When you ponder Edmonton’s most popular sports, tennis probably doesn’t leap to mind.
It’s too cold to play outdoors for much of the year, and the city has close to the lowest number of courts per capita in Canada. You can count the number of indoor tennis facilities on one hand.
Despite the odds, the U of A has been quietly rising as a tennis powerhouse. The Golden Bears and Pandas have won eight national championships since 2014, and the Pandas are chasing their fourth straight title this August, the first U of A varsity program to win three straight national titles since the Pandas hockey team won three-consecutive CIS titles from 2002 to 2004.
According to program lead Russ Sluchinski, the Bears and Pandas are consistently in the top three and have been the most represented at the nationals for years.
In addition to the U of A’s varsity success, the Saville Community Sports Centre on South Campus received a grant this year from Tennis Canada and Rogers Communications to develop eight new courts next to its indoor facility. The courts will provide vital support to the varsity teams and will also be made available to the public for recreation and training, the first pay-to-play indoor facility in the city.
The funding is meant to increase access to year-round tennis in Canada, which falls behind other countries with only 750 covered public courts. Tennis Canada and Rogers aim to build 160 new year-round courts at up to 30 facilities across Canada by 2029.
The U of A’s new $6.5-million centre — funded by the U of A, the Canada Community Revitalization Fund, Bruce Saville and Tennis Canada/Rogers — opens to club members this month and to the general public in September. The site next to Foote Field will include a clubhouse and plaza space for tournaments and other events. Six outdoor hard courts will be covered during winter by an inflated dome, and two clay courts will be added later, says Sluchinski.
“The centre will provide physical activity opportunities to a large segment of community members, as tennis is played by participants aged five to 95 years,” says Cheryl Harwardt, director of Campus & Community Recreation. “Tennis is played by participants aged five to 95. It is truly a sport for all.”
As the only facility in Edmonton offering comprehensive training, it will bolster support for Bears and Pandas teams and provide juniors with the highest-calibre program as a designated Tennis Canada High-Performance Tennis Development Centre. The greater Edmonton community will have access to some 16 elite coaches, Sluchinski says. And with permanent spectator zones, young players will have a chance to watch the Bears, Pandas and other top-ranked players in action.
Success rooted in the 1980s
Sluchinski and his late mentor and program founder, Rob Bell, deserve much of the credit for the U of A’s tennis success.
After the university built a tennis facility at Michener Park for the 1983 Summer Universiade, it hired Bell in 1986 to lay the foundation for a tennis program. Bell, who had been trained by celebrated coach Vic Braden at his tennis college in California, adopted Braden’s view that everyone deserved a chance to play the game.
“Rob started a junior program by putting up posters in schools all over the place, offering lessons for free,” says Sluchinski. “He got six kids, and they are all, I believe, still playing tennis today. Most of them played on our varsity teams.”
Bell’s son Carson says his dad got him chasing a balloon with a plastic racquet when he was still crawling. Carson later trained as a junior, and by junior high knew he wanted to coach as a career.
His own interest was in high-performance tennis, but he recalls his father’s dedication to the tennis-for-all philosophy.
“He would always ask, ‘How can we get as many people playing as possible? How do we make this enjoyable for everybody?’ He was a lot more about the grassroots and the growth, and just an overall passion for the game.”
“He would rather have 10 kids doing two hours a week than one kid doing 20.”
Bell launched the men’s team in 1987, acting as coach until 1995 when he left to coach the Bahrain Davis Cup Team. In 1994, he published his master’s thesis, “A History of Tennis at the University of Alberta.” The Golden Bears tennis MVP award is named in his honour.
Sluchinski joined Bell in 1983, having just graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. As a U of A varsity gymnast, Sluchinski had little training in tennis, he admits, but had a deep passion for the game.
“Growing up, I played every other sport but not tennis,” he says. “But in high school a schoolmate and I took on the local tennis program in my hometown of Drayton Valley and ran it for three years, so I picked up knowledge from Rob very fast.”
In the early days working at Michener Park, Sluchinski could see how much people of all ages loved playing tennis, he says, and it inspired him.
“I was seeing 60, 70, 80-year-olds playing on a regular basis, and they looked healthy. They had colour in their skin, and they were so passionate about it. It was so obvious to me that tennis was keeping them young.”
Sluchinski succeeded Bell as coach of the men’s club team in 1995 and helped the Bears win the “Canada Cup” national championship five times between 1996 and 2002, after the team joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
“Winning the national championship back in that first era was the true beginning of our success,” he says.
Coach honoured by Tennis Canada
Sluchinski’s sustained track record garnered him the Distinguished Service Award from Tennis Canada this year for his “significant long-term contribution to the growth of tennis in Canada.”
After the Bears winning streak in the ’90s, Sluchinski played a key role in establishing the Saville Centre, which opened in 2004. He founded a sports-school program for juniors and continued to lead the U of A’s varsity teams to victory after Tennis Canada took over the national university championships in 2009.
The Canadian University Tennis Championships are now held every August in conjunction with the National Bank Open, Canada’s marquee event on the professional tour. Varsity players get the chance to rub shoulders with the best in the world.
“One year, one of our Pandas was playing an important match while Serena Williams was practising on the court right next to her,” says Sluchinski. “It was a bit distracting to say the least.”
Sluchinski also coached the Canadian team at the World Universiade Games in China in 2001, with four Golden Bears and two Pandas in the mix. After the opening of the Saville Tennis Centre in 2004, the U of A tennis program was well on its way to making a national mark. Last year Sluchinski stepped back as head coach of the Pandas, turning the team over to Ivan Quintero.
Saville Centre home to elite junior players
For many of the Bears and Pandas, the Saville’s elite program for juniors had everything to do with their varsity success.
Marko Laschuk trained there from Grade 8 through high school, studying for half a day in school and spending three or four hours on the court every afternoon, coached by former national champion Corey Stewart and Carson Bell, Rob’s son, both of whom still coach there today.
After high school Laschuk was offered a chance to play Division 1 tennis with an American school in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He chose instead to stay in Canada and play for the Bears, attracted to the U of A’s emphasis on academic standards for all varsity athletes.
“With the scholarships and the better balance between schooling and tennis, it made sense for me, and I think was the same for a lot of others on the team,” says Laschuk.
“You weren't just giving up your life to play tennis. You were able to focus on school, while still having all the support you needed to perform on the court.”
Laschuk did so for five years, winning the national championship with the Bears in 2014 and placing second four times, all while earning a business degree. He also served on the executive committee of the Business Students’ Association and graduated with a leadership certificate from the Peter Lougheed Leadership College.
“In the United States, even if you’re playing for a really good school, you kind of put the tennis first, the academics second,” says Sluchinski. “Here, academics come first, and the tennis is a great bonus.”
The advantages of a U of A varsity tennis experience are considerable, adds Carson Bell. While players in “clubs” at some Canadian post-secondary institutions must pay to join tennis programs, Bears and Pandas receive free memberships at the Saville Centre, free training with highly certified coaches and some scholarships and travel opportunities, along with a fundraising system for financial support.
“You ask me what accounts for our success?” he adds. “I was so motivated, and we had a group of coaches who were just sponges. Over the years I’ve travelled with juniors to national camps and International Tennis Federation tournaments, and many of our coaches are now doing the same.”
“The Bears and Pandas have always been a big part of our programs, because they inspire kids to want to play. They get to see the best level of tennis.”