Geoff Douglas
Generation Cup
Geoff Douglas was a very keen member who dedicated a great deal of time to getting young members integrated into the club. This tournament is in his memory and is designed to enable a younger member to play with someone more mature.
It works like this…
Adult competitors will be ranked in order of which league team they played in. Non-league players will be added to the end of the list. Junior players will be ranked in order of which league team they played in or which coaching group they attend. The coaches will decide which juniors will be invited.
The 4 highest ranked adults will be drawn out of a hat and paired with the 4 lowest ranked juniors whose names will also be drawn out of a hat. This will be repeated until all players have a partner. Hopefully this will give everyone a chance to win.
On the day the players will play a Championship Tiebreaker, which means the first pair to get 10 points with a 2 point lead will win. In the event of the match continuing after 10 points the first pair to get 12 points whether or not there is a 2 point lead will win. Depending on the number of entries the tournament will be played on a round robin basis where all pairs play each other, or there will be boxes where the top pairs play a semi final then the final.
Please only sign up if you are certain you will be able to play as the pairs have to be sorted out in advance to give everyone the chance of winning!
There is a bring and share tea afterwards in the clubhouse.
2024
Sunday 18 August 2024
The Geoff Douglas Generation Cup tournament was played on a glorious Sunday afternoon, the wind was a bit tricky but it made for some interesting points. Many thanks to the 24 players who turned up to enjoy a compepitive afternoon’s tennis. Five of our talented teenage players: Dan, Dylan, Natty, Archie and Yusuf played with great enthusiasm and respect. I was so pleased that the whole afternoon encompassed the many different sections of our wonderful club and gave players the opportunity to interact with others they did not know.
The tournament was divided into 2 boxes which meant everyone played 5 championship tiebreaks, first to 10 with a 2 clear point lead or in the event it got to 11 all the next point was ‘Sudden Death’, otherwise we could have been playing into the early hours as there were a great many 12-11 results!
The top 2 players in Box A were: Dan & Laura and Natty & Hayley.
The top 2 players in Box B were: Lottie & Dave and Dylan and Bridget. The semi-final line up was drawn from a hat and was:
Lottie & Dave -v- Natty & Hayley
Dan & Laura -v- Dylan and Bridget
After hard fought semi finals on both courts the final was decided as:
Lottie & Dave -v- Dylan and Bridget
The final was the best of 3 Championship tiebreaks, but only 2 were needed as Dylan and Bridget won the 2024 Geoff Douglas Generation Tournament.
This was Dylan’s second consecutive triumph, well done!
Geoff would have been so proud to see his granddaughters Amelia and Lottie Clark playing and particularly pleased to see Lottie in the final.
Many thanks to everyone who played and particularly all the supporters and players’ children who I hope will be inspired to play in the future.
As usual when it is a ‘Bring and Share’ tea, the food is delicious thank you to everyone who brought along food – it was certainly enjoyed,
Finally a big thank you to Nic Clark, who along with Dave’s input, ran a brilliant tournament. By ensuring players are carefully paired on ability this is a tournament anyone can win. Please join us next year.
Cynthia Douglas
2023
Sunday 20 August 2023
The Geoff Douglas Generation Tournament took place on Sunday 20 August. Twenty players entered ranging in age from 10 to over 70 which made it a truly generation tournament. Seven of the twenty players were junior members of the club which is a great reflection on our coaches. Unfortunately one player who entered could not be there and as the tournament is based on ability meant it was very difficult to redo it, however Lara and Isaac’s Dad, Dave, stepped in and played with Lara which meant the tournament could go ahead as planned.
The early rounds were hard fought as the pairs were very close in ability, but in group 1 Jane and Dylan were outright winners with 40 points. Both Yvonne and Dom and Suzanne and Natty finished on 35 points so they had to play another tie break. Eventually Suzanne and Natty won to go into the semi-final. The outright winners of group 2 were Christine and Archie with 40 points closely followed by Karen and Liz Bessell with 38 points.
The semi finals were:
Christine and Archie -v- Suzanne and Natty
Jane and Dylan -v- Karen and Liz
Both semi finals were hard fought but the final was to be:
Christine and Archie -v- Jane and Dylan
It was a great set of tennis, worthy of a final with Christine and Archie having several match points, but Jane and Dylan persevered and kept working hard to save them. Ultimately there was a tiebreak at 6 games all which Jane and Dylan won. Well done to Jane and Dylan for your determination and resilience, commiserations to Christine and Archie who were so nearly victorious.
The whole idea of the Generation Tournament is to get players of different sections of the club to meet each other and play together. It was always Geoff’s aim to encourage the younger players and bring them into the club. He would have been so proud of the mutual respect shown at the tournament and for the quality of the tennis. Well done to everyone who played.
Cynthia Douglas
2022
Sunday 21 August 2022
The Geoff Douglas Generation Cup Tournament was played on Sunday 21 August in brilliant tennis weather not too hot, sunny or windy. The tournament epitomised what KLTC is all about: friendship, family, fun and competition.
There were 18 playing pairs which included 7 of our best juniors, 3 members of our weekday section, past and present members, many of whom knew Geoff. It was great to see ‘Dad’ Adam playing with Joe, ‘Mum’ Sian playing with Dave, ‘Mum’ Nic playing with Amelia/Lottie and ‘Dad’ Rich playing with Bryony.
Geoff was a very enthusiastic tennis player and realised that without juniors there would be no future for the club, to that end he encouraged and worked with the junior section along with the other coaches. At the tournament I saw the legacy he has left behind – those juniors he worked with are now fantastic players and they in turn are helping and encouraging the next generation. It is great to bring the whole club together and to enjoy each other’s company.
There were some very close matches in the round robin section of play and it was hard to predict who was going through to the next round. The semi final was:
Laura Spragg and Bryn Collins -v- Tony Willford and Archie Baker.
Bridget Hunter and Dylan Hammond -v- Tom Katuszka and Christine Thompson
The games were very hard fought with Tony and Archie going through to the final against Tom and Christine.
After another close match the winners were Tony and Archie. Well done!
Many thanks to Beryl who was able to join us and unveil the plaque for the defibrillator which she and Bernard Coombs very kindly donated to the club. It was brilliant to see Beryl at the club again. Come back soon.
A huge thanks to all the friends, family and supporters of the players your contribution to the event makes it very special. Also a massive thanks for the delicious tea.
Finally, I would like to thank Nic so much for standing in for me and arranging the tournament with the help of Dave, Amelia and Lottie. It would not have happened without her – thank you again Nic.
The trophy will be presented again along with all the others, at Presentation Evening, our annual dinner and Disco at Knowle Golf Club on Saturday 19 November … save the date!
Cynthia Douglas
2021
Sunday 22 August 2021
The Geoff Douglas Generation tournament was held on a beautiful, warm and sunny Sunday afternoon in August. Out of the 34 entrants it was brilliant to see six of our stronger junior players amongst them. The junior players were paired with our strongest male and female entrants, all other competitors were paired with a player of a different generation (as far as possible) so that the tournament was very fair and any pair could win.
Unfortunately during the tournament Bryony fell over and could no longer carry on playing. Geoff would have been so proud to see his granddaughter Amelia step up and play instead of Bryony, of course it was her very first tournament and she was a little nervous, but she did her best and played some good shots. Our best wishes to Bryony for a speedy recovery.
All the matches were very hard fought and close. The juniors played very well and conducted themselves in an exemplary way, waiting at the change overs and encouraging their partners. It was good to see many of the different sections of the club come together for this tournament which means so much for me and the family.
The final was brilliant as it was Dave Willford (one of our coaches) and Dan Hoare (one of our talented juniors) against Dan Purnell (one of our best players who has finally made it to adulthood as normally in this tournament he has to play as a youngster) and Yusuf Qazi (another of our talented junior players). This is the very essence of the tournament which is to help the juniors move into the senior section and get to know the other players. Dan P and Yusuf defeated Dave and Dan in a very tense final tiebreaker. Many congratulations Dan P and Yusuf.
Many thanks also to all the spectators and all the families who helped to make the afternoon so special and in particular to everyone who brought contributions to the tea, in fact it was more like a feast and the table groaned under the weight of the food. Geoff would have loved it!
Cynthia Douglas
