After 10 years of learning how to play tennis as a junior, 19-year-old Kristian Kiland has reached the point where he can beat the top adults in the city in singles matches.
And he won't forget the role Matt Altizer played in helping him develop his game.
As a singles opponent or a doubles partner, Altizer was always willing to share his tennis secrets, whether it was on the outdoor courts or inside the Northern Sports Centre playing winter tennis using the portable nets Altizer designed and built himself for the club.
On Saturday Kiland won the Prince George Open, his home tournament, for the first time. As men's singles champion his name will be the first engraved on the Matt Altizer Memorial Cup. The new trophy is named after Altizer, a longtime Prince George Tennis Club member killed in a highway accident in February 2012 along with his wife, his sister, and his two children.
"I said after that tragedy happened two years ago that I wanted to dedicate the first A-level tournament I win to Matt," said Kiland. "This is the first one I finally won and it happened to be for the Matt Altizer trophy. It's pretty fitting."
To anyone associated with the Prince George Tennis Club, Altizer was the epitome of a positive role model. To Susie Walker, he was like a doctor on call. On several occasions, right in the middle of their tennis matches, Altizer's cell phone would ring and he would have to leave to take care of computer problem as part of his job as systems manager at the Prince George Citizen.
"He did that to me so many times and he'd say, 'I'll be right back,'" said Walker. "He was such a nice guy and he was so well-liked by everybody. I always loved it because he would push me. He hit the ball really hard and he was a good person to rally with."
Altizer began playing tennis with the club in 2004, about the time PGTC vice-president Jim Condon started playing. Altizer always considered the men's singles event his favourite at the annual Prince George Open and for that reason the club decided to have the trophy made this year, to be awarded annually to the club's men's singles champion.
"It was actually my brother's [Kiland's] idea to get a trophy to start a new tradition," said Condon. "It really inspires people to enter the tournament when they get their name engraved on it forever."
In August, the club plans to name one of its new courts adjacent to the Prince George Golf and Curling Club the Matt Altizer Court and will also hang a plaque in his memory.
"He was our webmaster, he volunteered for everything, and he was always trying to get the word out to contact people about tennis," said Condon.
Nancy Condon, a former club treasurer, played against Altizer many times and his unorthodox swing often left her baffled.
"He was a tennis player, a fan and a friend, because he was always here, always playing, and he always included everybody," she said. "His lefty serve and his lefty spin would drive you nuts.
"He always knew what was going on in the world of tennis and he made those indoor nets himself. He was so funny when we played, with his smart-aleck remarks, just so much fun to be around."
