AJ Tennis serves off today
Published:Saturday | December 11, 2021 | 12:10 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
The All Jamaica (AJ) Tennis senior, junior and amateur championships, slated to run from today until December 22, will be held under the strictest COVID-19 safety protocols, Tennis Jamaica (TJ) president John Azar said at yesterday’s launch at the Liguanea club.
The event, which has attracted a record 120 entrants, will offer tennis-starved local players some competition for the first time in a year. However, Azar warned that the safety of the event and patrons and spectators is top priority.
“I am super excited. It is a proud day and I thank the Tennis Jamaica team. The event is record-breaking in terms of the numbers of participants.
“But we are not only committed to having a successful event, we are committed to having a safe event, where the health, safety and well-being of all participants and patrons are not compromised,” he said.
Getting government approval for the event required very stringent measures and he insisted that every step will be taken to avoid breaches.
On entering the venues patrons and players will be subjected to walk- through sanitisation stations. There will also be handwashing stations, while social distancing and mask wearing will be enforced by COVID-19 marshals.
FRUSTRATING PROCESS
“The process of obtaining the permit was frustrating. So you fully understand why the protocols are in place and we fully respect those procedures.
“There will be a lot in place set out by the Government and even more from our end and we will do nothing to breach those requirements,” he said.
The senior and junior competitions will run separately. The senior events, which includes the men’s and women’s open, men’s 45 pro, men’s amateur class two and three and ladies B, will start today and run to December 19. The juniors, boys and girls 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s singles and doubles events, will take place from December 18-22.
The main venue on the weekend will be at Tennis Jamaica’s Eric Bell Centre. During the week action will move to the NCB Sports Club courts.
The Liguanea Club will also be an optional alternative for weekday matches if games are running behind schedule.
“The addition of the second and third venues will assist us in keeping the crowds at a minimum,” Azar added.
He also noted that players from outside Kingston and St Andrew will be provided with accommodation at the expense of Tennis Jamaica.
“With the kind assistance from our sponsors, we got rooms here in Kingston for players coming in from all over the island and they will be put up at our (TJ) expense,” Azar said.