Tennis Club
A little about the Tennis Club
In a short space of time the Cororooke Tennis Club made a big impact since returning to tennis in the Colac district. In just three years a few passionate locals helped transform a defunct club with a run down facilities into a club with seven teams in the Polwarth and District Tennis Association, looking at a bright future.
But the club’s own climb out of the wilderness is just one part of the success story. Cororooke Tennis Club since reforming in 2009 after a twenty year break, instigated a pish to fix the deplorable state of many Colac and District Tennis courts. Virginia Wallace rallied clubs in the association to press candidates contesting for state election in 2010. The result was a $175,000 commitment from Member for Polwarth Terry Mulder to improve facilities at five clubs in the region. Barwon Downs’ Beeac and Forrest’s courts have been resurfaced and Cororooke and Swan Marsh were in discussions with the Shire.
In the early years the Cororooke Tennis Club belonged in the Alvie and District Tennis Association, where the club was a force dominant in the late 40’s to mid 60’s. The club’s top side led by Archie Edmond and featuring Jack Leahy, Tom Harrington, Angus Daffy, Margaret Gannon and Jennie Kilpatrick were a strong combination. Cororooke won the 1948,49,51,52 and 54 flags. The club’s A Grade streak started again in 1957. Apart from the 1960 season, where Cororooke finished up runner-up to Warrion, the club won each premiership through to 1965. Off the court, Archie Edmond and his brother George were the handy men, always on hand to repair fences, the court and other club facilities.
The Alvie and District Tennis Association started to crumble in the mid-50s, and a few clubs folded. Cororooke retained its members and remained competitive for many more years, until people in the town lost interest in playing and the club folded in the early 70’s. Over the next 12 years, Cororooke’s once thriving tennis facility deteriorated and the club rooms, fences and courts became an eyesore.
The club’s first but short-lived revival happened in 1984 after concerned locals Cliff Perrett, Bill Boylan and Eric Cole became tired of seeing the club in its sorry state. They banded together and through contributions from locals, and the shire, repaired the fences and courts, built a new rick clubroom and installed a septic toilet system.
This renewed the town’s interest in tennis but the club still struggled to draw big numbers and after five years the club disbanded again.
The current success and energy within the club started with Frank Delorenzo and Caroline Grist, who successfully applied for a grant to repair the clubs amenities in 2009. They put a call out to determine the town’s interests in tennis and had more than 20 juniors and some parents register their interest. In its first season back on the court the club entered four junior teams and one senior team in the Polwarth and District Tennis Association, a remarkable feat for a club so long in the wilderness.
In the 2011-12 season, the club’s list had grown to six junior sides and one senior team, with a series of small grants helping the club to improve its membership each year.
The 2022, 2023-2024 brings the senior A Grade side to finals for the first time since the new facilities were opened in 2018. 2024 Cororooke A Grade Tennis team breaks the drought and wins their first flag in 60 years! What a wonderful achievement for the Club. The Open Space brings many visitors to the area.