Observer Challenge volleys between competition and fun

Rackets and spirits were high at the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center this weekend for the 22nd annual Observer Challenge. 

This is the tournament’s second year back since a forced hiatus due to COVID-19, so participation numbers are still recovering. Before the pandemic, the tournament typically saw over 100 players and had four divisions. The past two years, it’s down to about 70 players and three divisions. The upside is more play. 

“We’ve always had to do single elimination because we didn’t have the courts,” Tennis Center Director Kay Thayer said, “But this time, everybody got to play at least two matches.” 

While Thayer estimates about 75% of participants are members, teams came from clubs in Sarasota, Bradenton and Siesta Key. 

The Division 2 champs live part-time on Longboat, but hail from West Virginia. When they won, David Campbell seized the chance to shout, “Cue ‘Country Roads!”   

“At West Virginia University, when a football or basketball game is won, they play 'Country Roads' afterwards, and everybody stays in their seats,” Campbell said.

To which his wife Sandy interjected, “It doesn’t happen very often.” 

Division 3 was swept by home teams. The champions and finalists were all from Longboat. 

The Division 1 winners were from The Landings Racquet Club. Angie Eason can’t remember if this is her 12th or 14th year playing. She never actually signed up to play that first year, but she has every year since.

“I played with the guy that grooms the court here,” Eason said. “There was a team from Indiana that was actually playing in it, and one of the people got hurt really badly, so I ended up going to their team and played with them for years.” 

One of her teammates this year, Kaitlin McCormick, flew in from Chicago. The tournament is as social as it is competitive. Spectators surrounded the courts rooting for their friends. And the “Canada team” bought themselves patriotic red and white T-shirts that read, “Tennis and Beer: That’s why I’m here.” 

“It’s a fun team event. There are very few team oriented events in tennis. It’s always kind of an individual sport,” Andy Sawyer said. “So we can cheer on the girls when they’re playing their ladies doubles, and they can cheer for us, and then we have the mixed and the singles.” 

But don’t let the merriment or retirement fool you; professional athletes play this tournament. They got edged out this year for the Division 1 win, but finalists Enrique and Ute Vela are former national doubles champions in Spain. Enrique also played for the national soccer team and vied for the Davis Cup. In 1972, Ute was an Olympic fencer. 

“We won this tournament here at least four times, and we’ve been in the finals probably four or five times,” Ute said. 

The team aspect and tournament format also allow for strategy according to longtime Observer Challenge competitor and champ Bob Dreyfus. Thayer agrees. Once the men's and women’s doubles rounds finish, strategizing begins for the more seasoned teams. 

“Maybe you put your strongest players in the mixed doubles, and then you put maybe your weaker players in the singles and hope that you’ll win the mixed doubles or one of the singles,” Dreyfus said. “It’s all strategy, and you don’t tell each other until the women’s doubles and men’s doubles are done. My team, we knew what we were going to do before we started because husbands and wives play together all the time.”