CLUB HISTORY

The CTC was founded in 1889, initially having a court downtown at 2nd St. and 7th Ave. S.W. It lost the court in 1897, but under the leadership of Dr. R.B. O’Sullivan the club was revived to organize the first Provincial Championships, held at Fort Calgary, in 1906. In 1907 it leased land for four shale courts in Lower Mount Royal. In 1912, having formed a limited liability corporation, the Calgary Lawn Tennis Club Limited, it purchased the current site in Sunalta for $10,000. Six shale courts and an elegant clubhouse (subsequently destroyed by fire in 1958) were immediately constructed.

After 1940 club membership increased steadily, from just over 100 during World War II to almost 800 in 1980. Increased membership allowed the club to make improvements. All nine courts were converted from shale to asphalt-based hard courts in the early 1970s; the deck was added and the clubhouse extended later in the same decade. Then, following the installation of lights in the mid-1980s, courts 1-3 were converted back to clay in 1991. During the period 1999-2010 the club either rebuilt or resurfaced all nine courts.

In 1926 the CTC merged with the Prince’s Island (formerly Anglican Young People’s Association) Club. In 1930 the club found itself facing severe financial problems, and ownership of its property passed to the city of Calgary. CTC President Reg Carlile then negotiated an agreement under which the city leased the site back to the club. With slight alterations this agreement has continued ever since.

Over the years many of Alberta’s best players have been CTC members, among them, Marjorie Eustace, nine times Alberta Ladies Singles Champion and 16 times Calgary Ladies’ champion. She was the first tennis player to be admitted to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.