Photos from the day: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wxeWp8hZWfXAa7uknH0qg-0yBe1B2rM4

Firstly, in the doubles competition, Lindisfarne had entered four pairs; two teams in A grade and two in C grade. The A grade team were Richky Lim, Cole Scott, Ollie Kynoch and Shunnosuke Arakawa.

These boys, having been promoted because they won the B grade last year, are the first team of players from Lindisfarne under Mr Bramley’s management to reach A grade. With newly-honed skills learnt from their volunteer coach, Ian Maddaford, the boys did themselves and Lindisfarne College proud. Both teams made it to the semi-finals.

The C grade boys, Charlie Yuan, Cony Xiao, Julian Tangney and Kevin Lu, played equally well, with both teams also making the semi-finals. Unfortunately they were drawn to play each other in the quarters, with one team having to knock the other out. The eventual winning pair, Charlie and Kevin, who had been drafted in at the last moment because one of the regular players pulled out, went on to play an exciting final. Leading at the halfway point, they were unable to fend off a strong comeback by their opponents, coming away with runners-up honours for the C Grade Boys Doubles championships.

In the singles tournament, most of the A grade boys were outclassed by their opponents, as the draw was loaded with club and Hawkes Bay representative players. Richky did the best of all of the boys, and his games are always very enjoyable to watch, as he has a natural, flowing presence on the court and some very skilful shots. As his game matures he will be a force to reckon with. The massive improvement in the games of all of the boys was evident and they played with smiles on their faces and in good, sportsmanlike spirits. The C grade team had extra singles players, John Aarons and James Harvey, and this team did better as they were more evenly matched to their opponents. Charlie Yuan won the final, displaying impressive skills and intelligent use of the court. He is now the C grade Hawkes Bay Secondary Schools C grade champion and we look forward to seeing his game improve next year and beyond.

All of the boys stepped up to fulfil their umpiring duties where many schools did not, and their cheerfulness and sportsmanship were wonderful to see.

Liz Scott and Julia Mustard.