Dato Patrick Liew
KUCHING: Participants, parents and coaches have once again given the Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA), the organiser of the 21st Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup (I) ITF Junior Circuit (Grade 1), the thumbs-up for hosting the tournament from Mar 12-17.
Organising chairman Dato Patrick Liew said he had received good feedback.
“It was another successful tournament and there was no complaints received. The players, coaches and their parents, many of whom have come here before, are very happy with the hospitality that we provided for the event,” Liew remarked at the conclusion of the tournament last Sunday.
Liew, who is also SLTA president, revealed that he was surprised that a small place like Kuching could attract so many of the world’s leading ITF junior players to compete here.
“Although Kuching is only a small city when compared to other big places in the world, we possess one of the best tennis facilities in the country and the Asia region,” he said.
“The coaches and parents said we have better facilities than many other places in the world.” He was pleased to note that Kuching has been gaining increasing popularity by being one of the preferred destinations for ITF junior tennis tournaments.
“We are also in the good books of International Tennis Federation and the Asian Tennis Federation, and, with the proven track record we have, it is easier for us in getting approvals for the bids to host the tournaments,” he added. He commended the local media for helping to promote tennis in Sarawak by providing comprehensive coverage of the events.
“We are getting more popular as many stories and pictures on the competitions are now posted in ITF website and ATF Facebook,” he said.
The SLTA president also took the opportunity to thank the State government, SLTA committee members and sponsors for helping to make the event a successful one.
However, he said the association is still facing the pressing need for match officials to officiate at the international tournaments.
“In fact, for a Grade 1 event like this, we need more chair umpires, linesmen and ball boys. That’s the setback which we need to overcome,” said Liew.
According to him, it was hard to get local match officials and even SLTA had to “recruit” six officials from Indonesia for last week’s competition.
“We hope the companies can give us support by releasing their staff (match officials) for the tournaments, and more people can come forward as volunteers.”