Tennis: Elbow Beach Hosting Crystal Family Cup
Elbow Beach is hosting the first-ever annual Crystal Family Cup Invitational Tennis Challenge in honour of the Crystal family. The six-day tennis tournament will be held at the Elbow Beach tennis facility and is free to spectators. The tournament is sponsored by Elbow Beach Resort, The Argus Group, Lido Complex and Dunkley’s.
The tournament is named after the late Crystal family who travelled to Bermuda every Christmas since the 1970’s, so that Dan Crystal could play tennis with many of Bermuda’s top tennis players. Dan Crystal was an accomplished tennis player who could hit a flat ball with his forehand and a slice backhand for his approach shot. Participants in this week’s tournament will compete for the Crystal Cup trophy in the family’s honour.
Dan, Sylvia and Rona Crystal made many friends during their vacations in Bermuda. Dan Crystal and David Lambert, who is now the Director of Tennis at Elbow Beach Bermuda, travelled the island to play doubles matches at Grotto Bay, Port Royal, The Reefs, and Sonesta Beach Hotel. On Boxing Day, they would gather with many of the island’s top players for a round robin tournament [in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn].
The first game was played on August 5th, and matches will be played from 5:30pm to 9:00pm on weekday evenings, and from 12noon to 4:00pm on weekends. The tournament is expected to last until August 10, where the winners of each category will be announced.
Unlike most tournaments, this is an invitation-only event. Eight of the top Bermuda female players and eight of the top Bermuda males have been invited to compete in a round-robin tournament for prizes, and ultimately, the Crystal Cup trophy.
In order to be eligible, each player must have represented Bermuda on an international stage in events organised by the International Tennis Federation [ITF], be a Davis Cup or Fed Cup squad member, and be in good standing with the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association.
The four categories in the tournament will be women’s singles and doubles, and men’s singles and doubles.
The women who have been invited to play are:
- Kaylah Harvey
- Jacklyn Lambert
- Tara Lambert
- Taylor McHarg
- Kaylah Ming
- Imani Philips
- Kirstin Saltus
- Tyler Smith
The men who have been invited to play are:
- Alex Cooper
- Romar Douglas
- Jack Keyes
- Gavin Manders
- Luke Stirling
- David Thomas
- Neal Towlson
- Christopher Weeks
“Elbow Beach Bermuda is very honoured to be the principal partner and host of the very first annual Crystal Family Cup Invitational Tennis Challenge in honour of the Crystal family,” said Ed Burns, Owner’s Representative at Elbow Beach Bermuda. “We are pleased to be recognising the Crystal family and look forward to a week of great sportsmanship and watching Bermuda’s elite tennis players compete for the Crystal Cup trophy.”
“During the Crystal’s visits to Bermuda, we often discussed holding a tournament in their name to recognise the regularity of their visits to Bermuda, and the many friendships that they made,” said David Lambert, Director of Tennis at Elbow Beach Bermuda.
“Unfortunately we lost Dan to cancer a few years ago, we then lost Sylvia, and two years ago my wife and I travelled to Boston to speak at Rona’s funeral. After that, we felt it right to keep our promise and to host a tournament in the Crystal family name. A tournament that Dan would have loved to have been a part of as this tournament embraces Bermuda’s best players”.
As well as the coveted Crystal Cup trophy, prizes include weekends for two at Elbow Beach Bermuda, gift certificates for the spa, beach cabanas, and dinner vouchers at Lido Complex.
The schedule for this evening is:
- 5:30 – T. Lambert vs K. Harvey (ws)
- 5.30 – K. Ming vs J. Lambert (ws)
- 6:00 – K. Saltus vs T. McHarg (ws)
- 6.00- J. Keyes vs N. Towlson (ms)
- 6.00 – L. Stirling vs A. Cooper (ms)
- 6:30 – G. Manders vs C. Weeks (ms)
- 6.30 – T. Smith vs I. Phillips (ws)
- 7:00 – R. Douglas vs D. Thomas (ms)
I think this is a wonderful tribute and a great opportunity for the young tennis players.