NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Dannan McElroy-O'Driscoll connects for a smash while partner Brooke Pfeifer looks on during their women's B final match against Dawn Olson and Eryn Comeau (not pictured) at the Barrie Shave Tennis Classic doubles tournament on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at the Medicine Hat Tennis Club.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The Barrie Shave Tennis Classic offers participants and spectators a wide range of reasons to get involved – from sons and dads competing together over Father’s Day weekend, to simply enjoying the warm weather with friends – but the one that stands out above the rest is the chance to come together as a community and raise funds to fight cancer in honour of a club legend.
“We all have relatives and friends who have been affected by cancer, so it’s a community event and we’re happy to raise money for these different causes,” said club manager Ken Clement, adding the event has raised more than $125,000 for cancer research and junior tennis over the past 21 years. “It’s a competitive tournament, but on the other hand there’s always that sense of camaraderie because on the deeper level we’re all in this together. That’s kind of the way we look at it.”
Barrie Shave was a prominent figure in Medicine Hat’s tennis community, but shortly after he retired from the game, Shave was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Rallying to support their friend and community member, Clement says the club opted to immediately create the event in his honour, and Shave even managed to get out on the court and compete.
“We thought, we’ll do a fundraiser in his name that would serve to support cancer research. He participated in the first tournament on a three-man team because he wasn’t strong enough to play more than a couple of games,” said Clement, adding Shave, who passed away six weeks after the first tournament, made a name for himself in doubles. “He played doubles all over Alberta and represented Medicine Hat very well. He was a tennis coach as well.”
Given the tournament’s fundraising nature, Clement says the focus is always on participation, and this year brought in a record 90 competitors.
“We kind of view it as a community event where people who maybe don’t make tennis their priority can still come out and play a bit just to show support,” said Clement, adding people can choose to donate to the Canadian Cancer Society, the Margery E. Yuill Cancer Centre in Medicine Hat or the local junior tennis program.
Clement added the Shave family was involved with the tournament for the previous two decades, but opted to step away from it last year.
“They’ve decided that they’ll just kind of let it go. We’ve kept it named Barrie Shave because of the recognition – it’s sort of the tennis club’s signature event. So it’s no longer called the Barrie Shave Memorial Tournament, it’s simply the Barrie Shave Tennis Classic.”
While the name has changed slightly, Shave’s legacy lives on the same in the Gas City.
Men’s runner-up Calvin Heller says the Barrie Shave Tennis Classic holds a special significance both for the way it celebrates the memory of Shave, and because it allows him to spend Father’s Day competing alongside his son, Mason.
“The tournament itself is great because this is the biggest one we’ve had yet, and it’s Father’s Day so it’s a chance for me to play with my son in a tournament that we consider to be a prestigious tournament at the club,” said Heller. “To be able to play in it, to be able to get to the final, to be able to play with my son, all that stuff is super cool.”
Heller added the tournament is an annual success thanks to the dedicated efforts of Clement, who is the driving force behind organizing and running the event each year.
“He takes this tournament on kind of as his baby and he does a super job running it,” said Heller. “He puts a lot of hours in leading up to it and also during the week of the tournament, so a big thank you to him.”
The Hellers dropped the men’s championship match to top seeds Sydney Ebio and Brent Mayers, 7-5, 6-0, while top-seeded mother-daughter duo Linda and Kristen Norris teamed up to win their fifth Barrie Shave title with a 6-2, 6-2 win over second seeds Kassie Bourassa and Lauren Danroth.
Ryusuke Harada and John Libler defeated Kerry McDowell and Mark Thorogood, 6-1, 7-5, to win the men’s B final, while Jim Stelter and Larry Dickhaut beat Gary Laurent and Myles Pfeifer, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, in the men’s C final.
Brooke Pfeifer and Dannan McElroy-O’Driscoll topped Eryn Comeau and Dawn Olson, 6-3, 6-2, to win the women’s B final while Lily Laurent and Doris Deminick bested Rena Materi and Amie Uitvlugt, 6-1, 6-0, in the women’s C final.
