Tag: tennis

Holding CourtHolding Court

June 24, 2025 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In the late 1960s, when Al and Nancy Raine first bought property in White Gold, there had been multiple years of talk about building tennis courts in the Whistler area but none had yet materialized. Wanting to play tennis, the Raines (who had purchased two lots) built a clay court next door to their house. According to a 2018 interview with Al, as the owners of the only tennis court in the valley (the clay courts at Rainbow Lodge no longer being maintained), he and Nancy soon found that they “had more friends for some reason.” In the spring, summer and fall months, friends (and maybe some acquaintances) would come over for a game frequently.

A few years later, John Taylor, then the owner of over 160 acres in today’s Creekside area, built tennis courts at Jordan’s Lodge on Nita Lake. These courts were used by residents, visitors, and even campers from the Toni Sailer Summer Ski Camp. When Myrtle Philip School opened in 1976, four tennis courts were built next to the school. Clearly, the appetite for tennis in the valley was growing.

The tennis courts at Jordan’s Lodge on the shores of Nita Lake, 1978. Whistler Question Collection

In 1978, Michael D’Artois remembers getting together with other tennis players at JB’s and forming the Whistler Valley Tennis Club. Using the courts at Nita Lake, they began hosting lessons and tournaments, including the first tournament of the 1978 season over the May long weekend. The tennis tournament (part of larger celebrations that weekend that included the Great Snow Earth Water Race and a belly flop competition) cost $3.50 to enter and, according to the Whistler Question, the winner got to keep the balls used and was presented with a “Whistler original perpetual trophy.” Over the following year, the Club would continue to host a tournament over the May long weekend, as well as other events throughout the season.

From stories from members of the Club, players were competitive (some more than others) but also friendly and social. Al remembered that the deck of JB’s (today Roland’s Pub and the Red Door Bistro) was located alongside the courts, which meant that people could sit on the deck to have a drink and watch the tennis games below. According to Al, this was “actually pretty ideal.” In order to play a game, you didn’t necessarily have to organize with a partner ahead of time; instead, a member of the Club could go over to JB’s, go out on the deck, see who was playing and who was around, and pick a partner.

The tennis courts overlooked by JB’s patio. Whistler Question Collection, 1979

Tennis grew throughout the 1980s and over time John Taylor (also a member of the Club) added an additional two courts and added a small building that could be used by the Club (he also added a fifth covered court in the 1990s). Club membership grew and the Whistler Valley Tennis Club became officially recognized as a non-profit society. Members paid dues, a pro was hired, and volunteers maintained the courts (some years the Whistler Fire Department would help out by washing the asphalt).

Esther Gorman moved to Whistler full-time in 1985 and joined the Club in the summer of 1987. Looking back in 2018, she recalled that the Club was where she met most of her “lifetime friends.” (She also remembered playing in a mixed doubles tournament with John Taylor and that, after they won, he named one of the courts after her.) Her husband, John Koenig, echoed her feelings. He joined in 1992, when the Club had 250 adult members and a waitlist, and made many close friendships through tennis, as well as meeting Esther.

A friendly game on the courts. Whistler Question Collection, 1980

Through the 1990s, after the new tennis facility opened next to the Whistler Village, members began to move to the new tennis club, through some maintained memberships in both. In the 2000s, Nita Lake Lodge was built on the site of Jordan’s Lodge and John Taylor’s tennis courts and today a house sits atop the Raines’ clay court. Though it eventually stopped hosting tournaments or organizing lessons and camps, the Whistler Valley Tennis Club maintained its non-profit status for many years in order to act as an advocate for the sport in Whistler. Today, tennis and other racket sports continue to be competitive and social (and often both) pastimes in the valley.

Creating Whistler’s Parks: Alpha Lake Park, for the love of tennisCreating Whistler’s Parks: Alpha Lake Park, for the love of tennis

May 9, 2023 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

When the first Outdoor Recreation Plan was completed in 1980, development of a park on Alpha Lake was not identified as a high priority. Lost Lake and Alta Lake are warmer and more desirable for swimming so facilities for those lakes were top of the list. However, when the opportunity arose in 1982 to purchase land on Alpha Lake from John Taylor, the Municipality jumped at the chance to increase lakeside recreation.

John Taylor owned over 160 acres (65 hectares) in the Creekside area around Nita Lake and Alpha Lake. He built the first tennis courts in the Valley at Jordan’s Lodge where the Whistler Tennis Club was formed in 1978. Passionate about tennis, John agreed to sell the land to the municipality for $93,000 on the understanding that tennis courts would be built as part of the park development.

The undeveloped land where Alpha Lake Park was built was a large swamp and extensive work was required to prepare the area. Fill was brought in for the grassed area and sand for the beach. The tennis courts alone required 3 feet of basalt bedding for stability. Picnic tables and a wharf were also constructed and the park was connected to the early Valley Trail network.

*Employees moving fill to create the beach at Alpha Lake Park. Whistler Question Collection.*

When the park opened in 1983 the Whistler Question wrote, “A visit to Alpha Lake Park is a step into a delightful other world.” At the time it opened there were few facilities found at the other parks, and Alpha Lake Park had volleyball courts, tennis courts, a beach and trails.

Municipal Parks Planner, Tom Barratt, was particularly fond of Alpha Lake Park due to the number and size of Kokanee Trout found in the nearby streams. Cedars were planted along the stream banks to offer shade and further improve the conditions for spawning trout.

*Parks Planner, Tom Barratt (right) and team member Suzanne McLean put the final touches on Alpha Lake Park in July 1983. Whistler Question Collection.*

One of the most notable parts of Alpha Lake Park, the children’s treehouse did not come along until later. It was built in 1989 by Eric Scragg from funds raised through the community fundraiser, Whistler Night. Whistler Night was a fun ‘night out’ event that raised money for projects that benefit the community.

Money raised from the night out in 1987 was originally slated to go toward a children’s park at the base of Whistler Mountain; however, Whistler Mountain revised their plans and built Whistler Express Gondola in the area instead. The funds sat in the Whistler Nights’ account for two years as they searched for an appropriate project to put the money toward. More facilities for children were desperately needed in the community and Alpha Lake Park was eventually chosen because it was felt to be ‘underutilised’.

Bill Barratt, who went on to become Chief Administration Officer (CAO) for the RMOW, also worked in Parks at the time. He said while visitors and residents to Whistler wanted generally the same things from a park, it was still a balancing act. He used the play equipment at Alpha Lake Park as an example of a draw card for out-of-town visitors. Unique facilities meant visitors would go on to tell their friends about the park, and drive continued summer visitation.

*The official opening of Alpha Lake Park. From left to right, Trevor Roote, Bill Barratt, Karen Barratt, and Tom Barratt. Whistler Question Collection.*

Despite not being the number one priority in the Outdoor Recreation Plan, Alpha Lake Park was important as it connected the network of trails and parks from Meadow Park in the north, through Lost Lake and Alta Lake, to Alpha Lake in the south. The initial five-year plan to complete these parks and a connecting trail network was instead completed in three years, greatly increasing access to lakes and recreation throughout the Valley.

Today the playground, volleyball courts and tennis courts continue to be enjoyed by the community and visitors alike.

Welcoming Fall to WhistlerWelcoming Fall to Whistler

September 17, 2019 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

In may technically still be (and at times even feel) like summer, but for many people the beginning of September signals the beginning of fall. While many people will have spent this weekend celebrating a certain beverage at the Whistler Beer Festival, in the 1980s this past weekend would have featured a celebration of the upcoming season with the Whistler Fall Festival.

The Fall Festival was first organized by the Whistler Resort Association (WRA, now known as Tourism Whistler) in 1981. At the time, the Whistler Village was beginning to emerge from a craze of construction and Blackcomb Mountain was looking forward to its second season of operations. There was a lot to celebrate in Whistler and the festival featured many of the growing community’s arts, crafts, sports, and activities.

The Fall Festival also included a Paint a Snowflake contest, leaving the fences around construction sites covered in snowflakes. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.

One of the local characters showcased at the Fall Festival was Willie Whistler, the new mascot of the WRA. Willie’s name came from a “Name the Whistler Marmot” contest for children in the area in which the winner, eight-year-old Tammi Wick, won a Blackcomb season pass. The mascot was created to promote Whistler at local and other events and the Fall Festival, which included time each day to “Meet Willie Whistler,” was his first big event.

Willie Whistler takes a ride with Bo Bo the Clown during the Fall Festival in Village Square. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.

The festival also featured local artists and artisans who demonstrated their crafts in the village, including pottery, fibre spinning, stained glass, and painting. Performers over the weekend included acts such as Evan Kemp and the Trail Riders, the Alpini Band, and local favourite Doc Fingers, as well as dance performances and Bo Bo the Clown.

For visitors and residents alike, the Fall Festival offered different ways to see the Whistler valley. Snowgoose Transportation offered free 50 minute bus tours, showing off everything from residential areas to the gondola base in Creekside to the Blackcomb daylodge. To see the valley from above, participants could enjoy a flight from Okanagan Helicopters, take advantage of Blackcomb Mountain’s offer of free chairlift rides, or, subject to wind conditions, go up in Chuck Bump’s hot air balloon, billed at the festival as the “World’s Largest Hot Air Balloon.”

Evan Kemp and the Trail Riders perform in Village Square. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.

Perhaps not surprisingly, sports and competitions also featured prominently at the Fall Festival. Spectators could take in volleyball, Pro/Celebrity tennis matches that paired pro players with notables from politics, business, and media, a softball game between the Whistler Contractors Association and the Whistler A’s, or even a parachuting demonstration. For those looking to compete, the Waiters Race challenged Whistler’s servers to run a timed obstacle course without spilling a drop, and the Labatt’s Great Whistler Water Race relay covered four lakes and the River of Golden Dreams through canoeing, kayaking, swimming, and windsurfing.

A softball game was fun for participants and spectators. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation Collection.

Though the Fall Festival was primarily about showcasing Whistler, it also raised money for several different causes. On the Sunday, Whistler hosted a run as part of the first national Terry Fox Run, raising over $7,600. The proceeds from a beer garden hosted by the Whistler Athletic Society that evening were also donated towards cancer research.

Local causes benefited as well. The WRA donated enough funds from the Village Centre beer garden to replace the snowmobile of the Alta Lake Sports Club that had been destroyed in a fire. Umberto Menghi, who was then opening his new restaurant Il Caminetto, contributed to the festival by both providing the firework display for the Saturday evening and hosting a gala dinner at Myrtle Philip School to benefit the Whistler Health Care Society.

If you look really closely, Chuck Bump’s balloon also featured some advertising for local restaurants. Whistler Mountain Ski Corporation.

According to Glenda Bartosh of The Whistler Question, the first Fall Festival was about far more than raising money and generating revenue for the resort. She reported that the festival “created laughter, high energy and a true appreciation of what Whistler is all about.” The WRA must have agreed, as they continued to organize the Fall Festival for at least three more years.

This Week in Photos

This Week In Photos: July 12This Week In Photos: July 12

July 12, 2018 Whistler Museum 0 Comments

This week seems to be full of races! With the Garibaldi Cup, Molson’s Whistler Bike Race and the beginnings of the Whistler Half Marathon all making appearances, July would seem to have always been a very active month in Whistler.