SUNRIVER TENNIS 2008
Wow! What a summer! The season started out with a bang in May when high school tennis players converged for the 1 and 2A State Finals. In June and August over 1500 participants participated in the USTA Northwest Sectional League Championships in Sunriver. June also saw Sunriver's first Junior Tournament with 81 competitors from Oregon and Washington. The Sunriver Senior Tennis Championships in August drew over 100 participants. The Humane Society Fundraiser Tournament in early September was hosted by Sage Springs Club and Spa and raised over $2000 for the Humane Society of Central Oregon. The fundraiser attracted 72 local players for a day of 'fun in the sun' tennis among 12 teams, aptly named 'The Poodles', 'The Mutts', 'The Purebreds', etc. The tournament season was capped off by the Team Cup Challenge in September, hosted by Mavericks. In all, almost 3000 tennis players paticipated in tournaments in Sunriver this summer.
Tennis tournaments bring not only players to Sunriver, but also their families, friends, and spectators. It is estimated that these tennis tournaments generate $2.5 to $3 million in revenue annually, most of it spent in Sunriver.
But tennis tournaments were not the only events bringing tennis players to the Sunriver courts in record numbers this summer. Sunriver Resort continued it's very active instruction program with daily clinics and private instruction under the leadership of Eric Nokes of Sage Springs Club and Spa. The Sunriver Homeowner Tennis Program welcomed Steve and Dorothy Vaughn of Wild West Tennis. Steve and Dorothy ran tennis clinics, a program for juniors, an adult instructional program, and social tennis events for homeowners and visitors. They also worked hard to connect tennis players together for match play and social programs. Our favorite was the Wednesday evening mixed doubles mixer followed by pizza from Blondies!
Steve Vaughn also spearheaded special tennis events which included the Marceil Whitney Teeny Tennis Camp in which adults learned the newest techniques for teaching tennis to little ones; the Wilson Demo Night in which over 100 participants got to play with the newest tennis equipment (and even try out the rackets of the pros!); and the Luke Jensen clinics offered during the Team Cup Challenge. The Luke Jensen clinics involved tennis players from all over the northwest as well as tennis professionals from Bend Country Club, Bend Athletic Club, Sage Springs Club, Sunriver Homeowner's Program, and the Broken Top Club. Kevin Young from Wilson was the emcee, and he brought along the Wilson Pro Teaching Staff. Having a headliner like Luke Jensen was a huge plus, and this kind of activity is very good for Sunriver Tennis.
Steve Vaughn will be back next year to lead the Sunriver Homeowner Tennis Program and has many ideas for program expansion. He is already planning more special events to draw even more interest in Sunriver tennis, an expanded junior program, an expanded adult introductory program, online bookings for clinics and tennis camps and free ball machine days. 2009 should be a great year! For more information on Wild West Tennis, click here.