Williams, who won the women’s doubles with her sister Fran Jauncey, said the pair’s mother used to play dating right back to the 60s. 

She and her sister play together, and her son, who happens to be Canberra Raiders half-back Sam Williams, has played in every tournament since he was a young boy. 

“Our family has been coming for more than 50 years,” Williams said. 

“Our mother used to play back in the 60s, then she started bringing us and now my son plays too.”

A few people question her on the part where her son plays NRL, but mostly the weekend is about the tennis and a bit of socialising. 

Williams, who hails from Cooma said some had suggested playing at home, but the family enjoys its annual trip to the coast for the long weekend.

“We love making the trip every year, we get to catch up with everyone and the weather is brilliant,” Williams said. 

Sam proved a strong player on the court too, playing doubles with his uncle Bede Nicols. 

Sam was registered to play in the mixed pairs with his mum, but withdrew as he was still nursing some minor injuries from the NRL season. 

Meanwhile, near-60-year veteran of the competition Myrtle Boate, 92, was also in attendance, but has given up her playing days in the competition. 

She has been playing in the tournament for 52 years, but said she took part in a number of events when it was hosted by Cobargo. 

“I’ve been playing here since it started, but I also won about six tournaments at the Cobargo courts,” Boate said with a laugh.  

Boate was winner of three divisions in the inaugural tournament and has been visiting Tathra each year ever since. 

She still plays twice a week in Cooma, but has given up competitive play. 

Meanwhile, Bega pair Bob and Paul Warren also looked comfortable on the court playing through some doubles rounds. 

Paul, who is looking to take on state competitions also took part in the singles and played alongside Merimbula junior Aria Little in the mixed doubles on Monday.

Organisers were thrilled with the turnout for the event and were kept busy ensuring rounds ran smoothly across the weekend. 

The competition attracted strong entries from Cooma, Canberra and Sydney this year, who joined the recently added coast v country stakes. 

Players are awarded points based on their home club for each round win, the overall points winner claims the shield.