Woody Raffle & Auction:

Freedom Alliance 

The Woody Tennis Championships® is a celebration of what’s best about Tennis. 

    Over the last three decades, our great sport of tennis, and The Woody, have seen significant changes -- none greater than the transition from wood to graphite racquets during the late 1970's and early 1980's. Throughout the approximately 10-year transition, wood racquets remained in regular use at all levels of play until Wilson finally ended production of the Jack Kramer Mid-Size Woody in 1983.

    In those early amateur days of wood racquets, there was no greater dream than to play Davis Cup and wear those awesome blue/white/red sweats. We rooted for our heros like Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe, Bob Lutz. We watched with jealous admiration the absolute athletic mastery of the greats like John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg (our contemporaries).

    The space age had come of age and the materials engineers looked upon sports as fresh territory. Companies like Wilson, Prince, and Head all began offering tennis racquets made from non-wood materials: aluminum, steel, fiberglass and graphite. Once they got graphite right: game, set and match. Wood just couldn't handle the same forces generated by the new materials (or the new athletes, but that's another story).

    Out with the old and into The Woody. The Woody Tennis Championships^® held its first tournament in 1992 on one hard court in Orange County, California. Jim Settles and Granville Swope, both products of wood, and both growing up playing through the USTA SoCal Juniors tennis programs, are the tournament’s founders, directors, and competitors. 

                                                        

 Jim and Gran in 1981 - Arizona State University Tennis Team

   These two men remained close friends and rivals through high school, junior college, and ultimately became teammates and roommates at Arizona State University in 1981 (coached by Myron McNamara).  Once in their 30s, while on a camping trip in the Mojave desert, they penciled out the now thirty one year old event. 

    It quickly became apparent that with both founders being competitors, The Woody needed a third voice or "vote" should any problems arise during the event. Steve Higginbotham, a sports photographer (and paramedic) joined the original team, forming The Woody Committee.

    Jim and Gran’s common tennis experience over the years reflects another time, another era; when Patriotism (America's best played and owned Davis Cup '78, '79, '81, 82 - 13 total wins as of 4/14/11, Sweden #2 at 7), Integrity (surrendering a point for bad line call in your favor), Honor (Pro vs. Amateur boycotts & paving the way for the ATP and the "Open" era), and of course, Guts (Arthur Ashe) were the norm. Today these values are the benchmarks for measuring your "Woodness," these values are the attributes of a "Man of Wood." These qualities are reflected in our players on and off the court.

    The Woody Tennis Championships^® honors tennis' unique history by using wood racquets exclusively. Players pound white tennis balls, wear white shorts and shirts, enforce rules of conduct, and for the last 30+ years, enjoy the luxury of the grass courts.  In 2021 The Woody relocated to the fabulous Mission Hills Tennis Club in Palm Desert. 

    The Woody roster is about 60 players deep after so many years.  Today, a second generation of young players who never held a wood racquet are competing against seasoned veterans; all  having made the transition from wood to graphite during their peak playing years. It is one of those intangibles that makes our sport so compelling, and what makes The Woody so unique. There were just a handful of pro players who successfully embraced and mastered both technologies (Mac on one side of that success story, Borg on the other). In 2010 The Woody crowned its youngest Woody champ, Spencer Hing at 18 years, while playing both with and against our oldest player (during the round robin segment of the draw), Jim Settles Sr., 83 years old (former Pepperdine tennis team and owner of multiple national tennis championships). Many of The Woody players remain teaching pros and tennis industry representatives, and all are tennis nuts.

    As tennis changed, so has The Woody, and so have the players and their priorities. Both Settles and Swope, as well as most of the Men of Wood, are now family men. After so many years, The Woody had reached an impasse. The Woody became an answer that needed a question. What else could The Woody be? A cause for good was an easy answer. So The Woody began sending extra cash from our event to tennis related special needs like Andrea Jeager's Silver Lining Foundation (love those beautiful kids...), NJTL programs, and ultimately settling upon The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund benefiting the families of America's fallen soldiers.

    Early on, the funds generated by our players’ entry fees was meager, a few hundred dollars. So we began a raffle and auction. Industry professionals generously donated products such as a signed Andre Agassi Head Radical, which raised $650. 

    Last year The Woody began an “auction matching” program up to $4000.  We are delighted and grateful to welcome Tennis Warehouse as our founding contributor allowing us to raise $8,000 in 2021 alone.  This year The Woody promises to exceed $50,000 in total charitable donations.  If you would like to be part of our Woody Auction or the matching program (up to $4K) please drop Granville or Jim a note at: woodytennis@yahoo.com. 

Thanks for visiting…

Gran & Jim

The Woody Tennis Championships^® is a registered trademark.

Nice hats!