By David Rowe, ALTA First Vice President
ALTA has always taken great pride in recognizing members who display great sportsmanship. The Senior Women pictured above are perfect examples of the comaraerie and sportsmanship of ALTA. Recently, we decided to name this award after longtime volunteer Loretta Phillips. She had a profound impact on ALTA and the Atlanta tennis community. Please join us in honoring this season’s Loretta Phillips Sportsmanship Award winners.
Whatever It Takes!
Senior Men: Chattahoochee River Club C3,
Steven Custer, Bradley Selbst, Matt Gross
Nominated by: Kevin Gregson, Parsons Run
We arranged to play our July 4th lines early. During our line three match, the skies opened up, and it rained. Although we planned to finish our match the next evening, Steven, Brad, and Matt offered to dry the court if we wanted to wait and continue play. Their neighborhood is 25 minutes from ours, so we preferred to try to finish the match. They dried the courts, the weather held up, and we were able to complete the match. The “above and beyond” effort of Steven, Brad, and Matt was greatly appreciated.
Being flexible is key!
Senior Women: River Oak S&R C1, Gloria Coble
Nominated by: Kim Shealy, Cedar Creek S&R
First match of the season and we, Cedar Creek S&R, requested an earlier start time to prevent the possibility of playing until 11 p.m., as many of the ladies still work. Pouring rain the evening before, volunteers and teammates from Cedar Creek worked hard to dry the courts and make them playable. The courts are well shaded, and with minimal sun during the day, it made it difficult to dry the courts. Gloria and her team from River Oak agreed to a 6 p.m. start time and came with bells on ready to play at Cedar Creek.
Lines one and two were ready to play but with the heavy rain created ongoing issues with the shaded court. The team captains determined that Cedar Creek only had one court dry enough to play on. Gloria and her teammates jumped into action and reserved three courts in their subdivision for our first match! We packed up the food and both teams arrived at River Oak S&R ready to play. The match began at the original scheduled time. Play continued as the players asked for the lights to be turned on about 7:20 p.m. Luckily, one of the River Oak players is on the neighborhood’s board and both teams’ captains began searching for the switch, and the board member began making phone calls! Play continued with all lines complete by 10 p.m. Flexibility became the motto for the season. Thank you, River Oak S&R, for being so willing to accommodate and adjust on the fly and for making our first match of the season so enjoyable!
Kindness in the summer heat
Mixed Doubles: Druid Hills A8, Niccole and Scott Burton
Nominated by: Missy Martin, Cherokee Town Club
My partner and I played Niccole Burton and her husband, Scott, on Saturday June 14th. When the match concluded, my partner had medical issues due to the long match and heat. The Burtons were awesome to track me down when they knew he was not OK. They helped find a doctor, had the pro shop call an ambulance, and helped monitor him until help arrived. Niccole also continued to check in throughout the day to make sure all was well. They went above and beyond to show great sportsmanship!
