Rapid round robin tennis fun in Amanzimtoti
Amanzimtoti Tennis Club brought energy and excitement to the courts for a round robin tournament where each player got to play one another.
AMANZIMTOTI Tennis Club was abuzz with excitement for a blitz of a round robin tournament on October 24.
This time was a special one, however, as the club arranged a unique round robin competition based on 14 rounds of a 10-minute tie-breaker format, ensuring every tennis ace played against one another in the mixed format.
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The club’s Gary Killian says the format is the first of its kind for the club.
“We had to ensure the permutations were correctly configured to mix up the 20 players across all five courts over the 14 rounds for the duration of the afternoon. It required the intervention of artificial intelligence and a master plan developed by Riaan Botha and Sumari Botha, aided by Roger Naidoo on the day to ensure the musical chairs format was run like clockwork,” said Killian.
He added that all scores recorded for each round were done proficiently, keeping the flow of the quick-fire tournament in perfect harmony.
“The tennis was absolute fun with amazing combinations of players of varying strengths combining in this unique format which included both ladies and men. Much laughter and lots of chirping happened as players moved between courts and connected with a new partner every 10 minutes after the horn was sounded.
The results at the end of the day were a very close affair, with Hendrik Bester, who earlier this year won a singles tournament, ending with 183 points. He was one point clear of Killian, who closed with182 points. Mike Ngoma, the club’s resident coach, achieved 173 points.
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The event ended with a short prize giving, a club braai, great laughs and an opportunity to celebrate the recent re-fencing of courts four and five.
