Friends, Family at Rosedale TC

The short take from the website is this : Located in the Heart of Hamilton’s North End, the Eva Rothwell Centre partners with families living in poverty, empowering them to become self-sufficient and fulfill their desired potential. But that hardly scratches the surface. Located in a repurposed school, the Eva Rothwell Centre provides a vast array of services and programs to support children and their families. It’s an essential service, and it’s expensive to maintain.

The Rosedale Tennis Club has been a vital part of the Rosedale neighbourhood of Hamilton for over 100 years, providing a home-away-from-home for thousands of members across the generations. You can hardly swing a racquet at Rosedale without bumping into someone who has been a member for 30-40-50 years. The club culture is all about support and fellowship and community.

The Ormond family lives and breathes community … and tennis. Vince and Laura raised their three daughters and son with a strong sense of gratitude for their own circumstance and an awareness that others are less fortunate. Sharing is a way of life.

For the past seven years, this has manifest as the annual Friends & Family Tournament, staged at the club on Labour Day weekend – led originally by Taylor Ormond, then in partnership with her sister Toni since her graduation and return to Hamilton.

The concept for the day is straightforward : invite players of all shapes and stripes to enjoy a 3-hour tennis party, with an entry fee of $25 plus a non-perishable donation item. The players are divided into three pools of 40-50 each, to play either at 9:00 or 12:00 or 3:00. Organized doubles play is set up on the club’s 12 courts, accompanied by music, laughter and lots of camaraderie. This is followed by a generous buffet and prize-giving in the clubhouse … just in time for the next group to arrive and start the process all over again.

The 9:00 group tended to be mostly juniors – many from the club’s programs along with their friends. The 12:00 group was a mixture of various family connections, but also a group of older teens who arrived together because they’d seen the event promotion and wished to be part of it. The 3:00 group looked a bit more hardcore … doubles players who were keen to run off some steam to start the holiday weekend.

With the large number of players coming and going and crossing-over, the atmosphere is lively, to say the least. Taylor and Toni had lots of help on the courts, but were still in constant motion dealing with one issue after another throughout the 10-12 hours involved. And always with smiles from ear to ear. This is clearly a labor of love.

Extensive planning and countless hours had been invested in the event in the weeks and days leading up. Generous sponsors provided prizes as well as some of the refreshments. Volunteers raised funds with a bake sale, and the registration desk volunteers ran a raffle and also collected donations from spectators and well-wishers. It was a team effort, because that’s the Rosedale way. The place hummed with positive vibes from morning to night. Yet another success story for the club … not to mention several thousand dollars and baskets of goods for the Eva Rothwell Centre.

Taylor and Toni Ormond both attended US colleges on tennis scholarships – Taylor at Baylor University and Toni at Ball State. Toni went on to Baylor for her Masters degree and was part of the coaching staff there as well. Taylor is now a lawyer and serves as a Public Prosecutor in Hamilton. Toni is currently on staff at Tennis Canada, managing program initiatives for Women & Girls. Their sister, Isabel Ormond, is head coach of the UBC women’s basketball team and on her way to a PhD in Coaching and Sport Psychology. Their brother, Elliot, played basketball at McMaster and is now the Automation Engineering Manager at a vertical farming company in the US.