The San Diego Tennis Federation (SDTF) is holding their 20th annual San Diego Open tournament, one of the largest and oldest tournaments on the Gay and Lesbian Tennis Association (GLTA) circuit, July 2-4. Over 250 players are expected to sign up for the three-day tournament.

The GLTA holds more than 40 tournaments across the world with over 30 played in the U.S. alone.

“It began, actually, before the GLTA was even conceived,” said SDTF President Brian Wood. “Our local club’s founding fathers, Jim Winters and Scott Williford, started the San Diego Tennis Federation in 1982, and very soon after that began having friendly rivalry tournaments with the other two gay clubs in the state, L.A. and San Francisco.”

Winters and Williford spearheaded the creation of the San Diego Open in 1985 once club membership increased. The GLTA began in 1991 after several gay tennis clubs around the country began having their own tournaments.

“Although there isn’t a Grand Slam-type event within the GLTA circuit, there is a Champions Race that recognizes the top players in each division [advanced to beginner] based on their point standings at the end of the year,” Wood said.

Players gunning for those crucial points are seeded into the five divisions based on experience and competitive level. The top division is the Open Division for the highly advanced player, then A (highly advanced), B (high intermediate), C (low intermediate) and D (novice) divisions. All matches will be single-elimination, best of three sets with regular ad-scoring. There is also a consolation round where pro-sets are played.

A registration welcome party at Flicks will kick off the weekend tournament on Friday, July 1, at 6:30 p.m. A banquet takes place on Sunday, July 3, at 8:00 p.m. at the San Diego Zoo. Cocktails are scheduled for 6:30 p.m., with a dinner beginning at 7:30 p.m. The entry fee includes 4:00 p.m. admission to the zoo, allowing each participant to explore the zoo’s summertime “Nighttime at the Zoo” extended hours prior to the cocktail reception.

“Since it’s the 20th anniversary of the tournament, we wanted it to be extra memorable,” said Wood. “Plus, the guys that started the whole thing will be there, and I want to make sure that they feel really good about what they’ve accomplished.”

Wood said because of San Diego’s weather, the San Diego Open is one of the more popular tournaments on the circuit.

“People like our tournament because the weather is so predictably wonderful,” he said. “It’s a really big GLTA tournament surrounded by the small-town feel of Hillcrest.”

So far 177 have registered, but Wood expects over 250, with some traveling from as far away as Japan.

“Since the area has such a large tennis-playing population, a majority of the entrants to the SDO are from Southern California. But in checking this year’s entry list, there are players from Dallas, New York, Hawaii – even one guy from Kuala Lumpur,” Wood said. “This week there will be a flurry of entrants from all over the place, as people tend to procrastinate.”

The sponsors this year include Ray’s Tennis Shop, Vitamin Water and The Acura Classic.

The deadline for entry to the tournament is Tuesday, June 14. Registration is $99 for one event and $109 for two events. Entry fees include GLTA membership, entry into the banquet and a T-shirt. An additional banquet guest is $40.

The main site for the Open will be at the Balboa Tennis Club, located at 2221 Morley Field Dr. The first two days of the tournament will also utilize courts at the Barnes Tennis Center, located at 4490 W. Point Loma Blvd.; the Peninsula Tennis Club, located at 2525 Bacon St.; and the University of San Diego, located at 5998 Alcalá Park.

All of the proceeds from the tournament will be donated to a local GLBT charity.

For more information about the SDTF, visit this article online at www.gaylesbiantimes.com for a link to their Web site.