28 October 2014 | Tennis Queensland

On Friday 24th of October, a young group of individual MJDS competitors from the Metropolitan region departed Brisbane airport for the Queensland MJDS State Finals. After a bumpy flight the  excited players and two very nervous managers touched down in Rockhampton and had their first taste of the blistering heat and extreme humidity that is Central Queensland.

The crew joined with the Sunshine Coast representative team to have some lunch and see some of the sights of Rockhampton. After booking into the comfortable accommodation, the Metropolitan players and their managers arrived at the Rockhampton Regional Centre where they hijacked four tennis courts for a 90 minute practise session.

After practise, the kids headed back to the accommodation for a well deserved shower, followed by a short walk to the League’s Club for a nutritious dinner. Steak, chicken, fish and salad was consumed, as well as some laughs and conversation. Relationships were beginning to build between the players and the Managers were also beginning to warm up to the players.

Day 1 of action was extremely tough with each of the kids needing to contest 3 matches in the blazing Rockhampton sun. Managers Mick and Leanne watched some fantastic matches contested by the Metro kids and also watched as friendships between our players really began to take h0ld.

Day 2 of play was even tougher with the weather and humidity being slightly worse than it was on Day 1. Many of the Metro players were still exhausted for their 3 matches the day before. Despite fatigue and the extreme heat, the players overcame the conditions and soldiered on to get through their remaining two matches. It was great to see many of the players getting together to support the Metro team and watching/supporting their fellow team mates matches.

At this point of the trip it was becoming apparent that many new friendships had formed amongst the Metro players as they were were beginning to respect their fellow team mates.Which is really what sport is all about. It is wonderful to think that a very individual sport like Tennis can still bring people together as friends.

Despite being threatened with a flight cancellation and skipping a trip to play laser tag, the kids were in really good spirits while we waited for our flight at Rockhampton airport. We enjoyed a final team dinner together before flying back to the big city. All in all, it was a fantastic trip with a group of wonderful young people. Mick and Leanne were extremely pleased with the great efforts, team spirit and positive attitudes that was displayed over the course of the weekend.

Results/Special Mentions: 

The Metro Team finished 6th overall.

11/U Girls Winner: Sophie Idzikowski
13/U Girls Runner Up: Laia Pasini
13/U Boys Semi Finals: James Blumke