By ADEM SARICAOGLU
THE Keilor Tennis Club is busy preparing for its biggest day in a century this coming Sunday.
The club is having a massive celebration for its 100-year anniversary and is hoping to see many familiar faces from both the past and present come and enjoy the festivities.
“We’re expecting somewhere between 200 and 300 people on the day, including past members that we’re catching up with,” club coach David McAllister said.
“So we’re not just interested in having the current members. We want to involve everyone who’s been involved with the club over the years.”
As part of the day’s activities, the club will hold a parent-child tournament before local federal MP Maria Vamvakinou and Brimbank City Council’s Peter Lewinski stop by for some presentations.
There will also be a fast-serve contest on the day.
“People are really excited about it,” McAllister said.
“We have all sorts of different people of different nationalities that are members of the club and we just think it’s going to be a great day out to celebrate.”
McAllister, who’s been with Keilor for three years in his coaching role, said he was proud to be part of such a “vibrant club”.
“There’s a very good feeling around the club,” he said.
“We feel it’s a lovely community there in Keilor. It’s not just all about the tennis, there’s the other (football and cricket) clubs right next door to us and it’s a really good space.
“Keilor’s almost like a country village on the outskirts of Melbourne, and we’re really proud of that fact.”
While Keilor may have hit three figures in age, it is looking to grow even bigger in coming years.
McAllister is hoping the club might be able to expand on the four courts currently at its disposal, with talk the nearby space currently occupied by the council might soon become available.
“Having 200 members with four tennis courts … we could do with a couple more courts,” he said.
“So that’s something we’d be looking at in the future.”
