The EK Shield and EK Open are both annual club competitions that were setup to encourage club players to compete. At the time our junior players had little opportunity to compete and these events enabled the players to do so in familiar surroundings. The EK Shield was exclusive to club members only, while the EK Open – being supported by EK Sports Council – allowed players to compete from schools and clubs in the South Lanarkshire area. Most club players gained confidence from competing in both events which meant they also entered other events out with the club such as WOS Junior/Senior League and throughout Scotland. Recently and in the past, I recall some great matches and big upsets in both singles and doubles events.
Club players gained valuable experience of playing in these matches and, in most cases, improved next time around. Many players acquired new skills in learning to umpire for the first time in a competitive match and gained a better understanding of the rules of the game. While I believe the players enjoyed both events, I think it is also important to recognise that the club coaches and volunteers gave up their free time to organise and support successfully events each year.
Unfortunately we were not able to host either event this year, but we cannot wait to see our defending champions defend their titles next year:
EK Shield 2019 U18 Jack Brown, U13 Diarmid McCreadie.
EK Open 2019 U18 Bobby Gray, U13 Diarmid McCreadie.
ektabletennis.com 