In early 2020, the Perth, Western Australia family and tennis mates of Ross Sawatzky suffered a brutal blow when the 48-year-old father of two died from an extremely rare autoimmune condition, HLH.

With the Sawatzky family's backing, Rossco's tennis mate Norman Burns launched a tennis day at North Shore Country Club, where Ross, a tennis and sports fanatic,  had been a former president.

The first tournament, held on a scorching day in 2021 attracted just under 40 entrants and had the backing of one local sponsor, PM Piping, and with  Snauwaert Australia supplying the balls.

With no HLH-specific organisation in Perth (or even Australia), funds raised were directed to the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.

The tennis was great but a snap State Government COVID lockdown at 6PM meant a sudden curtailing of post-tennis festivities!

Luckily by tournament #2 COVID lockdowns were becoming a thing of the past; the Sawatzky Cup was growing too, with a field of about 60 men and women.

Now more sponsors were coming on board, chief of these Paul Snell's Complete Commercial Projects.

By Sawatzky Cup #3 though such was the interest more courts were needed; thus the event moved to the grasscourts at Alexander Park Tennis Club.

Now the field was 80 strong, with a dozen sponsors on board - and our target charity shifted to Rare Voices Australia the peak body helping more than two million Aussies (young and old) facing rare illness and disease - like HLH which proved fatal to Rossco.

The Sawatzky Cup's aim is to generate not just funds for Rare Voices Australia, but to bring the great work it does nationally to wider attention.

And every year we raise a glass (of Shelter beer or  Swings & Roundabouts wine) to a great dad and good mate gone but not forgotten.

The official 2025 Sawatzky Cup/Rare Voices Australia donation page is now LIVE. All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.

 https://donate.rarevoices.org....

NEWSFLASH: 

Auction of collectable, signed authenticated sports tops now LIVE! All proceeds from highest bids will go to the Sawatzky Cup donations to Rare Voices Australia.
Thanks to Todd's Auctions for donating their time and expertise to set this up.
To be auctioned:
* Australian Olympic Team issued top signed by world champion, Diamond League champion and Paris 2024 Olympic pole vault gold medallist Nina Kennedy
*Signed 2024 Wallabies jersey
* Signed 2024 Perth Glory jersey
*Signed 2024 Perth Wildcats jersey
Go to the BLOG for more details on how to bid

The Sawatzky Cup 2025 Grasscourt Classic, presented by Zarraffa's Coffee Currambine Drive Thru, will be held on Saturday January 11 2025 at Alexander Park Tennis Club, Menora, Perth, Western Australia.

The unique format - a Davis Cup/Fed Cup type team event - with a mix of round robin and knockout semifinals/finals - ensures entrants get plenty of tennis in a competitive but FUN atmosphere and that at the end of the day the BEST teams get their names engraved on the Sawatzky Cup.

UPDATE: MEN'S DRAW NOW OUT...SEE BLOG FOR DETAILS

All entrants get a "goody bag" of stuff, and all women entrants go into the draw for one of four $300 spa treatment vouchers.

Add in prizes for the first men's and women's teams entered, novelty prizes, raffles with $$$$ worth of prizes, a free sausage sizzle and Alexander Park's famous bar open early for refreshments and it is a great day for all.

Oh, and the winners - thanks to the amazing support of our generous sponsors - will go home with prizes totalling several thousand dollars all up.

What: Sawatzky Cup 2025 Grasscourt Classic, presented by Zarraffa's Coffee Currambine Drive-Thru

Where: Alexander Park Tennis Club, Clyde Road, Menora, Perth

When: Saturday January 11 2025 from 8am

The men's field is FULL (with a record 18 teams!) but there are still spots available in the women's field. Entries are $50 per player per team (just one current State League player allowed per team, no restrictions on other grades). To enter, click on the link below:

 https://www.trybooking.com/eve...

From 36 entrants and just one sponsor at the inaugural Sawatzky Cup in January 2021 to a maximum field of 132 entrants and more than 20 sponsors for the 2025 event - that's been the spectacular growth of the Sawatzky Cup in just five years.

But the event would just be 'another idea that never got off the ground' if it wasn't for the generosity of our tournament sponsors.

First and foremost of these is Mr Paul Snell, who initially came on board with his business Complete Commercial Projects. Now his new enterprise, Zarraffa's Coffee Currambine Drive Thru, is our 'platinum' sponsor.

Huge thanks too to Scott Gregson, the Australian distributor of Snauwaert tennis gear - including the International Tennis Federation approved balls he supplies for the tournament. All players rave about the quality of these balls.

Mr Michael Connelly of PM Piping was our original sponsor and he and the company continue to be on board.

DV Buyers Agency has also stepped up to the plate to become a major sponsor; thanks Dan and Violeta!

Arc Infrastructure is another major cup contributor and I thank Martin Holland and all the Arc Infrastructure team for their amazing support.

YONEX Australia provides close to $2000 worth of awesome racquet bags as prizes.

MAXUM Watches, an Australian based company, generously supplies some very cool wristwatches for EACH of our men's and women's winners.

Busselton's SHELTER Brewing Co. is the Official Beer for the Sawatzky Cup - thanks Tom and team SHELTER.

For 2025 we also welcome new sponsor Champion Electrical. Thanks Tim and the team at Champion Electrical!

And on behalf of the Sawatzky family, Rare Voices Australia and all of the competitors, a warm thank you to all of our other FANTASTIC sponsors/brands and partners of the Sawatzky Cup:

N-Hance Home Loans
Millman Chauffeur
The Racquet Shop
LetGo BNB
Aviso WA Insurance
KleenAz Window and Pressure Cleaning
Tennis Excellence
Swings & Roundabouts Winery
Slater Gartrell Sports
EvaKool Iceboxes
Alexander Park Tennis Club
Umbertos Continental Deli
Scotty's Media
MaxiBlock

If YOUR brand/business would like to know more about sponsorship opportunites for the Sawatzky Cup, please contact Tournament Director Norman Burns via email (norman@normanburns.com) or give him a call. (0439 424 185)

Likewise if you would like to get a team together for what is a competitive but FUN day's tennis, with great prizes for a fantastic cause.