we only tripped on this because the D.C.’s home “stadium” (air quotes, the court is temporary and was constructed in the middle of a parking lot downtown) was used in the trials for the homeless world cup.
the format is a stripped down version of tennis (first to five wins the set, first to four wins the game, no deuces/advantages) where each set is a different competition (men’s singles, women’s doubles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles, women’s singles). the team with the most sets/games wins.
tragically, washington got whupped (by the 2 win, 10 loss delaware smash) so the two best parts of the evening had nothing to do with the matches:
- first, in between sets there was a wii tennis match between an 8-year old and a member of the d.c. team where the kid got crushed.
- second, half way through the final set of the match, the public address mis-announced washington player Sacha Jones (17-year old new zealander tennis prodigy) as Sasha Cohen (23-year old american gymnast or 36-year old british “borat” actor).
all joking aside, it was a good time, and the organizers were obviously trying really, really hard to make sure everyone had a good time.