By Jun Atienza
JEDDAH — The 32nd edition, since 1999, of ASTEC (Association of Tennis Clubs in Jeddah) team tennis tournament kicks off on Friday (Oct. 18), at the sprawling facilities of Trio-Ranch Country Club, with the expected participation of at least 50 tennis teams from various clubs in the Western Region.
This is the 11th consecutive year that ASTEC has organized the annual year-end competition in partnership with Albaik Food Systems and this time, in collaboration with Pepsi-Cola Company. The event will now include other sports activities such as volleyball.
The men’s division will vie for championships in five Categories — C, B2, Lower Mix, Middle Mix and Higher Mix. Team composition will be 4-sets of doubles pair, playing pro-8 scoring format. The event has likewise added a category for senior players (Legends category), aged 58-years old and above of 3-doubles pair each team. The ladies division will battle it out in Categories C, Lower Mix, and Mixed Doubles and will have 2-sets of doubles pair.
The tournament will be governed by ASTEC ground rules, which have been distributed to all participating teams, while players’ classification will be based on ASTEC’s Tennis Players Classification List (TPCL) for 2019.
Opening day ceremonies include a parade of participating teams, with competition of mascots wearing traditional regional costumes. Prizes will be awarded for the winners in Best Mascots and Best Uniforms. Raffle prizes and coupons from other co-sponsors will also be given to lucky spectators and participants.
Organized and managed by ASTEC, under the helm of its current Chairman Marlon Pagsanjan and Tournament Director Miller Narvaz, the11th Albaik SportsFest Challenge 2019 is presented in partnership with Albaik Food Systems Co. Ltd., with Pepsi-Cola as the other major co-sponsors. This event is also supported by Skyfreight Forwarders, QuickPay, Toshi Restaurant, Davao Inasal Rice and Toppings, and TFC (the Filipino Channel)
