The Warkworth Challenge sees Parnell taking on the might of Lower Northland tennis in an annual fixture initiated by Robbie Blair, a past manager of PLTC, upon his relocation to Warkworth. This year's challenge was played on a glorious autumn day in May, and saw the Lower Northalnd team travel south to battle us on the Parnell courts. A mini Omicron wave in the tennis community meant that there was considerable shuffling of teams at the last moment, with Parnell ending up supplying a couple of players to Lower Northland for the day to make up the numbers.

The tennis was extremely comeptitive, with the result hanging in the balance right through until the final round of mixed doubles matches in the late afternoon. In a rather ironic twist of fate, it was Jeff Harriman, on loan from PLTC to Lower Northland for the day, that sent down the final unreturnable serve that gave Lower Northland victory by the finest of margins, 37-35.

The tennis was followed by much socialising and frivolity in the clubrooms, with Johnno from Warkworth leading the moves on the dance floor! 

With Lower Northland having won the annual fixture for the last 4-5 years, PLTC will be looking to put together a strong team to head up to Warkworth next year to reclaim the trophy.

Click here to see a selection of photos from the day's play.

Article added: May 2022