SWAN Hill will welcome more than 250 tennis players after it was announced the city would host the 60th annual Inter-regional Country Championships in early January.
The town is also set to receive a large financial boost with family members of the players and officials set to travel, injecting thousands of dollars into the local economy.
On the court, Swan Hill was given the green light because of the amount of grass courts on offer, allowing Tennis Victoria to get more out of the tournament than they have in previous years.
The tournament is expected to run in a carnival format with social Fast4 and mixed doubles matches to be held across the weekend.
During the tournament’s launch on Tuesday afternoon, Swan Hill Lawn Tennis Club president Peter Morrison said the community would benefit as a whole when more than 11 country Victoria region teams arrive on January 8.
“It is a terrific thing for the Swan Hill community and obviously for the Tennis Club, we are proud to have been chosen to host it,” he said.
“It has been supported over the years by many of the regions but we have had to travel some long distances ourselves so it is terrific we won’t have to travel… we are rapt Tennis Victoria has supported our application and are encouraging others from the around the state to come to Swan Hill.
“I think [competitors and their families] will find we provide a cultured and relaxed town, it is a fantastic town to live in and also to visit and there are chances to get out and explore.”
Morrison also said he hoped the community will fully throw their support behind the tournament in anyway they could.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (December 11)
