Click for photo album
by Dawson Lane
Eight juniors representing the United States and supported by the USCTPF (United States Court Tennis Preservation Foundation) spent 9 days in England on a court tennis tour with a final stop at The Queen’s Club for the British Junior Championships.
The Juniors players: representing Tuxedo – Hazel Christensen, Campbell Langdon, Walt Laukitis, Kurt Mueller, Paul Nieuwerburgh, Calliope Yannuzzi and Anson Devinney and Elliot Philpott – representing Westwood.
August 9th & 10th
Dedicated travel days for the US contingent of court tennis players, with plans for convening as a group on the morning of the 11th on Hayling Island. The Yannuzzi family travelled on the 9th with plans on catching up with other members of the family in the UK. Campbell Langdon and Tim Chisholm made their way from JFK to Heathrow and then on to Hayling Island in a 9-passenger standard drive van. The Christensen family, Walt & Dan Laukitis and Paul Nieuwerburgh unfortunately spent the 10th of August at Newark airport with numerous delays; ultimately getting out in the early evening on the 10th and arriving at Heathrow on the morning of the 11th. Elliot Philpott & Anson Devinney were escorted by Mark Philpott from D.C. to Heathrow where they met up with Kurt Mueller and made their way to Mark’s family’s residence near Hayling Island.
Sunday August 11th
Wellington College
Hayling Island would prove to be home base for the US contingent for their first 4 ½ days in the UK. A huge THANK YOU to Nick Jones along with Jo & Patrick Lewis for billeting the US group for their stay on Hayling Island. Jo and Patrick were the sensible ones in that they kindly billeted Dianne & Dave Christensen along with Alexa & Todd Yannuzzi. Nick Jones my need to get his head checked for billeting the (8) US Juniors along with Tim Chisholm. Seriously, Nick along with Jo & Patrick’s generosity show you what a great group of folks that love the game we all play.
Mark Philpott passed the baton for the car of Elliot Philpott, Kurt Mueller & Anson Devinney to Tim Chisholm this morning, and the group packed up the passenger van to meet up with the rest of the group at Wellington College for a few hours of training. Hazel, Dave & Dianne Christensen, Paul Nieuwerburgh & Walt Laukitis after having spent a day at Newark airport and then a night flying over the Atlantic headed straight to Wellington upon landing in the UK.
It was fantastic for the group to have several parents be a part of the activities for the 9-day trip; but it was evident that the kids with Tim’s approval and guidance wanted as little parental involvement as possible.
The plan for the tour and training was to divvy up the (8) players and hold a competition for bragging rights at the end of the trip, and Tim included some target games and drills as well. Tim, having worked for years with kids was curious to see how the dynamics of the competition would play out on and off the court.
Wellington was a great first day for the US players; as they had the entire facility to themselves. The kids enjoyed playing on a blue court and seeing all the unique pictures on the walls…asking Tim a million questions about all the players in the pictures. One of the kids may have asked….’Tim, do you know all the players because you are so old?’
Dinner this evening for the group was at The Ship Inn right before you cross over the bridge onto Hayling Island. There were several youngsters with big appetites and a walk out on the sand bar by the Inn produced a few great pictures of the group. The first night together set the tone for this group as great conversation, card playing and bonding across all ages was seen as a group from day one.
Monday August 12th
Hampton Court Palace
The agenda for the 12th of August was a trip to arguably one of the most famous locations of court tennis in the United Kingdom – Hampton Court Palace! And, as one of the kids pointed out to Tim…. the site of his 1stWorld Championship singles loss of 7 sets to 6. Tim was glad that the group was not going to visit the site of his other two losses In a format that would stay consistent throughout the week; the group continued their team competition while Tim augmented the matches with some drills and target games. A big Thank You to Lesley Ronaldson for helping the group to have (3) hours of court time at one of the busiest courts in the UK. Dinner was just across the bridge from Hampton Court where the group spit up, ½ going for Greek while the other half went to Pizza Express.
Tuesday August 13th
Seacourt – Hayling Island
Looking back on the trip; the 13th was one of the favorite days for all the kids as the group stayed on Hayling Island for the entire day. A trip to the beach was followed by an afternoon full of sport at the Seacourt Club including court tennis, padel, squash and badminton…. followed by a birthday celebration for Walt Laukitis at Jo & Patrick Lewis’s beautiful home on Hayling Island. The Lewis homestead was such a great location for dinner and a birthday celebration; with dogs to enjoy, trampolines to jump on, ping pong to be played, and fantastic company!
Wednesday August 14th
Holyport Real Tennis Club
Wednesday morning the group decided that another trip to the beach was in order as it was a beautiful day on the island. The kids and Tim made their way out to a sandbar where some football was played before heading back to change and head out in the van to the Holyport Real Tennis Club for another afternoon of training and practice. The group made several comments about ‘how cool’ it was to be able to play on so many different courts on the trip. As per Wellington, the group was fortunate enough to have the club to themselves for (3) hours of match play and drills. The kids ran the day of playing and training mostly by themselves as Tim needed to string some ‘wooden’ racquets for the kids to play with in the upcoming British Juniors.
Thursday August 15th
Fulham & The Queen’s Club
This was the groups last day on Hayling Island! Many THANKS to Nick Jones along with Jo & Patrick Lewis for surviving the American Invasion of their homes. Seriously, the group was so grateful for the hospitality shown to them their entire time on Hayling Island. Hoping not too many items were left on Hayling Island, the group headed back to London and the Queen’s Club for a few more hours of practice before tournament matches are played starting on the 16th. The Queen’s Club is the club most like several of the US Clubs in terms of facilities and all the kids were suitably impressed with the facilities.
After a few hours in the van, the group pulled through the gates of the Queen’s Club for a few hours of practice and getting used to yet another court and different balls. Tim left the group in the capable hands of a few parents and headed to Heathrow to return the passenger van. Prior to leaving for Heathrow; one Dad asked Tim, ‘what should the plan be for the kids’ and Tim proudly replied, ‘they got it’, and there was nothing but smiles on the kids’ faces as Tim headed to Heathrow. Upon meeting up with the group later that evening, it was reported back to Tim that the kids did indeed ‘have it’ and ran a very production practice session themselves!
Friday August 16th – Sunday August 18th
The Queen’s Club – 2024 British Junior Championships
The results of the 2024 British Junior Championships have been posted on both the USCTA and T&RA websites! Congratulations to all the participants, in particular the champions and finalists!
In speaking with Tim about the performance of the US Juniors, it was obvious that he was very proud of all the juniors for not only their performance on court, but in some ways prouder of their behavior off the court.
- The support of each other, whether winning or losing throughout the weekend.
- Sportsmanship displayed by all US Juniors – more on this topic shortly.
- Every player having improved throughout the week, exhibited by their level of play in the tournament.
- This group in Tim’s words is ‘what is good about Junior Court Tennis in the USA; and kudos to the United States Court Tennis Preservation Society and all their donors for supporting junior development.’
To further support what a great group of kids represented the USA; the Nat Duncan Memorial Trophy & Racquet are given to a participant of the British Juniors each year.
Nat Duncan was an enthusiastic Real Tennis player. He competed in the British Junior Championship and other Real Tennis tournaments until he fell ill with cancer. Nat fought his brain tumor bravely for a year; he died in September of 2001. During his life, he benefited from the friendship and support of many members of the Real Tennis community, including Lachlan Deuchar, Marc Seigneur, Leslie Ronaldson and Paul Weaver.
Nat’s parents have given the Nat Duncan trophy and racquet to celebrate his life and his commitment to the game of Real Tennis. Nat was a fierce competitor but was not always the most skillful player on court. The trophy and racquet are awarded each year at this event to the player who most exhibits these qualities of sportsmanship and tenacity.
This author is very happy to announce that Anson Devinney of the Westwood Country Club was the 2024 recipient of the Nat Duncan Memorial Trophy and Racquet – and the 1st American Junior to receive this award since its inception.
By all accounts a hugely successful trip to the UK for the US Juniors! A huge THANK YOU to all the following for making the trip such a memorable experience for the US Juniors!
Click for British Junior Results
Chili & Rocket Philpott Family
Chisholm Family Queens Club
Christensen Family Ronaldson, Leslie
Hampton Court Palace Sayers, Bryn
Hayes, Megan Seacourt Tennis Club
Holyport Real Tennis Club Tuxedo Club
Jones, Nick USCTPF
Laukitis Family Warner, Nick
Lewis, Jo & Patrick Weaver, Paul
Lippincott, Jane Wellington College
Mackenzie, Neil Westwood Country Club
Mueller Family Yannuzzi Family
*USCTPF – United States Court Tennis Preservation Foundation*
