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Tuesday 20 April 2021
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Tennis doubles up at Mornington
Hand, eye: Hayden Jones, of Queensland, has been given a wildcard into the main draw for the first week of the tournament. He made the final of the under-14 Australian Clay Court Championships last week. Picture: Tennis Australia/ Anastasia Kachalkova
TWO Junior International Federation Tennis Tournaments are being held at Mornington Tennis Club this week and next. They are the Victorian Junior Clay Court International and the Gallipoli Youth Cup. The clay court qualifying matches were held last weekend (17 and 18 April) with the main draw being played all this week until Friday (23 April). The Gallipoli Youth Cup qualifying matches are on Saturday 24-Sunday 25 April with the main draw from Monday 26-Friday 30 April. Players from Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan and Korea are competing in singles and doubles matches. The boy’s field is led by Corban Crowther, ranked 79 in the world, of New Zealand, and the girl’s field by Charlotte KempenaersPocz, ranked 111 of Australia. “We are excited that Tennis Australia and the International Federation have provided us and the club with the opportunity to host these two major junior tournaments at Mornington,” Elite Tennis Academy director Kate Antosik said. “With many tournaments cancelled over the past 12 months due to COVID-19 we are excited to see a high standard of players back on the court competing.” Players will be competing for world ranking junior points and hoping to better their rankings to get into the Junior Roland Garros tournament and Junior Wimbledon. Ms Antosik said the club, at 350 Dunns Road, was “the only venue in Australia hosting two tournaments of this level and it will bring about 300 people to the town”. “It would be great to have members of the community come and see it. “The field is very strong this time around and too high a level for Mornington locals to get into.” Play is from 9am daily and is free for spectators. Stephen Taylor
Cats break 24-hour curfew Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au CAT owners on the Mornington Peninsula are being reminded that their pets must always be kept on their properties. Although there is a 24-hour cat curfew set by Mornington Peninsula Shire many owners do not restrain their pets. Like dogs, cats are not allowed to wander unchecked because they pose a real threat to native animals and birds. “High numbers of cats [are] roaming
around … doing massive damage to our wildlife, members,” according to members of Mornington Environmental Association. “Cats are catching lizards, birds and other creatures along Tanti Creek and along the Mornington foreshore, as well as in private gardens,” president Margaret Howden said. She said the MEA auspices five friends’ groups that remove weeds and plant native grasses, trees, shrubs and groundcovers to provide habitat for
birds, lizards and insects. “It is heartbreaking to see cats predating the area we are attempting to restore,” Ms Howden said. “I don’t think that people realise that if a cat walks through the area many birds will not come back near the place. Some of our little birds nest in the undergrowth, making them very vulnerable to cats.” Ms Howden said some cat owners appeared to mistakenly believe that cats are allowed out during the day.
“They are not,” she said. “We have a 24-hour curfew on the peninsula. Cats do enormous damage to our environment during daylight hours.” The Mornington Peninsula Shire website advises that under the 24-hour curfew cats must be contained to their owner’s property at all times. The site lists’ options for dealing with a wandering or trespassing cat when it enters their property. They must first establish whether the cat has an owner or if it is a stray or owner-
less cat. They should watch the cat to find out where it lives or ask neighbours to help identify where it comes from. They can then approach the cat’s owner and explain the problem or download the “Dear Neighbour” letter found on page 5 of the Wandering Cat booklet and put it into their letter box. If these options fail residents can call the environment protection unit on 5950 1050 to arrange for a shire officer to assist in setting a non-lethal cat trap.
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