The weather made judging high lobs difficult and serving into the wind was a challenge but that was the only dampener on a special day on Saturday at the Gate Pa Tennis Club.
The elite Western Bay tennis club celebrated its 60th anniversary with a fine turnout of nearly 100 past and present players at the club from as far afield as Wellington, who enjoyed a hit around on the courts before a sumptuous dinner at the club in the evening.
The organising committee was driven by Geoff Bird, who joined the club in 1962, and fellow long-term members in club patrons Petra Osbourne and Mary Clark with the added expertise of Trish Muir.
But the longest-serving member of the club is June Evans, who joined the club in its first season in 1953 as a junior, and she plays weekly.
Bird says loyalty has been the main factor in the club's success over the years.