If you know the history of tennis, and if you are a fan of the game, chances are you are familiar with the fact that it  was originally played on grass, at least as the game we are familiar with. The history or perhaps evolution is a better word, of tennis is quite involved, stemming initially from a game played in monastic cloisters in 12th century France in which the ball was struck with the palm of the hand. Racquets came into use in the 16th century; the term racquet comes from an Arabic word, “rakhat,” meaning “palm of the hand,” which neatly ties those two points in time together!

Even the word “tennis” has an interesting linguistic origin from the French verb “tenir” meaning to “hold!” “receive!” or “take!” “Tenir” first came into use in the mid-14th century appearing in a poem by John Gower, a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer at a time when Norman French was still the official language of the English court and writers like Chaucer and Gower were groundbreaking in their use of what was then “common” English. It is notable that many of our words that pertain to food come from French roots, a throwback to the Norman invasion!

A sticky beginning

Fastforward to the 18th  century and a version of tennis on grass (imagine playing Field Tennis on 16 acres!), and then, moving ahead to the 19th century, in Birmingham, England, where Harry Gem, a solicitor, and his friend, Augurio Perera, a Spanish merchant, combined parts of the game of racquets and Basque pelota and played it on a croquet lawn.

The world’s first tennis club was founded by two doctors in 1874, The Leamington Tennis Club. The game that we think of as tennis, however, was created, or maybe refined is a better word, by a man with the Dickensian name of Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, who launched his version of lawn tennis under the name of Sphairistike (Greek for ball game), generally shortened to “Sticky.” He failed to patent it, and in 1877, the All England Club held the first lawn tennis championships and introduced the rules of the game pretty much as we know it now.

A glimpse of the past
 
And you might be wondering what
on earth this has to do with South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club, and the answer is that the history of tennis is rich, and its roots go a long way back. What we have now has been molded and formed by what went before, and SCLTC captures a moment in that history that has, in many ways, hardly changed. It hearkens back to a more elegant age for the nostalgic, and it captures a simplicity that is lost in our modern, busy, instant, world. SCLTC is timeless.

It was, after all, just a decade after the first All England Club lawn tennis championship that the South Cowichan Lawn Tennis Club was founded on Angus Pimbury’s farm in 1887, known as the “Pimbury Site.” The land was being rented by one George T. Corfield for his dairy cattle—it was a family with seven sons—so tennis seemed a great way to recreate!  They started with two tennis courts, and Mr. Pimbury sent to England for racquets, nets, balls, and rule books. Once word got out, friends and neighbours came out to play, and soon others from further afield were arriving by horse, horse and buggy, while others rowed over from Saltspring Island!

Changing times and tales to be told
 
The club quickly grew in popularity, and it later moved to its current location (a four-acre property) in 1906. According to one source, First Service: One Hundred Years of Tennis in British Columbia, the land was guaranteed for the clubs use in Corfield’s will as long as it remained a tennis club!  At the new location, the 35 or so members built an open pavilion and laid out and seeded six courts (SCLTC website).

During this period, the story goes, that the courts were surrounded by huge, western broad-leaf Canadian maples, one of which overhung the court nearest the club house, clearing it by only nine feet! This particular feature apparently caused some disputes over the years. One such anecdote of a complaint being lodged about the branch and the suggestion that it should be cut off  was responded to by the referee who said, “that the branch could not be cut off because it was part of the beautiful setting, and besides, it was a branch of the British Columbia Tennis Association!” (First Service, 15).

One other memorable anecdote involves a horse. The setting of SCLTC is bucolic, but court maintenance used to be achieved in a slightly different way! Once upon a time, it was not uncommon to see “an old horse wearing a sunhat pulling a heavy roller over the dew-drenched lawns” (First Service, 16). It’s really not that hard to imagine now!

The membership has always been the driving force behind the club. The courts at the new location were built by volunteers, and that tradition of a member-run, volunteer- based club has continued. It wasn’t always easy. The war years meant more than just the loss of so many young men,  it meant the loss of resources and time to maintain the club. According to SCLTC’s website, by 1956, membership was down to 18, some of courts were in disrepair, as were the buildings and fences. All was not lost however, and hope was not abandoned. By 1962, the club’s 75th Jubilee, a dedicated and hard-working executive had turned things around. There was much celebration, including, in true west coast style, a fishing derby!

In the 1970s, the club enjoyed and informal partnership with the cricket and rugby club which was located adjacent to the tennis club. It was short lived because in 1973, excessive flooding prompted the cricket club to sell up. The land was purchased by the club, partly to alleviate the parking issues, and partly to resell. It was a wise move by then club president and realtor, Bev Cooper (SCLTC website).

In touch with what really matters
 
Reaching the milestone of one hundred years was a cause for celebration! Many traditional events were enjoyed including a large tea on the lawns. Special guest was Mr. James Cochrane, a former president of the British Lawn Tennis Association. Upon discovering the informality of the dress code compared to Wimbledon and asked to compare the two clubs, he summed up what makes SCLTC so special: “Wimbledon is a multi-million dollar business, but look for the heart of amateur tennis—the game that’s played for love rather than money—then I’d gladly come back to Cowichan” (SCLTC website).

Over the years, facilities have modernized along with equipment. Gone is the unisex cold-water shower, the outhouse, and the wood fired stove for making the tea. These have been replaced with all mod cons including a full-service bar and a pleasant clubhouse with a balcony that overlooks the courts. It still lacks the grand facilities of the big clubs on the mainland, but it doesn’t need them! Its setting alone makes it unique, but it is the welcome from the members, the instant sense of peace, and the rather odd feeling of stepping into a movie set and being part of the film that make it so wonderful.

From a game for nobles to a game for all
 
Recently, I attended a tournament at the club
and it was an experience like no other I have had in tennis.I spend a lot of time around tennis courts as part of my job, from huge private clubs to public courts, both indoor and out. Outdoors on hard court, shoes squeal as players slide, racquets occasionally clack as they connect with the ground, and even on clay, the bounce is an obvious pop, the slide of the players audible. The grass, however, changes the whole feel. Not only is it cooler, it’s gentler—the only consistent sound is the gentle “pop” as the ball is struck (and the odd grunt from the players).

There are certain frustrations to playing on grass when one is used to the true bounce of hard courts, but somehow this is just part of the charm. It’s the same for everyone. There are parts of the courts that wear, parts that stay a bit greener, meaning that bounces and footing are a little challenging sometimes. It’s impossible not to see the humour in a serve that lands in and skims across the tops of the grass to the back fence! I enjoyed the tournament immensely. The play itself was part of it—it's what draws us all there in the first place—but it was the feeling of the club I will remember. It was history seen through a nostalgic lens of a better time, a slower time, it was also the best parts of the modern world as people gathered to watch tennis, chat, enjoy strawberries and ice cream, or a beverage. not much technology in site! There were dogs, kids, players of all ages, picnic blankets and friends old and new. It was idyllic!

I would like to thank the tournament organizers Art and Rita Hobbs and the club for its hospitality and dedication to the game! I’ll be back next year!