Cooper Complex to Host L6 Tournament in December

After a string of successful outdoor junior tournaments throughout the spring and summer months, USTA Missouri is primed to hold an indoor junior tournament the weekend prior to Christmas.

The Cooper Tennis Complex will play host to a Level 6 singles tournament on December 17-19. Boys and girls at the 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s age brackets will have an opportunity to put their skills to the test at this affordable offering in Springfield.

“We’re really proud of the complex we have here at Cooper,” said Mallory Weber, the tournament’s director. “Any time we get to host a junior tournament, bring people into this building and have kids who are in our program at Cooper tennis get to play at home, that’s always exciting for us. We’re really looking forward to hopefully a big turnout.”

The mid-December L6 continues a stretch of junior tournaments the USTA Missouri district has conducted this year. Since March, the district has put on multiple Level 7 and Level 6 tourneys in addition to a pair of Level 5 events. Camdenton hosted several of these tournaments during the summer, while the upcoming L6 will be the first indoor one of the year within the Missouri district.

Weber — who works as community recreation coordinator at Cooper and is president of the USTA Missouri Board of Directors — is hopeful the Level 6 tournament draws out-of-area participants from Joplin, Branson, Columbia, the Lake of the Ozarks and beyond.

“Level 6s are just a really great opportunity for not only local play, but if you’re just starting out in tournaments,” Weber said. “Or maybe if you’re a high school player and you’ve played some competitive tennis. But you’re not really traveling crazy distances to play. You’re guaranteed to get two matches. It’s a way to dip your feet into tournament play at an affordable cost and get some exposure to what it’s like to play in those tournaments.”

Entry cost is $48 with registration closing on December 14. Each draw is limited to 16 participants. Questions can be directed to Weber, who can be reached at: mallory.weber@springfieldmo.gov

To register for the tournament, click here.