Tennis supporters not only saw Na Li play Maria Sharapova in the Aegon Classic final at Edgbaston Priory on Sunday 13th June, but they were also able to watch the last four teams playing out the finals of the inaugural Warwickshire Veterans Classic event on the outside grass courts. This new competition for club teams of Men aged 45+ and ladies 40+ has been created by Graeme Baker, the new County Vets Coordinator and Jayne Ashton the Warwickshire Tennis Manager. The feedback from clubs has been extremely positive, especially the format of a Men’s and Ladies doubles and two mixed doubles matches.
Play began in early March with 11 clubs entering a total of 16 teams. These clubs included Edgbaston Priory, Sutton Coldfield, Rugby, Hampton in Arden, Warwick Boat Club, Blossomfield, Coleshill, Penns Lane, LMRCA Rugby, Four Oaks and Solihull Arden. During the next three months teams played in four round robins playing a total of three matches at an agreed time. The top two teams from each round robin went on to play a knockout tie providing the last four teams. These matches saw Blossomfield A beat Sutton Coldfield A, Edgbaston Priory beat Blossomfield B, Rugby A beat Solihull Arden and Warwick Boat Club beat Rugby B.
The semi finals in the morning saw Edgbaston Priory getting a winning draw against Blossomfield A while Warwick Boat Club defeated Rugby A by 3 rubbers to 1. Unfortunately, torrential rain in the afternoon caused cancellation of the 3rd/4th playoff with Blossomfield A and Rugby A tied at 1 rubber all. Luckily, the final was able to move inside to complete their match, which saw Warwick Boat Club winning by 4 rubbers to 0. Congratulations go to Geoff, Tony, Kate and Tracey on their success.
With the news that the Aegon Classic has been secured in Birmingham for the foreseeable future, this Warwickshire Vets Classic event is planned as a yearly event and it is hoped that many other Warwickshire Clubs will enter next year.