S H O R T S H O R T S • •
One Love Tennis program’s Amarvia accompanies Serena
Williams onto the court for the opening ceremonies of the
Federation Cup in Asheville.
ONE LOVE IN ASHEVILLE
A
GROUP of young tennis players from Wilmington attended
the Federation Cup match between the United States and
the Netherlands in February.
Boys and girls from One Love Tennis, the nonprofit
formed by Wilmington native and Wrightsville Beach resident Lenny
Simpson, traveled with chaperones to Asheville for the international
women’s team competition. One Love was one of four regional National
Junior Tennis and Learning centers invited by the United State Tennis
Association to take in the first-round matchup.
But the 40 local kids did more than just watch tennis and buy
souvenirs.
They were treated to a U.S. Tennis Association clinic before the matches
began. Some of the Wilmington youth played in a tennis demonstration
to open the event, others carried flags, and six others had the once-in-
a lifetime experience of escorting the players onto the court for the
opening ceremony. Two One Love girls, Amarvia and Malia, walked out
holding hands with two of the greatest women players ever, Serena and
Venus Williams.
“Amarvia came running back to me and said, ‘I will never wash my
hands again,’” Simpson says. “We tried to explain, going up on the
motor coach, you guys are going to have the best time of your life. They
didn’t realize until they stepped in there and it started to happen. These
kids came back so unbelievably inspired.” — Simon Gonzalez
ANNA LEE
BOAT SHOW AT CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE
HAT BEGAN 19 years ago as a small show to spotlight the work
of wooden boat building students has morphed into a major
riverfront event.
The annual Cape Fear Community College Boat Show, sched-uled
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for April 7, features hand-built wooden and fiberglass boats. Local experts will
demonstrate boat building, knot tying and lathe turning.
“We call it the Riverfront Boat Show now,” says Mark Bayne, director of CFCC’s
wooden boat building program. “It started out as a wooden boat show, but 10 years
ago or so they started having a boat manufacturing class here, so it now includes
fiberglass boats and boat building in general. We encourage classic fiberglass boats
to be here and also all the different types of wooden boat construction — amateur
constructed, professionally constructed.”
Bayne says it’s no longer just a local event.
“We get people from all over,” he says. “We get boats showing up from a couple of
states away that just want to come to Wilmington for the weekend.”
The show begins at 9:30 a.m. and boats will be on display until 4:30 p.m. Proceeds
go to scholarship funds for students in CFCC’s boat building programs.
— Simon Gonzalez
Handcrafted wooden boats are a highlight of
the Cape Fear Community College Boat Show.
COURTESY OF CAPE FEAR COMMUNITY COLLEGE
16
WBM april 2018