The recent West Kootenay Rob Wright Open Tournament, hosted by the Nelson Tennis Club (NTC), drew 58 entries from as far away as North Vancouver, Merritt, and Kelowna.
Competitors from the local area had a very strong showing. On the men’s side of the draw, it was local talent Tinashe ‘Nash’ Chikanda who took the Men’s A Singles title, and he lifted the trophy alongside his partner, Mike Dickinson, for the Men’s A Doubles. Nelson women also recorded success with Ivy Robin and Brenda Thomas taking the Women’s A Doubles title.
Other results in the A category were Eva Koksalova from Kelowna winning the Women’s A Singles, and she joined Gary Sanquin, also from Kelowna, to take the Mixed A Doubles title.
In the B division, there were local wins for Ron Van Dyke in Singles, and Simone Simpson and Dalvini McLean.
“Tennis in the community is at a very high quality and just keeps on improving”, says tournament organizer Mike Dickinson, “and this is especially so with the strength of the youth contingent coming through.”
The tournament could not be put on without the support of many volunteers and local businesses, and the Nelson Tennis Club would like to extend a sincere thanks to all. Those businesses were Kootenay Co-op, Oso Negro, Hume Hotel, Save on Foods, Nelson Brewing Company, Mallard’s Source for Sports, Cantina Del Centro, Pro Shop NTC, Kutenai Tennis, Nelson Box Office, Dal’s Soap, Golden Set International, Cartolina, Kire Gillette, and Safeway.
Photos by Peter Schramm (@peterschramm3)
