State League Championships is a concept that was trialled last year by Tennis Victoria with 16 teams across two sections.
This year at Royal South Yarra and Kooyong Tennis Clubs and Melbourne Park, 72 teams split into nine sections of eight with premiership teams from across the state invited to compete against each other.
Nine teams from various Tennis Geelong competitions participated in a doubles tournament with a chance to be crowned best in the state for their standard.
Several of the teams have shared their experiences:
Winks Wizards (Thursday Triples Summer S2): We are very proud to have won the grand final in Section 7 yesterday in Melbourne. The team had a terrific weekend playing at Royal South Yarra TC and at Melbourne Park. We played our best tennis in the grand final against the Kingsville Knockers. We thoroughly recommend this opportunity and thank Tennis Geelong and Tennis Victoria for holding this tournament which allowed for the first time, association grand finalists to compete against their peers at the state level.
Wandana Heights Blue (Saturday Winter S2): We played in Section 7 in the State Championships. On Saturday we had two close matches, a tie against Peninsula and a two-game loss against Kingsville. On Sunday Wandana Blue had a comfortable win against Lancefield and finished second in their pool.
Barwon Heads (Midweek Winter S5): Our team played Section 9 against other women’s teams. It was an amazing fun weekend full of unknowns and firsts for us all. We are proud and were delighted to have made it to the grand final at Royal South Yarra Tennis Club on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. Although our opposition Eley Park was way too strong for us it was an exciting, enthralling experience.
Moolap Two Phones Chol and Goats (Thursday Triples Summer S1 and Spring 1 S2): We were fortunate enough to have two teams accept the invitation to attend the weekend tournament. Expectations were low, as everyone was looking forward to the experience of playing at world class venues in Kooyong LTC and Royal South Yarra LTC. Chols finished champions while the Goats were runners-up.
Newcomb (Saturday Summer S5 Mixed): We played in Section 8 at the championships. We had a great time and the weather was magnificent. The teams we played were great too. We all enjoyed the cocktail party. It was well organised and all the Tennis Victoria people were very helpful.
