In March this year at the 100 Years of Tennis celebrations held at the National Arboretum, Anne Haycock OAM was formally inducted into the Tennis ACT Walk of Fame.
Anne Haycock was born Anne McIntyre in Young, NSW, on 16 February 1943.
Raised on her parents’ cattle property, Anne was one of four girls alongside sisters Janet, Jill and Patricia. Her mother loved country tennis and so thanks to a neighbouring property with a tennis court and a girl of a similar age, Anne and her older sister Janet were introduced to the game and explored the basics.
While Anne favoured school softball and hockey, she was also a member of a Vic Edwards tennis squad in Young. Later when boarding at Cowra, she played social night tennis.
Anne moved to Canberra in 1962 at the age of twenty to work in the public service and lived at Mulwalla House with its own tennis courts where she continued her social tennis. She played regularly at Braddon and then later at Campbell where she and husband Peter Haycock first lived.
Anne and Peter welcomed children John (1969) and Linda (1972) before moving to Higgins to a house across the road from Bruce and Stephanie Larkham. Joining the relatively new club of Belconnen in 1974, Anne developed a taste for pennant competition, playing in night mixed and Saturday afternoon competitions.
Anne joined the ladies mid-week competition in 1976 once both her children were in school. With the encouragement of close friend Dot Woodbridge, Anne became President of the Ladies Branch and organiser of the Mid-Week Ladies Competition from 1977 to 1988. Over this period the competition increased from two to eight divisions.
As President of the Ladies Branch and under the new association structure initiated by Ken Willis, Anne joined the Association Council where her organisational skills were immediately recognised. From the Ladies Branch she then went on to become Chair of Grading (1983 – 1988), following in the footsteps of Alison Ide as the only woman on the Council.
In 1988 Ken Willis invited Anne to serve on the board of the National Sports Club, where she served until 1996. In addition to this and her role on the Council, as well as continuing to work at the time, Anne became actively involved in Canberra Vets tennis in 1984. In 1991 she became the President and served until 1999. She was the first woman and the longest serving President, recognised with Life Membership in 2015.
Between 2003 and 2009 Anne served on the board of Tennis ACT and became a Life Member in 2009.
Having recently turned 80, Anne has been actively involved in Canberra tennis for over 60 years. At her Club she has been on the committee regularly since 1977 and has served two terms as President, becoming the Club’s first female President. She was made a Life Member in 1993.
Anne has been recognised not only by her Club, the Territory, the Association and Tennis Seniors for her service but has also been recognised at a national level. She received a Bicentennial Medal for services to tennis in 1988, an Australian Sports Medal in 2000, Australian Seniors Tennis Administrator of the Year in 2001 and an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to Canberra tennis in 2022.
Anne’s passion for the game, her willingness to volunteer at all levels, her knowledge of the sport and her personal friendships and support for individuals is truly outstanding. Her contribution to tennis in Canberra over the last 60 years is invaluable and unsurpassed.
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