The Second City Tennis Classic certainly has a new look and feel for its 26th annual tournament.
Let's start with the date ( June 13-15 ), as opposed to August when it's traditionally held. But, due to the quadrennial Gay Games, which will be held this August in Cleveland, this local event changed its dates to avoid the conflict. "Many of our players who play with us yearly are local, and we did not want to be put in a position of having our players and the best players in the country have to make a choice between Chicago and Cleveland," said Brad Held, co-director of the Second City Tennis Classic.
The biggest event change is the venue, shifting from an indoor event to outdoors.
The tournament is being held at Northwestern University.
"It's exciting and challenging at the same time," Held said of the 2014 event. "We are playing at a totally new venue this year, so there are new logistical challenges that we haven't faced before.
"Some people are resistant to any type of change, but we are excited about this year's event. The courts are absolutely stunning. They are well maintained and Northwestern hosts the Big 10 tournament each year."
Plus, the courts are Northwestern purple.
"It's nice that the players will be able to interact with each other at one location," Held said. "Having two venues in the past meant that many players did not even see each other until the last day of the tournament."
Held, 48, who lives in Edgewater and is an independent contractor for software testing, has lived in Chicago since 1998. He is originally from Dayton, Ohio, and has played consistently for the past eight or nine years. His first gay tournament was in Los Angeles in 2006 and his first tournament win in a match was in the Gay Games in Chicago is 2006.
"Getting my first win here in Chicago was amazing, and of course it was in 98 degree weather," Held said. "My first tournament win was in doubles in Toronto in 2011, after having collected six second-place trophies. I was being called the Susan Lucci of the GLTA," the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance.
The Second City Tennis Classic is expecting 110 players, including about five percent female. About 60 percent of all players are from the Chicago area.
The tournament's draw party will be held at Replay Beer & Bourbon on June 12, from 7-9 p.m., while the banquet will be June 14 at Goose Island Brewpub in Wrigleyville from 7-10 p.m., with a silent auction and raffle, benefitting the Howard Brown Health Center.
This year's tournament also for the first time features doubles consolation rounds and playoff matches for third-place for players who lose in the semi-finals.
The tournament is courtesy of Second City Tennis, which has a number of other programs throughout the year, including summer singles, team tennis, a winter doubles program and its own local clay court tournament, The Chardonnay.
For more information, go to www.secondcitytennis.com .