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West Vancouver Heritage Club Games bring together local athletic groups

Let the games begin! Everyone is welcome at the inaugural West Vancouver Heritage Club Games on Aug.
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Let the games begin!

Everyone is welcome at the inaugural West Vancouver Heritage Club Games on Aug. 17 – a day when the West Vancouver Tennis Club, West Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club and Hollyburn Sailing Club will be primed to host a day of sport and recreation.

Families and friends, local businesses and community groups, West Vancouver Mayor Mary-Ann Booth and members of council are teaming up to compete at lawn bowling, tennis and a raft of on-shore sailing games from life-jacket drills to bailing challenges.

Doors open at 9:30 a.m. at the West Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club, where a tournament at the club grounds on 20th Street just north of Marine Drive will kick off the festivities. Then it’s a short walk for teams and onlookers, accompanied by a piper and the music of the bagpipes, to the tennis club at 21st and Gordon where teams will compete at tennis games and on-shore sailing activities with Hollyburn Sailing Club.

Settle in at the tennis club after the games with refreshments and a barbecue, all by donation, to enjoy an exhibition tennis match and the Games awards for sporting prowess, creativity and costumes.

Bringing all three clubs together for the first time was the brainchild of Leslie Sielski. During her seven years as a member of the tennis club, she learned the value of local clubs like these – of which the three organizations taking part in the inaugural Heritage Club Games rank among the longest standing sports clubs in West Vancouver.   

West Vancouver Tennis Club was established in 1925, West Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club in 1934 and Hollyburn Sailing Club in 1963, and all three clubs are thriving. “We have close to 600 members,” says Sielski, “and we teach 1,100 kids, ranging from five to 18 years of age, every year. Not all of them are members but they are still welcome. 

“Yes, we join these clubs to play tennis, or lawn bowl or to sail,” Sielski says. “It’s easy to learn the basics of each of these sports, and then it takes a lifetime to master them. That’s the value of the multigenerational and multicultural aspects of community clubs where older members can mentor new members. But the clubs give so much more. 

“Clubs like these are what make a community like West Vancouver so special. Sports keep people active and connected. The camaraderie and the bonds that are formed cannot be measured, only experienced and valued. Today, it is more important than ever to value these contributions to the community and to share what we have built over time with the community that supports us.”

Heather Hill will be representing West Vancouver Tennis Club at the Heritage Club Games. Her friend and fellow club member, Trish McLachlan, will be on her way to play tennis in Toronto.

The two became friends through their husbands, both engineers, and they were neighbours raising their children in the Gleneagles neighbourhood, but the strongest bond in their friendship of almost 40 years may be through sport, specifically tennis.

Hill and McLachlan have played tennis all their lives. Both women have played nationally and internationally for Tennis Canada’s seniors league. Hill represented Canada last year in Croatia and McLachlan will be competing at the Senior Nationals in Toronto in August.

These cross community connections are another benefit of these clubs. Through the tennis club’s affiliation with Tennis Canada, club members like Hill and McLachlan play at clubs tucked into residential communities across the country. Community clubs are valued, agree the two friends, for health and social benefits, and also because they are accessible and affordable. Reasonable annual membership dues combined with a central location make them accessible not only by car, but by foot, bus and bicycle, and available to people of all ages and capabilities.

“We are aware of our role in the making of our community, of our responsibility to preserve our community heritage and the value of this legacy for future generations. As we look to the future, we see the inaugural Heritage Club Games as the beginning of a new tradition in West Vancouver. For that reason,” Sielski explains, “all proceeds from the games will go to support Athletics4Kids and West Vancouver Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy program.

For details, call or visit the websites of West Vancouver Tennis Club (wvtc.info/news/heritage-club-games, 604-922-9722), West Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club (westvanlbc.ca/heritage-club-games-comes-to-west-van-lbc, 604-926-6487) or the Hollyburn Sailing Club (hollyburnsailingclub.ca/heritage-clubs-games).

Laura Anderson works with and for seniors on the North Shore. Contact her by phone at 778-279-2275 or email her at lander1@shaw.ca.