Stephanie Day might be used to playing tennis with her brothers, but a partnership dating back four decades between Crofton House and St. George’s means the family will also compete for the same school team at the B.C. championship this week at Queen Elizabeth Park.
She plays with brothers Jamie and Andrew. Their older brother, Alex, competed with them last year and now represents Princeton in the NCAA.
The single-sex private schools enter the tournament together to play a full slate of singles, doubles and mixed-doubles matches at tournaments. Crofton House and St. George’s paired up in 1975, and Vancouver College and Little Flower Academy formed a similar partnership around the same time.
“There’s a connection between brother and sister and the players also have lots of friends at the opposite-sex school,” said Sherman Kwok, a teacher and tennis coach at Crofton House.
“It becomes a big social sport, too. They get that much stronger, grow together and stick together for three or four seasons as they build that friendship. I think the boys benefit more than the girls.”
The schools also combine their forces for sports like badminton and ultimate.
Henry Budai, who coaches the boys at Vancouver College where he is also an alum, said the co-ed competition is very important social aspect for teenage boys.
“It’s a breath of fresh air. They definitely like it,” he said.
Crofton House/St. George’s compete in a pool against Penticton and Semiahmoo. LFA/Vancouver College are in a pool with Delta and Moscrop.
The AAA championship finals are scheduled for 11 a.m. May 24 at Queen Elizabeth Park (as long as the weather is dry).
