This was the ninth year for the Owen Schlosser World Team Tournament (OSWTT), a memorial to the Golden Bear tennis player and coach who passed away ten years ago at the age of 21, Owen Schlosser.
The Owen Schlosser World Team Tournament (OSWTT) is hosted by the University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas at the Saville Community Tennis Centre in Edmonton. The tournament is about remembering and celebrating Owen’s life. Marlene Jen has participated in all nine OSWTT events. She spoke about Owen’s endearing personality and strong character. “He was a great guy, so likeable. He taught my kids and they absolutely loved him.”
(Photo above, Golden Bear Captain Jeff James, and two junior players at the OSWTT 2019)
For more photos see Don Voaklander’s Flickr account.
Tournament Focus and Format
The tournament’s dominant theme is having fun. The format is team play, similar to the Davis and Fed Cups. A few quirky rules ensure a lighter tone and creative team names set the stage, like Baby Got Backhand, Tennis the Menace, The Hall of Framers, Midcourt Crisis, and It’s All About the Baseline.
A range of activities offer something for everyone: recreational, intermediate and competitive streams; junior clinics; the Eliminator round; and a silent auction. Funds raised go to scholarships for the Golden Bears and Pandas, and to cancer research.
(Photo above: Team Fabio Fognini Fan Club)
Weather Came Into Play
This was the first OSWTT in nine years where Mother Nature won the weather battle. The tournament was forced indoors, albeit for just half of the total playtime. Outdoor attire in the frigid weather featured toques, hoodies, gloves, long underwear, and down-filled apparel.
(Photos above, left: Biyu Liang, Marlene Jen, Sea Taubner, Jenny Adams. Centre: Coach Carson Bell sporting his “You don’t scare me” hoodie. Right: Kyoko Watanabe in her down-filled tennis attire.)
Outstanding Hosts
The University of Alberta tennis team hosts the event. These young athletes enjoyed themselves, and at the same time, modeled top-drawer individual and team behaviors. They participated in all aspects of the tournament, from instructing the juniors and the recreational players, to playing in the competitive stream, hamming it up in the Eliminator round, and cheering everyone on. These fine young athletes are a credit to their leaders: Russ Sluchinski, all of the Saville coaches, and the administration team.
And the Winners Were
(Photo above: The winning team in the competitive stream. Front: Samantha Chapman, Tereza Simonova. Back left to right: Ryan Townsend, Vuk Radovic, Danny Henschel, Katie Johnson, Sidney Yap, Jeff James).
(Photo above: winning team in the Intermediate event. Left to right: Susan Wells, zhang Ding, JC Cahill, Marlene Jen, Biyu Laing. Missing from team Hall of Framers are Lisa Sveistrup and Fabrice Voisin)
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Another year of a something-for-everyone, action-jammed, most enjoyable Owen Schlosser World Team Tennis tournament. If you didn’t partake, don’t miss out next year. You missed your chance this year to compete against other players and cold weather. See you next year!
Contact me with ideas, suggestions, or comments at: susan.wells@tennisalberta.com.