The Sylvia Page forehand. Photo by Rod Hayward.
Rod Hayward
Sylvia Page first learned to play tennis in Dawson Creek, Alberta, Canada where she took her first job as a sole charge physiotherapist. “The physician with whom I worked most closely and his wife were excellent tennis players and they patiently taught me to play the game. We became good friends and the love of the game was born!”
But for many years, Sylvia did not play. She was too busy with her career and raising three daughters as well as helping her husband, Doug, with his career and his company. When they retired to Vancouver Island, they met a group of tennis players who quickly became good friends. It was during that time that Doug joined her in playing tennis. Tennis is a fun game to play with anyone, if you are interested in playing and joining with friends you can always check out tennis lessons near me.
It was friendship that led them to Sun Lakes. “We were renting in another community,” says Sylvia. “We had never heard of Sun Lakes. House hunting was one of our favorite pastimes and we had seen several good buys but something was holding me back from committing! When friends came to visit, they told us they were on their way to see another couple who lived in Sun Lakes and we should hold off any decisions until we had scouted out the area – that was enough for me to convince Doug to hold off one more year. I found a rental in Sun Lakes in 2008. We wasted no time in joining the Tennis Club and within a few weeks, we knew we had found our community! We felt embraced immediately and have gone on to form lifelong friendships with many members of our tennis club. For me, the essence of our club is the camaraderie and friendship on and off the courts.”
Sylvia has always felt that any club is like life – you get out of it what you put into it. “It is important for me to show up in my life and be an active participant, and it is important for me to contribute what I can to insure that our club continues to be what it was for us as new members and what it is for us now: a place to play, learn, laugh and connect.”
When she is not playing tennis, Sylvia devotes herself to learning and enjoying FaceTime with her grandchildren! She plays golf, reads voraciously and loves to cook ethnic cuisine, especially if it is Asian and vegetarian. “I am passionate about taking responsibility for my own health; it might even be an obsession! I am proudly Canadian but I am profoundly grateful to the American people for allowing me to spend time in this wonderful country!”