In The Beginning ....
The first Triples Tennis Tournament was at South Olive Tennis Center in Oct 2010. It was the brain child of Tennis Director, Skip Jackson. He wanted to have a fun day of Tennis that incorporated one of his most favorite clinic drills - Triples - and that raised money for the operational costs of the Public Tennis courts.
The event was made up of teams of three. Costumes and fun names (Triple Threat, Trilogy, Two Tarzans & A Jane) were encouraged. All ages, genders and abilities participated. With his wife, Jennifer, they created a very sensible (at least to them), round-robin-knock-out-points-count-but-have-fun tournament. In fact, it is the format that makes Triples so much fun. Even years later, frequent participants STILL can't figure out "who's winning"!!
28 teams participate, divided into groups and placed on courts with a seasoned Tennis Pro. Teams were kept on the move throughout the day. Teams had an idea of how they were doing, but part of the fun, was that no trams could quite figure out exactly where they stood until the Tournament Director posted the results. For some, this was challenging because it meant relinquishing control, but for most, it was fun and entertaining and allowed their focus to be on their playing.
A break was had for a BBQ Lunch, Auction Items and kids activities while the preliminary round results were tabulated. The playoffs began after the lunch break with a change to a knock-out tournament style. With the semi-finals and finals played on the show courts, the last 4 teams standing played their hearts out to a packed crowd who knew exactly how hard it was to get to where they were.
Winners have their trophies and bragging rights for the next year ...
After a few years, news spread about The Triples Tennis Tournament and others looked to The Original Triples Tennis program to run their own fun & fundraising events. In just one year, Kate's Kup Triples Tennis Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, raised over $50,000 for Pediatric Cancer Research!
2019 will see the 1st South Olive Spring Triples Tennis Tournament and in the fall, our 10th Annual South Olive Triples Tennis Tournament. But coming up first is the 2nd Annual Kate's Kup Triples Tennis Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida which was just recognized by the USTA.
The event was made up of teams of three. Costumes and fun names (Triple Threat, Trilogy, Two Tarzans & A Jane) were encouraged. All ages, genders and abilities participated. With his wife, Jennifer, they created a very sensible (at least to them), round-robin-knock-out-points-count-but-have-fun tournament. In fact, it is the format that makes Triples so much fun. Even years later, frequent participants STILL can't figure out "who's winning"!!
28 teams participate, divided into groups and placed on courts with a seasoned Tennis Pro. Teams were kept on the move throughout the day. Teams had an idea of how they were doing, but part of the fun, was that no trams could quite figure out exactly where they stood until the Tournament Director posted the results. For some, this was challenging because it meant relinquishing control, but for most, it was fun and entertaining and allowed their focus to be on their playing.
A break was had for a BBQ Lunch, Auction Items and kids activities while the preliminary round results were tabulated. The playoffs began after the lunch break with a change to a knock-out tournament style. With the semi-finals and finals played on the show courts, the last 4 teams standing played their hearts out to a packed crowd who knew exactly how hard it was to get to where they were.
Winners have their trophies and bragging rights for the next year ...
After a few years, news spread about The Triples Tennis Tournament and others looked to The Original Triples Tennis program to run their own fun & fundraising events. In just one year, Kate's Kup Triples Tennis Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, raised over $50,000 for Pediatric Cancer Research!
2019 will see the 1st South Olive Spring Triples Tennis Tournament and in the fall, our 10th Annual South Olive Triples Tennis Tournament. But coming up first is the 2nd Annual Kate's Kup Triples Tennis Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida which was just recognized by the USTA.