 Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 05 Nov 2008 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 22 Apr 2009 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 15 Jul 2009 |  Photographer: None / Not Applicable
Date: 16 Jul 2009 | | |
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| 16 Jul 2009 | |
| 25th Anniversary Invacare World Team Cup Memories |
Graeme Watts (AUS) - former Secretary of the International Wheelchair Tennis Federation (IWTF)
For those of us present on a Thursday evening in October, 1985, in the player's lounge of the Racquet Club of Irvine, even the most optimistic would not have credited the future for this event. Ron Hastings set up a whiteboard and we prepared a draw for a weekend of team tennis as an introductory event for the US Wheelchair Tennis Open. In our enthusiasm to launch a 'Davis Cup' of wheelchair tennis, we cheerfully added another pressure for the organizers of the US Open. In retrospect I cannot exaggerate my admiration for that team led by Brad and Wendy Parks as they absorbed this challenge. They were so young and yet so competent, nothing seemed to faze them. No doubt Brad Parks and Pierre Fusade, both of whom went on to be President of the IWTF, will recall this evening with great pleasure and join in congratulating the ITF, and especially Ellen de Lange, on the outstanding development of this event.
Mark Bullock - current ITF Wheelchair Tennis Manager
My first Invacare World Team Cup was in Roermond the Netherlands in 1995 as the men’s coach for Great Britain. It was also one of the most memorable! I spontaneously started dancing with US coach David Crowe on the centre court during the opening ceremony. Also, in the interests of team spirit, the whole British men’s team shaved their heads ... myself, Jayant Mistry, Simon Hatt, Chris Illingworth and Martin McElhatton...
Pierre Fusade (FRA) - former World Team Cup winner and former President of the IWTF
In 1992 in Villach, Austria, the ITF suggested that perhaps each country could bring something to the opening ceremony that would represent their country. Since the French symbol includes a cockerel, we decided to bring a living one….
It was quiet hard to find one and at night we went to the locals and asked if we could borrow one. Finally we found someone who lived nearby Villach who allowed us to borrow his cockerel for one night. The cockerel spent the night in the shower of the hotel, a little scared since he did not understand French, so we could not calm him.
The next morning, we had him sitting proudly on the knees of Arlette Racineux and it was a great success!
We not only won the prize for the most original thing, but the French men won the event for the very first time after a decisive double and after having played in five consecutive finals. And the cockerel … I think he’s probably been eaten by now!
Brad Parks (USA) - founder of wheelchair tennis and former President of the IWTF
In 1994 after we lost our first World Team Cup to the French, we travelled with our coach throughout Austria.
We were heading to dinner and we were still a little upset in losing. Coaches Bal and Marsha Moore came by our room and we headed down to a restaurant. He had been wanting to do something with the second place trophy, and there was a piano area outside our room, so we left the trophy on the piano in the obscure little Austrian hotel in the Alps.
I have a picture of Bal standing in from of the piano with the trophy sitting there. I wonder if it is still there? We've had a good laugh over that one for years.
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