Tourney features old-fashioned tennis

~ CATA's wooden rackets tournament set for Nov. 5.

Put on your tennis whites, find your wooden racket and grab a partner.

The Cape Area Tennis Association is offering a throwback event: the Classic Wood and Whites doubles tournament on Nov. 5 at Southeast Missouri State's courts.

"We've been wanting to do this for about two or three years," said Donna Ryan, tournament organizer. "I had heard about somewhere in California that had been doing it for a few years."

Wooden rackets have been out of fashion for nearly 30 years, since Prince introduced an oversized racket with an aluminum frame in 1976. The aluminum rackets soon gave way to graphite and graphite composite rackets.

Wooden rackets haven't been in the stores for a while, but Ryan expects quite a few players to have their own.

"They're around," she said. "People have kept them thinking they might have some value, but most of them don't. You see them at garage sales for $5 for $10. I have one that I made into a mirror for my wall."

She also has a few suitable for play and has obtained more from friends to provide to players who don't have them. The rackets used for the tournament can measure no more than 9 inches by 12 inches.

The tournament has another quirk -- in addition to the fact clothing must be 90 percent white. The players ages for each doubles team must add up to at least 90 years.

"I think it will give some different people a chance to play together," she said, "and it will equalize the teams."

Teams -- the field is limited to 16 with both genders eligible to play -- will play throughout the event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a break for lunch provided by the Ryans' D&R Catering.

The tournament entry fee is $45, with proceeds going toward community tennis. Ryan has a project in mind, but the details have not been finalized yet.

"We think this might attract people to a tournament who might not play in a regular tournament because it's an equalizer," she said. "Wood rackets have less power, so it will be more slicing and finesse."

* The CATA also plans a Turkey Day Tennis Tournament for Nov. 19 and 20 at the Southeast tennis courts. The annual event includes singles and doubles play for men and women.

The event will be outdoors this year while construction continues on an indoor tennis complex.

"We'd played it indoors in the past and the weather would be nice enough that people said we could've played it outdoors," Ryan said. "Hopefully, the weather will hold."

For information on the tournaments, call Ryan at 243-6246.