8 March 2011 | Tennis Victoria

The North East Region has secured the rights to host the 56^th Inter-regional Country Championships for 2012 after an announcement by Tennis Victoria’s Country Committee. The Wangaratta Lawn Tennis Club will host the event for the first time since 2004 from 6- 8 January, 2012.

The Inter-regional Country Championships of Victoria, which have been conducted for more than 50 years, is an annual tournament played over three days at a regional venue in Victoria. The best players of the 11 country regions play off against one another to be the individual champion of country Victoria and also help their region to win the overall points championship to be the winning region.

The first Inter-regional Country Championship was played in 1956 at Bacchus Marsh with a team consisting of 1 lady and 1 man who played singles and mixed doubles.  The winning team was North East. The championships now feature 30 events including open, seniors 45+ and multiple junior age groups in singles, doubles and mixed categories.

The North East was once a feared region, but has not had a team for the past three years. The dominant team of the past few years has been Barwon, who has won for the past three years.

“This is a great opportunity that we need to make the most of and work towards developing tennis in the North East to become strong again at a few levels. We were once a feared region at a representative level, hopefully we will become a formidable and competitive outfit once again,” said North East Region Delegate Vicki Moore.

Adam Feiner, Tennis Victoria’s Community Tennis Officer Regional East, said it was a big win for the region.

“It will be terrific for the local economy and it will also provide a nice reward to the hard working Wangaratta Lawn Tennis Club which will be a great venue for the event.”

“The Inter-regional Country Championships will help our work in continuing to develop tennis as a key sport in the area, providing better player pathways, particularly for talented juniors, as well as showcasing tennis to the people of the North East and hopefully generate increased interest in our sport at a grass roots participation level as well.”