Manitoba Championships Explained

Manitoba Championships
Type:Defunct
Tour:CLTA Circuit (1890-1912)
ILTF Circuit (1913-1947)
Location:Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Venue:Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club
Surface:Grass (1885-1905)
Clay (1906-1947)

The Manitoba Championships also known as the Province of Manitoba Championships[1] was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament founded in 1885 as the Manitoba and Northwest Territories Championships[2] It was first played at Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.[3] The championships were part of the ILTF Circuit.

The tournament was also informally known as the Manitoba Open Championships.[4]

History

In 1882 the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club was founded.[5] In 1885 the club moved location to the Manitoba College, where three new grass courts were built.[6] The club then staged the first Manitoba Championships the winner of the men's singles title going to British born player A. H. Dickens (a nephew of Sir Charles Dickens).[7]

The tournament was not held between 1915 and 1918 due to World War I.[8] In August 1920 the event was held jointly with the Canadian International Championships[9] with the victors assuming both titles 'Champion of Canada and Champion of Manitoba'.The event was cancelled in 1942 and did not resume until 1946.[10] The championships were discontinued in 1947 and thereafter due to an ongoing combination of issues with maintenance, and lack of funds due to falling membership levels.[11] The venue did not host another senior tour level event until 1998 when it hosted the Manitoba Ladies Challeneger Tournament.[12]

The event was revived in the modern era as the Manitoba Clay Court Championships, but is now held at the Taylor Lawn Tennis Club, Winnipeg.[13]

Event names

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nath . Angela . Marshall . Alison . Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club: An exhibition of the History and Champions (1881-2016) . Brandon University . 15 April 2023 . Brandon, Manitoba, Canada . 3.
  2. Book: Peach . Jack . Days Gone by: Jack Peach on Calgary's Past . 1993 . Fifth House . Toronto . 978-1-895618-26-6 . 92 . en.
  3. Web site: Our History: The Early Years . www.wltc.ca . Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club . 14 April 2023 . en-CA.
  4. Book: Canadian Government Railways Employees Magazine . 1953 . Canadian National Railways. . Toronto . 44 . en . Agent Doubles and Tennis Ace.
  5. Winnipeg LTC
  6. Winnipeg LTC
  7. Winnipeg LTC
  8. Winnipeg LTC
  9. Winnipeg LTC
  10. Winnipeg LTC
  11. Winnipeg LTC
  12. Winnipeg LTC
  13. Web site: 2022 Manitoba Clay Court Championships - Tennis Manitoba. tc.tournamentsoftware.com . Tennis Canada . 15 April 2023.
  14. Peach p.92.
  15. Brandon University p.3.
  16. Brandon University p.10.