THUNDER BAY — In support of the construction of the Rogers Tennis Dome, the Thunder Bay Community Tennis Centre raised $30,000 at a 24-hour tennis fundraiser this weekend.
The fundraiser started on Friday at 9 a.m. and ran until Saturday at 9 a.m.
The tennis centre offered drop-in tennis, a free 50-plus clinic, an evening social, a prize contest, small tournaments throughout the night and two-hour pickleball time slots.
“With the construction starting on the Rogers Tennis Dome and the end date set for early September… we just thought it's a good time to get everyone together and get the awareness back out in the community that we are still fundraising for this project,” said Jamie Grieve, the centre’s tennis director.
Grieve said that players who took on the challenge were well prepared and expected to see them bright and early on Saturday.
“It's a fun event. All of our tennis community they are used to playing tennis for two or three hours at a time, so everyone's just out enjoying the weather,” he said.
It was pretty easy to put together, Grieve added.
"Basically, we just chose a time slot for all of our programs that we offer,” he said.
“We just scheduled them throughout the day and the night.”
“I love playing tennis for hours,” said McAllister Niemi, a youth tennis player.
Community members looking for more information can go here.
