THE biggest annual sporting event on the local calendar is just days away, with preparations well advanced for another flawless hosting of this year’s Tennis Victoria Country Week event in Swan Hill.
More than 1500 visitors are expected to descend on Swan Hill from Sunday for the six day event, with 222 teams registered to take part in what’s known as the largest annual grass court tennis competition in the world.
This year’s event will see an increase of 24 teams from when Swan Hill last hosted Country Week back in 2022, with 198 sides taking part in Country Week’s return following the cancelled 2021 tournament due to COVID.
With between 1200 and 1400 players set to visit the Ken Harrison Reserve next week, the facility is well prepared, according to Swan Hill Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club president Christian Devlin.
“You’ll definitely notice lots of tennis people down the street over the next week or so, you can always tell when Country Week is on in town,” Devlin told The Guardian this week.
“The motels are all fully booked and the restaurants will all be full for the week as well, it’s always a great event for our community as well as our club and it’s great to see everybody around town get behind us.
“We know how good our courts are and they are looking immaculate again, but this week is another opportunity to showcase our facility to the wider tennis community as well.
“Country Week holds us in good stead with organisations like Tennis Victoria and Tennis Australia, they’re both very keen to be involved with us, which is a great support to have.
“We will also have around about half a dozen local teams competing across both the men’s and women’s, which is perhaps a little bit down on previous years, but we will still have strong local representation taking part as well.”
Widely regarded to be among the best grass tennis courts in Australia, the SHLTCC have also taken over the adjacent soccer pitches, with more than 45 temporary courts needed to accommodate the influx of players, giving the club 96 courts with which to host matches.
That increase in work not only requires meticulous planning from head greenskeeper Danny Gardner, but also plenty of volunteer hours, according to Devlin, with the club even bringing their own courts closer together in order to increase capacity.
“It’s a massive week ahead, but we’re definitely looking forward to it,” Devlin said.
“The amount of work that has gone into this week is huge, you don’t get the whole set up of your complex changed and then also come up with another 45-50 courts on three full sized soccer ovals without it taken a power of work.
“Those temporary courts all need to be completely fenced, with nets and lines, your talking about hundreds and hundreds of hours of volunteer work.
“Trevor Holt and John Brookshaw have had a lot to do with the work on the soccer oval, but there’s been lots of other volunteers chipping in here and there – it’s taken a massive effort.
“They (Holt and Brookshaw) are a massive part of our club and they’re great people for me to talk to for advice.
“I don’t think there’s anyone in the history of Country Week tennis that’s organised more tournaments than Trevor (Holt), he’d be by far the biggest influence on Country Week, which is very fortunate for Swan Hill.
“For me, Danny’s (Gardner) is the real hero, he’s the heart and soul of our tennis club, he’s our only employee and he’s a very hard working and diligent greenskeeper.
“We really are very lucky to have him, he’s amongst the best green keepers in the world, not just Australia, but the world.
“He’s very passionate about grass court tennis, he’s been doing it for a long time and he’s the heart and soul of our tennis club really.”
Summer in February usually brings with it scorching temperatures, with early predictions seeing predicted forecasts in the mid to high 30’s for the week.
While hot weather will bring plenty of challenges for the players, it will also bring issues for Gardner and his team of helpers, who will be working overtime to ensure the grass courts handle not only the extra foot traffic, but also the heat.
“The early forecasts were very concerning, but fortunately there’s been a little bit of a downgrade on the weather this week,” Devlin said.
“Days that were forecasting 40 and 42 are now 35, which is good, and the closer we’re getting to the date the more confident we are that the forecasts are a bit more accurate.
“We don’t see it going back up too much and it will be pretty manageable if it stays as it’s forecast.”
Widely regarded as “the home of Country Week,” Swan Hill is the only venue that is able to host the entire tournament at the one location, seeing it regarded as a fan favourite among regular Country Week participants.
While the players always enjoy returning to Swan Hill, the SHLTCC also relish the opportunity to host the event every three years and confirm their lofty standing within the Victorian tennis community.
“Country Week is a proud part of our culture and our history,” Devlin said.
“Some of the bi-products of hosting Country Week is that we get the opportunity to upgrade our facilities, do maintenance and improve what we have, but it’s also a big motivator for people like Danny (Gardner) as well, it gives him a little bit of kudos for his hard work.
“Whenever you go to the other clubs that host Country Week, you can be spread out all over the town.
“That in many ways hits home when you’re away, you don’t realise how lucky we are here in Swan Hill to have it all in one location.
“Where our club house is situated during Country Week it’s a real hub, you have people going in 360 degrees out of the club house all day long.
“The courts are great, but for the social aspect it’s really good for the people, everyone always enjoys getting back to the headquarters and catching up for a beer or a bite to eat under the trees and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.”
