It isn't every community that can boast the presence of past and future stars in their midst, yet, such is the case here on the Sunshine Coast.
Tucked neatly in a post-and-beam home in Halfmoon Bay lives our star of the past, Phyllis McCrimmon (nee White), a petite 94 year old.
She graciously consented to this interview, agreeing that it may help to bring more interest to the youth of today in taking up her favourite sport of tennis.
Born in Vancouver to parents who were already involved in the sport, having been charter members at the founding of the Jericho Tennis Club, McCrimmon was introduced to the game at the age of 10. In those days, that part of Vancouver was not very much developed, so she would walk from her home, at 12th and Alma, through the forest to get to the courts, which were of the clay variety.
She attended school at Fairview and King Edward High, going from there on to the University of British Columbia, where she specialized in math and chemistry. She later worked as a commercial artist, married and had four children. She is a grandmother of 12 and has two great-grandchildren.
In her spare time she became an accomplished artist, specializing in water colours, and she played badminton, table tennis and squash as well as tennis.
McCrimmon's memories of her tennis days are clear and precious to her. In those early days, there were no tennis coaches available, so a friend of the family, Keith St. Leger Verley, would toss balls at her and expect her to hit the box (balls came by the dozen in a cardboard box in those days). There was no such thing as a regimen for training and special diet; she just went to the courts on a daily basis, for as long as she was able, and hit ball after ball after ball.
It was not too long before her abilities improved and she started to enter tournaments. At that time, the American tours were divided into east and west, the west group comprising Vancouver, Victoria, Portland, Tacoma and Seattle. She distinctly remembers the clay courts, with applied tape for the lines, which would sometimes make the ball take off in a different direction.
Playing singles, ladies doubles and mixed doubles, she started to achieve good results, preferring the singles game, where she had to think only of her own standard of play and not worry about letting a partner down.
Tournaments were fairly frequent, but one had to meet one's own expenses. The only concession McCrimmon received was a pair of Slazenger wooden racquets and two dozen tennis balls annually from the company. She was playing in U12 tournaments when she realized she could beat most of the women in her club. However, they would not let her compete with them on the club team in league competitions, saying she was too young!
She finally did take a lesson or two from St. Leger Verley, from the British West Indies, who changed her grip to the Eastern grip. Hours and hours of practice ensued and the results started to show in her tournament placings. She won junior tournaments and a few cups and as an adult became ranked number two in Canada.
McCrimmon is a talented, bright, intelligent and witty person. She loves to laugh and feels that the youth of today need to get out there and participate in sport for as long as they are able. She is also the Suncoast Racquet Club's oldest social member.
If you wish to discover more of the possibilities of playing tennis and take advantage of the special Valentine's membership offer (good up to and including Feb. 14), call 604-885-6440 and find out what is happening to bring indoor community tennis to the Coast.
