Club Origins & Today
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Founded in 2012
The Collingwood Tennis Club (CTC) is a grassroots, non-profit organization that is committed to delivering high-quality yet affordable tennis programming to the residents of Collingwood and the surrounding community.
We were officially formed in 2012 as the Collingwood Community Tennis Club by several life-long tennis players, including Jill Ward, James Saunders, Patrick Flynn, Dickon Worsley, Kristin Ellis, and Gigi and Melissa Worts. All seven founding members met regularly in the fall of 2011 and worked tirelessly to ensure that Collingwood had an official tennis club registered under the Ontario Tennis Association (OTA). We officially began taking registrations for programs in the spring of 2012.
Partnering with the Town of Collingwood, the CTC started offering kids lessons at Mair Mills and an adult league plus various other clinics at Princeton Shores.
Originally we had hoped to be based out of Kinsmen Park on Lockhart Road due to its more central location in Collingwood and proximity to five schools. However, at the time, the committee felt the rundown courts were not suitable enough for lessons. That all changed the following summer when the Town of Collingwood went ahead with resurfacing the two tennis courts there.
Back in 2012, founding member Kristin Ellis spoke to our vision and the potential of a tennis club in Collingwood:
"Tennis is a perfect fit for an active town like Collingwood and similar to skiing it is a lifelong family sport. I play with my eight-year-old son and my 70-year-mother – both are very competitive and they can now hit with each other which is amazing to see. We knew when we started this idea that there are successful tennis programs in both Wasaga Beach and the Blue Mountains but for most part it is adults playing not kids. A big part of our motivation is to see kids riding their bikes, or walking to the courts after school or on weekends to play with their friends in an unstructured environment."
And all this remains a part of our mission statement. Every summer, May through September, we offer tennis lessons, clinics and other member league play at three local parks in Collingwood. The Kinsmen, Mair Mills, and Princeton Shores parks are accessible by foot, bike or car. On the courts, our professional coaches deliver tennis programming that is second to none and all of our offerings, for both children and adults, are among the most affordable sports programs available in Collingwood. Generous sponsors, such as the Collingwood Optimist Club (who has been an incredible supporter of our junior initiatives since the very beginning!) help make this a reality. Without them, we simply could not continue operate as we do year after year.
A lot of things (and people) go into making a sports club successful. Passion and purpose, desire and direction, are just a few of those things required. And all our past and present board members, from founding in 2012 until today, have carried that spirit with them!
We are excited and proud to continue to help create and foster an increasingly vibrant tennis community and way of life here in Collinwood. Each year we hope to go a little bit further than the last. If you also share this same community spirit and passion for tennis, we invite you to join us and help shape the future of tennis in Collingwood.
Interested in helping out?
We are always looking for members or volunteers to help with club growth or to assist with tennis events we put on. If you are interested in volunteering, please email us at info@collingwoodtennisclub.ca or let one of our tennis board members know!