In a departure from tradition, the weather largely behaved itself for finals weekend of the club championship on 14th and 15th September.  All nine scheduled finals were played in generally sunny, occasionally pretty blustery conditions.

For the most part, finals were played concurrently on Court 1 at the top and Court 4 at the bottom, with umpires chairs for both (put in place in a solo effort by Trevor Herron - How did he do that?)

The first final on Court 1 was the women's handicap doubles, which saw the twins, Andrea Corless and Diane Short take on Jane Cockburn and Janet Horscroft.  Greater experience in matches probably told in this one, with Jane and Janet coming through 4-2, 4-1, in a match that was tighter than the score suggests.

Meanwhile, on Court 4 Paul Johnson and Jake Fewell-Williams were taking on Mike Thornton and Gordon Rutter in the men's handicap doubles.  The handicaps of the two teams cancelled each other out here, so it was played off scratch.  Paul and Jake stormed to a 4-1, 4-2 victory, with Jake taking a leading role.  A case could be made for elevating his ranking next time out, to even up contests that he's in.

Next on Court 1 was the men's handicap singles final.  It was a repeat of the previous year, with defending champion Gavin Sked taking on Gordon Rutter.  Like the previous year, this was a close tussle.  Gordon edged ahead by taking the first set on a tie-break, only for Gavin to level by taking the second set 4-2.  So, it all rested on a 10-point tie-break.  Gavin's staying power proved decisive, with the tie-break going his way 10-4.

The first open event of the weekend, the men's over-55 open doubles, took place at the same time on Court 4.  Trevor Herron and Paul Ward were taking on Graham Fewell and Richard Huck.  It was nip and tuck in the first set, before Trevor and Paul surged ahead towards the end.  The second set was more straightforward, with Trevor's power and Paul's consistency winning the day, giving a 6-3, 6-1 final scoreline.

The last event of the Saturday was the mixed open doubles, played on Court 1.  With all the spectators now concentrating on the one match, a lively atmosphere was generated from the sidelines as Janet Horscroft and Barry Chung took on Tracey Gaskill and Graham Fewell.  Tracey and Graham dealt with the windy conditions better in the first set, despite a late comeback from Janet and Barry, and eventually took the set 6-3.  The second set took a similar pattern, with lots of close games, but Tracey and Graham coming out on top.  Despite a nervy end, with a break point on Graham's service game to close it out, Tracey and Graham prevailed 6-0.

So, to Sunday, which started in glorious sunshine with a mere zephyr, rather than the swirling wind of the previous day.  Proceedings on Court 1 commenced with the men's open doubles final.  The same players that took part in the men's over-55 open doubles final were on court for this one, but the teams were different: Richard Huck paired up with Trevor Herron and Paul Ward (who confessed to feeling a little shaky after over-celebrating his victory in the over-55s the day before) paired up with Graham Fewell.  Once again, Trevor was the dominant player on court, and Richard also stepped up as the pair took control of the first set after a very even start.  Once in control they never relinquished it, and prevailed 6-2, 6-1 with an excellent combination of power and subtlety.

In contrast to the men's open doubles final, the women's open doubles final, played at the same time on Court 4, was extremely close.  Nerves initially hampered the twins, Andrea Corless and Diane Short, as Janet Robinson and Jane Cockburn make experience tell in the first set, taking it 6-3.  They also strode to a 2-0 lead in the second set, but Andrea and Diane stuck at it and gradually clawed their way back into the match.  From 4-4, they took the last two games of the set to clinch it 6-4.  So, a 10-point tie-break was needed to determine the winners.  The rallies were long, and there was nothing between the two teams, but Andrea and Diane found that extra bit of energy at the end, and were almost disbelieving as they edged their way over the line, taking the tie-break 10-7.

Next on Court 4 was the mixed handicap doubles.  Janet Horscroft and Barry Chung, who had missed out in the open doubles the day before, were now giving opponents Hee Yun Chung and Gordon Rutter a 15-0 start each game.  Hardened from the disappointment of the day before, Janet and Barry made light of the small mountain they had to climb each game, and, relishing the fact that there was no wind howling across the court, pulled out all the stops to claim victory, winning 4-0, 4-2.

Spare a thought, please, for Gordon Rutter.  Last year he was runner-up in four finals.  This year he was runner-up in just three finals, so he counts that as progress.  Better luck next year, Gordon, and hats off for the tenacity required to keep coming back.

The concluding final on Court 1 was the men's open singles, a repeat of the two previous years, with holder Alex Laude taking on challenger Trevor Herron.  This proved to be a quality encounter, with plenty of extended rallies, even when conditions got tricky with the wind getting up and drizzle falling.  Breaks were exchanged in the first two games of the match, before a titanic third game with eight deuces saw Trevor eventually hold serve.  Quicker games ensued, with each one going with serve until Alex managed to break for 5-4.  Serving it out was no easy task, though, but after three deuces Alex held to take the set 6-4.

The second set was equally close, with Alex breaking in the third game after three deuces and subsequently holding for a 3-1 lead.  Trevor is nothing if not resilient, though, saving a break point in the next game, then breaking Alex by winning four consecutive points from 40-15 down.  Two more breaks ensued, leaving the set score 4-4.  Trevor could not hold on to his next service game, losing it to 30, so Alex had the opportunity to serve for the championship.  He surged to 40-0, but Trevor pegged him back to 40-30.  It was a bridge too far, though, and Alex took the next and final point to take another 6-4 set and retain his men's open singles title.

It was a fitting end to an excellent weekend of tennis.  Well done to all the competitors for making it such a successful event, and a special thank you to all the umpires, especially those drafted in at the last moment.  The umpiring team was Janet Robinson, Deborah Williams, Graham Fewell, Colin Bentham, Barry Chung and Paddy Smith.

On-the-spot Impromptu presentations were made at the conclusion of each match for all nine finals that took place on Finals Weekend.  The main presentation, though, is to take place at the End of Season Social event at the clubhouse on Friday 18th October.  Hopefully there will be a good turnout to recognise the achievements of all the champions at this year's tournament.