scenes from the epworth tennis tournament

For one week every July, the tennis courts of our summer community become the epicenter of Epworth.  Matches begin at 8 AM.  We arrive bleary-eyed to watch our family members and friends play with one another, against one another, in what is meant to be a community bonding experience.  We eat our lunch at the tennis shack every day, and we rush home after the last matches end around 6:30 or 7 to make dinner and get to bed early so we can start all over again the next day.

I thought I’d share some of the best and the worst of the week as I experienced them: 

BEST:  Seeing four grandkids play in multiple categories.  There were tears and meltdowns after losses (not always, thankfully), but they picked themselves up and returned to play in consolation matches.  And when they won there was magnanimity in victory, seven-year-olds posing for photos with their partners and competitors all together, arms around one another’s shoulders, buddies no matter the score line.

WORST:  Grandparents in the gallery standing up and swearing at their fellow spectators for clapping for amazing ralleys, claiming that “at Wimbledon, they are not allowed to clap until the end of the match.” (Not true; I’ve been there.)  This is micro-aggression and shows that a little community tournament has become too important.  Epworth is not Wimbledon. 

BEST:  Hearing one young man telling an adult after an overwhelming defeat, “at least you played; you were out there.”  Where else do you hear kids encouraging adults who aren’t their family members? 

WORST:  Parents threatening to pull their kids out of the tournament because their child’s opponent (a nine or ten-year old) made some bad line calls.  Can’t we learn that people make mistakes, even shade the truth by calling something the way they want it to be instead of the way it is?  Can’t we look for other ways of dealing with these judgement errors without threatening to our kids out of the competition.

BEST:  In my grandson Campbell’s own words… “I love that I know all the kids I’m playing with and against.  They’re all my friends.”   And “I love that in this tournament, all ages play.”  He gets to see grace in action among the best players in their 50s, 60s and 70s, still out there, still competing hard, still taking photos with their competitors after every match.  What an example!  And he gets it.  Last year, Campbell won the Tillotson Award, given each year to one young person who exemplifies good sportsmanship.  

As we grow up together, grow old together year after year, we see here what tennis icon Rafael Nadal said of his two most major career competitors Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic: “We showed the world that we can be the biggest rivals, but at the same time we can be colleagues.  We were able to not lose the perspective that we are human persons.  You don’t need to hate opponents to give your best.”

Here is sport at its best and worst, at a very humble level.  Here at Epworth the best far outweighs the worst.

Love Love,

Liz