mira Trifunovic & Simon Richardson   

Runners-up: Pip Groom & Greg Lynch