#junior golf club

[untilthenexttee]

Global Golf Box Initiative: A Game-Changing Partnership Empowering Ugandan Youth

Members of Earl Grey Golf Club in Calgary, Alberta Canada (Host of the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open), in partnership with TaylorMade Golf Company, have launched an inspiring initiative to support underprivileged youth golfers at the AFRIYEA Golf Academy in Uganda.  The Global Golf Box Initiative is designed to empower the present and future generation of golfers from underserved communities, providing…

[jinjigolf]

English Golf Lessons at Ochiai Golf Garden in Tokyo, Japan

We offer private English golf lessons in Tokyo from beginners to experienced players. Our top golf kids' classes provide the perfect introduction to the game for your children.

[coastalgolf]

Golf brands specifically design and size junior golf clubs for younger golfers. Designed for young players with various club configurations, tailored to meet junior golfers' needs, including drivers, irons, and putters.

[sublimeobservationarcade]

What Are Some Strategies For Attracting Young Golfers?

Probably the greatest challenge faced by the golf industry in the 2020’s is the need for generational change. New blood is urgently required, especially in club land. Golf clubs around the world want to attract new members and young golfers are an essential part of this. In Australia, according to a national survey conducted by Golf Australia, the average age of male golf club members is 58 and…

[kiaracross1]

🧒 Junior golf clubs are specially designed golf clubs for young golfers, typically children and teenagers who are just starting to play the game. 🏌️ These clubs are essential for helping young golfers learn the fundamentals of the sport while ensuring that the equipment is both safe and appropriate for their age and size. ⛳

[techramonic]

What is Pain? : How Austin Eubanks Dealt with Addiction and the Aftermath of Columbine.

Austin and Corey

Stephen Austin Eubanks was a junior and a star student in Columbine High School. Corey Tyler DePooter, his best friend, was also a particularly gifted student who prioritized his studies over anything else. Despite having a wide range of interests, the two kids particularly bonded over their shared passion for fishing.

At the age of 17, Corey had gotten a job doing maintenance at a golf club in order to earn money for a fishing boat that he planned to buy with a friend — likely Austin. The two often used to go fishing together and would talk about the struggles they had as teenagers.

Day of the Tragedy

On April 20th of 1999, the two were inside the library getting ready to get lunch with their friends, Jennifer Doyle and Peter Ball. That was until they had heard shots fired from the outside, not recognizing the sounds and believing that it was only the sounds of construction. Then they heard a bomb go off, a teacher rushing in to scream for the students to hide underneath the table because two students were armed with guns.

In a state of shock and fear, the four duck under the same table near the windows. With 10 minutes passing, the shooters had already entered the library and methodically fired under each table as recalled by him. His best friend, Corey, was one of those who were shot after being aimed with a semi-automatic rifle and shot at the neck, chest, and left arm by Dylan Klebold.

The bullet that hit Austin's hand first passed through his best friend, killing him instantly. With his best friend lying lifelessly beside him and being wounded on his hand and knee, Austin had no other choice than to try to play dead while laying in a pool of blood. When the shooting had stopped, Austin ran through the smoke and out of the backdoor of the library. He was only 17 when the shooting occured.

In Austin's TedTalk “What Columbine Shooting taught me about pain and addiction”, he recalls:

"I remember how I felt: I was confused, I was afraid, I felt sick and I was vulnerable. And just minutes later, I was playing dead underneath a table next to a pool of blood. I had just been shot and I witnessed my best friend murdered right in front of me as we were huddled together waiting for help to come."

Pain, Grief, and Narcotics

During the time he fled from the crime scene, Austin marked that as one of the most impacting and damaging experiences he has ever experienced in regards to the feeling of pain. His definition of pain was nothing similar to what he describes in his present days.

Pain, in a medical sense, is the variably unpleasant sensation of physiological systems mediated by specific nerve fibers of the brain that are conscious of receiving signals of awareness. According to Austin's TedTalk, the American Pain Society introduced the term "pain is the fifth vital sign" in 1996. This means that when you enter the room, your status is assessed using five different data points: blood pressure, pulse rate, temperature, respiration rate, and pain.

Due to a movement that was certain that we were undertreating pain, patient satisfaction surveys were implemented in order to monitor the campaign's success. To him, in order to uphold this new momentum and cause the patient's pain levels to cease completely, the ethical dilemma instantly arose:

“Do I issue this person with narcotics to make them happy or deny them and potentially hurt my compensation, the revenue of the hospital? Or at worse, open myself up for a grievance for undertreating pain that could potentially result in the loss of my job?”

Austin says that the healthcare system predominantly treats physiological systems and would rather not assess emotional pain into the equation. He akins the emotional pain of dealing with trauma being identical or if not more than when dealing with physical pain. With that, within months after the incident, Austin was prescribed opiate medication for his injuries.

In an exclusive interview with The Fix, he said that his injuries were not to the point of needing an opiate pain medication but was immediately given a 30-day supply and became addicted within three months. From then on, he said, “I used substances every day, day in and day out.”

After the shooting, his parents took him to a therapist who said Austin was too shut down to process his horrific trauma. But the reason no one could reach him was because he was overmedicated. He was addicted to painkillers, and used medication because of his unwillingness to engage in the stages of grief that he dreaded to face. He was haunted by the past. Struggling with survivor's guilt and the death of his best friend, he would rather ignore the intense burdening feelings he bore. According to him,

“Acute Physical Pain ends relatively quickly, complex emotional pain does not.”

The morphine Eubanks received at the hospital that day proved to be the opening dose of a costly addiction to prescription painkillers - one that revolved around commonly prescribed drug Oxycontin, he said.

“I learned to manipulate doctors … I could literally get whatever I wanted. Telling them I’d been shot at Columbine and lost my best friend was like [getting] an open prescription book from any doctor.”

He could not process the grief, moreso, he didn't want to. He didn't want to be haunted by the memories that scarred him. In his own words, he would describe the physical ailments he felt to be a 4 or 5, but the emotional turmoil was a 10.

Austin never set foot back to Columbine. His parents hired a tutor and he then went on to graduate in 2000. He attended the Columbine ceremonies but never went back inside the school. He then went into advertising and married in his early 20s. Around this time his substance abuse escalated, and his first attempt to get sober was in 2006. He went into a 30-day inpatient program but failed within hours of leaving, for  relapsing using pain pills and Adderall. 

Addiction and Sobriety 

He failed both outpatient and rehab twice and it wasn't until 10 years later, in 2009 that he was able to overcome this addiction. Right before Columbine, young Austin had been misdiagnosed with ADD. 

“I didn’t have ADD,” said Eubanks. “I just liked being outdoors and playing golf better than being in school. At that time, if anybody was truant at school they said, ‘Oh, they must be ADD. Let’s put them on a stimulant.’ That was why I got Adderall. I liked it because I could abuse opiate pain medication to the level that most people would be nodding out. With Adderall, I could function. Basically, I was doing oral speedballs. It was like using methamphetamine and heroin.”

His second try at being sober was in 2008. Gaining the motivation to change after recently separating from his wife, he went to treatment, stayed 90 days, and achieved eight months of sobriety. Then, he akinned addiction to a causal sequence, a domino effect. According to him, he achieved abstinence for a period of time, built up enough false confidence to where he thought he could drink, because alcohol was never a problem. From alcohol, he went to weed, then Xanax, then Oxycontin, and then back into the same routine.

In 2011, approaching the age of 30 and estranged from his wife and kids, he hit rock bottom: "My sobriety date is April 2, 2011. I woke up in a jail cell and had no clue how I got there." His downward spiral began with Oxycontin and alcohol abuse, leading to arrests for various offenses like car theft and fraud. Realizing that he needed a drastic change, he recounted that his lowest moment was waking up in withdrawal, hungover, and facing the ruins of his marriage and being estranged from his children. He knew he had to stop or he would die. After unsuccessful attempts at sobriety, he finally sought help, surrendered to treatment, and was now willing to follow any guidance to rebuild his life.

His journey to lasting sobriety didn't hinge on traditional 12-step programs, but rather on understanding behavioral triggers and brain function through a therapeutic community approach. He was five years sober and started working at The Foundry in Colorado, becoming the COO and handling approaches that combined neuroscience with 12-step principles, recognizing that each person's path to recovery is unique. Using comprehensive approaches aiming to rebuild the lives of those in recovery.

During this time, he would also indulge in old activities in remembrance of his bestfriend.

“It’s something I do to connect with Corey. It's always nice whenever I catch a fish that's above the normal or something special about it. I always tend to look up and give a nod to him. And I know he’s still looking out for me."

Sadly, despite his long battle against drug addiction, in 2019, Austin had passed away in his home in Colorado after an accidental heroin overdose. Just a month after the 20th anniversary of Columbine, Austin was 37 at the time.

What is Pain?

Pain, to Austin, encompassed many things: the confusion and vulnerability of not knowing what to do in such a time of terror, the physical wounds that the doctors tried to medicate to bring the pain meter to zero, and most importantly, the emotional hurt of knowing your best friend was gone, taken right in front of you. Knowing that very moment can never be undone.

His advice for survivors dealing with the same guilt is to feel it. Don't run away from it. Survivors often find other things that allow them to detach from the pain, but to him, that's the wrong choice.

“You can heal physical pain while you’re medicating it. You cannot heal emotional pain while you are medicating it, In order to heal emotional pain, you have to feel it ... You want to feel better immediately, [but] you have to have the courage to sit in and feel it, and if you can do that long enough, you will come out on the other side.”

Along with post-traumatic stress, there is also the potential for post-traumatic growth.

“That doesn’t imply you will ever be the same person again. After a trauma, you will be changed forever.”

[uroboros55]

carlance au

Listen i know i know but i just cannot take it out of my head...

Lance was with Nando for a few years but they broke up when Lance kept asking about marriage and starting a family and Nando said that he did not want kids lance is finally done waiting for Nando to change his mind

so they break up and Lance moves back to his dad so he can get his life back in order

and one night (like idk 2 months after the break up) his dad makes him go with him to some country club to play golf

and they find out their course has been double booked or sth (I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT GOLF SO SHUT UP) and they have to share with... Sainz Sr. and Jr.

and Lawerence and Carlos Senior know each other and are really happy to catch up while Lance does not really remember much about Junior (cause Lance might have been to a lot of galas and stuff as a kid but Senior rarely brought his kids over) only that he was older than Lance

and then he sees Carlos, in all his glory with the dark wind-swept hair and nice looking polo shirt and shorts that hug his hips, and lance.exe stops working for a minute

so does Carlos.exe cause he sees a tall dark-haired guy with the biggest eyes and he looks like a prince and he cannot really do anything until finally his dad slaps him on the shoulder and tells him to stop being weird and say hello

and carlos shakes Lawrence's hand but almost immediately he goes to Lance and when he takes his hand he just keeps shaking it saying how nice it is to meet him

and Lance is so smitten he cannot even find a word Carlos's hand is soft and warm and carlos keeps looking at him with his big eyes Lance just blushes while mumbling his name back

Lawerence & carlos Senior see all of that and are trying really hard not to laugh at their sons

the whole day carlos basically ignores the old men and just keeps close to Lance, talking with him and asking him all about his work (Lance is either an interior designer and carlos suddenly feels like he needs his whole house redecorated) and he keeps pushing lance clubs before lance can do anything

Lance for a while is nervous cause it has been so long since he talked to SB New but after a while, he lets his dry humor show and bickers with carlos

carlos keeps looking at Lance so much he barely concentrates on golfing and loses so badly but he cannot even try to get mad because Lance wins and his laugh when he finds out is so endearing to carlos

and during lunch later he keeps asking about Lance and everything Lance-related

when they finally say their goodbyes carlos asks for Lance's number so he can arrange a meeting cause he wants "to change his house quite a bit" "But last week you said you were pleased with your house" "Shut up Dad"

fast forward a few days carlos texts Lance and asks him for dinner

Lance is a bundle of nerves cause it has been so long since he was on a date with SB who isn't Nando (and truth be told the last date he had with Nando was the one when he broke things up)

Esteban has to get off work early to help Lance with his breakdown ("But what if he hates me when our dad isn't there to take away the attention?" "Lance he will love you, he didn't say more than hello and goodbye to your dad last time, he was so busy talking with you")

so finally Lance goes to the restaurant and he is so nervous and tries to not show it but the moment he steps inside the restaurant Carlos is there with flowers and he looks so good in his gray suit and he smiles so big when he sees Lance

and the whole night he is so sweet always asking about Lance and his family and he does want to learn more and more (he asks about uni and childhood and his family and pets and friends and keeps listening so intensely he sometimes forgets to eat his dish) but he also keeps talking when Lance asks him about sth and he looks like a happy golden retriever when Lance smiles at him

and when Carlos finally takes Lance's hand in his and smiles so sweetly Lance cannot really say anything for like 15 minutes cause he is speechless.

but later he tells Carlos that he needs more time cause he got out of a long relationship that he thought would be his last one and he is not yet ready to go straight into another relationship

and Carlos just nods and says "I can wait as long as you need to, just please let me stay close, we can go as slow as you want to"

when they finally leave the restaurant after like 3 hours they just walk for a bit, holding hands, not talking much but the whole time Lance blushes so prettily Carlos prays this night will never end

and when they finally say goodbyes Carlos just kisses Lance's cheek and hugs him

and when Lance finally calls Esteban to tell him about the date he keeps grinning like an idiot but Esteban is so happy his friend had such a great night

and ever since then Carlos has kept messaging Lance every day, and sometimes calls him; they see each other at least once a week but Carlos respects Lance's boundaries and he sticks to handholding, hugging and just being close to him

and Lance keeps opening up to him, letting him more and more

WHILE he still gets time to meet with Esteban Mick and all his friends and one night they go clubbing cause the last time they did it was even before Lance met Nando and he sometimes misses just being able to dance with his friends without caring about a world

and they have so much fun, drinking and dancing Lance feels so good but there is one missing thing and it is Carlos

and he decides to go outside to make a call but before he can he collides with sb chest and it's... Carlos? who looks so good in his black shirt and swept hair and he hugs Lance before saying his hellos and asking what he is doing here

turns out Carlos's friend Lando is a DJ and Carlos went here with his friend to support him

so soon Carlos mets Esteban and Mick and invites them to their table to meet Carlos's friends: Max, Teto, and Lando who is taking a break from djing for a while

and Lance is a little bit worried that Carlos will soon forget about Lance and focus on his friends, but Carlos does the opposite and sits next to Lance, brings him drinks, and always makes sure Lance is in the convo, even explaining some of the inside jokes he has with his friends

Carlos's friends are funny and they get on with Mick and Esteban it warms Lance's heart

and when Lance finally gets the courage to ask if Carlos wants to dance with him Carlos just smiles so widely that Lance has to laugh

and turns out that Carlos has two left feet but he is so enthusiastic about dancing with Lance that it's not really a big problem for Lance

when they finally get off the floor Lance asks to get outside instead of joining their friends and Carlos just takes his hand and takes them outside they just spend a few minutes sitting close to each other and Lance can feel how warm is Carlos next to him. and he never really had that with Nando cause he always wanted to go to the next place, do sth else

and this is the moment when Lance realizes he is falling in love with carlos and he cannot really wait any longer

so he just turns his head and takes carlos face in his hands and kisses him

and he can hear carlos quite surprised gasp before he lays his hands on Lance's hands and asks if he's sure lance just nods while trying to stop smiling and carlos is also smiling before going back to kissing Lance

kissing Carlos is one of the best things Lance ever did

cause carlos lips are soft and plum and he tastes like the beer he had typically Lance does not drink beer but this time he does not mind

and Carlos seems to be reading his mind cause he moves the way Lance likes and never pushes for more just follows Lance's lead

and Lance really wants to kick himself that he made them wait this long to finally kiss

that's all i have for now that i can share but i have been obessed about this since this morning

[deeplyclosetedjameswilson]

house characters as high school teachers but none of them can teach bio bc thats cheating

house - physics. specifically ap physics, 1+2 and c. has the best pass rate in the state but thirteen tells him it doesnt matter because his class sizes are tiny (his reputation scares lots of students off). doesn't grade a damn thing, hasn't lesson planned since dinosaurs roamed the earth. department head but really cameron is doing his job

foreman - calculus and geometry. taking ap calc concurrently with dr houses ap physics c is not for the faint of heart. actually a really good teacher. grades harshly but also gives really good feedback. almost impossible to earn an A in his class unless you really understand the material, but he's always available for extra help. kind of dry so hes unpopular with the younger kids. math department head

chase - gym teacher. his first year of teaching the kids screenshotted his instragram pfp and put it up on posters around the school.

cameron - i know i said no bio but cameron is the freshman bio teacher that all the students adore. definitely has kids eating lunch in her classroom. does all of house's department head paperwork. not as good as giving feedback as foreman but she is better about giving chances to go back and retake tests, make up assignments etc. runs the national honor society

wilson - exclusively teaches english class for seniors. literally impossible to fail his class because you just start crying during extra help and he passes you. big on watching movies in class but will assign one of those worksheet to follow along with. its ok if you dont do it because again, you can sniffle and he will give you a 65. if the school can't find a theatre teacher for the year he's an ok backup but insists on doing the classics. have you ever seen high schoolers perform the works of henrik ibsen? english department head

kutner - english teacher, sophomores and juniors. really big on creative writing. class is extremely disorganized, so you're not always sure what you're supposed to be learning but you're having a good time so it doesn't matter. if he thought ahead enough to make his students hold on to all their work they'd have an amazing portfolio but unfortunately he accidentally threw out all your essays from december (he tells you this in april). they were great though. helps run all the extremely nerdy clubs.

thirteen - another math teacher. kind of like foreman she teaches both upper level kids, but in statistics, and the lower level kids in algebra 1. really good at explaining concepts in ways you wouldn't have thought of. dry sense of humor but the kids love it. students have many theories as to why she's called thirteen (that was the average grade on her final, she fails 13 kids a year, her classroom is haunted and she's the 13th teacher to use it) but its because she was house's 13th student teacher (and the 2nd to actually make it into education despite house's best efforts to convince her otherwise)

taub - career change into teaching. combo sociology and psychology teacher. his class isn't the most interesting, but he's a decent teacher. occasional pop quiz and presentation but otherwise he shows off his powerpoint every day and makes you take a quiz on friday. loves to show a movie in class but unlike wilson he does expect you to turn in the worksheet, cmon its literally 5 questions suck it up. coaches golf

cuddy - the principal. she would like a liquor store gift card for an end of year gift please

[pleasereadmeok]

 “I thought, I should give that go! Why don’t I give it a crack?”

A very young Matthew Goode - who had recently decided that he might as well try being an actor!

@asgoodeasgold 's post today reminded me about this. From Matthew's biography page on matthew-goode.net. [I wrote this a LOOOOOONG time ago so don't judge 😂]

He does remember ‘performing’ from an early age – “Probably being the youngest and fighting for attention is something to do with it.”  “I’d always been someone who sang in the choir. I was head chorister of my choir at my prep school and we did school plays and bits and bobs.”  [Backstage]

Jenny Goode (Matthew's mum) was also an amateur theatre director –  “She did have a huge passion for the theatre, though, and ran The Campion Players, the local amateur dramatics group. She involved me from a young age. I always thought that actors were an incredibly fun bunch and smart with it.” [Red] Matthew has been on stage since a young age.  He remembers playing a singing rodent in ‘The Wind and the Willows’ when he was about 6. Matthew’s mum says – “From an early age in junior school productions, I saw that he had considerable presence on stage and found learning both the script and the music very easy. At that age of course children show a wide area of abilities, he particularly loved all forms of sport and had a good ear for singing and playing a musical instrument.”  [Devon live]

He says that his mum was an orphan and joked that – “She genuinely at one point thought she was Laurence Olivier’s love child. She had an incredible passion for it.”  [Herald Scotland]

[Matthew with his mum Jenny at the Brideshead Revisited premiere / Richard Young]

Matthew enjoyed being around theatres, amateur actors and being out until late in a “Brilliant adult fantasy word.” [Clocktower Radio].  However he never considered acting as a career and as he got older he got shy about performing because he tended to be a blusher.   He admits that his first kiss was on stage – “Michelle Halford was her name – she was a little minx.” “We had a kiss on stage.  It wasn’t particularly enjoyable but it was my first.”[New York Times Screen Test interview]  Unfortunately he gave up acting in his teens because he went red on stage, [Guardian] and he was more interested in sport, “so it sort of went on the back burner a bit” [Backstage]. Matthew didn’t take up acting again until he was in Sixth Form (about 17). Meanwhile Matthew excelled in sport.  Matthew Rhys asked him “How big a part does sport play in your life?” Goode: “It used to play a phenomenal part in my life, because I used to play a lot of county sport, a lot of sport for my school. I love team sports”.  [Interview Magazine].  He played hockey and cricket representing his County/school but golf became his main sporting passion. Matthew started playing crazy golf with his brother James, then progressed to ‘pitch and putt’ and on to the full size version when he was about 14.  His parents loaned him some money to pay for club fees. “I was the dream child for the holidays.  My parents would drop me off [at the golf club] first thing and pick me up when the light was going.” [Robb Report]  He reached a high level of skill at an early age with a handicap of 4 but that has dropped to a 7 today. [Discussion with Greg Kinnear at Dunhill Links Tournament]. Matthew talks about his relationship with his late father very fondly – sadly he died early in Matthew’s career.  He refers to how his father taught him about wine and Scottish whisky.  Matthew’s father also taught him to fish and he talked about this in an interview with his friend Matthew Rhys. RHYS: When did you first start fishing? GOODE: I will never forget it. I used to go to Wales for canal holidays. When I first started fishing, I was on the Brecon Canal in Wales. We pulled up in our canal boat and Dad got out these two maroon, telescopic fishing rods, and put a reel on. RHYS: Was your father a fisherman? GOODE: Yes, he loved it. In fact we used the tackle he used as a boy. It’s no longer with us. He put a couple of maggots on, cast it out, and handed it over to me. I would’ve been eight or nine. Then, about five second later I saw the thing just drift away and I had got one, and it was a beautiful roach—a perfect little roach, silver, about three-quarters of a pound. RHYS: What is it about fishing? GOODE: It’s quite exciting—it’s like acting, some bits are quite exciting and then there’s moments where you’re not doing anything or nothing is happening.  [Interview Magazine]

Education Matthew’s parents worked hard to pay for himself and James to have a private education.  James boarded at his school while Matthew was a day boy at Exeter School, an independent school in the city of Exeter in Devon.

[DevonLive]

Matthew studied A levels including Geography, Drama/Theatre studies and English.  He was considering a career in Archaeology. “For a time I wanted to do archeology, also because my father was a geologist.”[Style Magazine Italia] but his drama teacher, Stephanie Tratmore, had spotted his talent and encouraged him to take up acting again.

[Matthew’s drama teacher Stephanie Tratmore/Crupeck – Exeter School]

Stephanie was putting on a production of Sean O’Casey’s ‘The Plough and the Stars’ and persuaded Matthew to audition for the part of socialist ‘The Young Covey.’  He was reluctant because he hadn’t been on stage for a few years and he was still a blusher. Stephanie got her way and he enjoyed playing the part.   “it wasn’t until I was 17 that I really caught the acting bug,” [Herald Scotland] During this time Matthew was in many Exeter city productions including ‘Richard III’ (as the ambitious Buckingham) and ‘Waiting For Godot’. [Devon Live]  He recalls being in productions at the Northcott Theatre and Barnfield Theatre in Exeter.

[Northcott Theatre Exeter]

[Barnfield Theatre – Exeter]

Stephanie and Andrzej Chrupek taught Matthew drama at Exeter School.  He got top marks in GCSE drama and A-Level theatre studies but worked hard at his craft. Mrs Chrupek said: “He had amazing concentration when he was on the stage and an intensity. He was also very intuitive and had incredible stage presence.”  Mr Chrupek added: “He had a very charming smile, which is obviously his trademark. He hasn’t changed a lot. He was great, great fun to be around and he had charisma on the stage. Your eye was drawn to him when he acted.”  [Devon Live] His mum proudly says – “Towards the end of senior school, I began to see someone who could sustain and create a character and make it his own and I increasingly began to think that a career as an actor was a real possibility.” [Devon Live]

However Matthew decided to go to University rather than go straight to Drama School. “By the time I got to 18, I had to get a degree to make my parents happy.” [Backstage].  Matthew was also considering a career in sport and briefly considered Archaeology [Style Italia] before he finally decided to study Drama at University because he didn’t think he was good at anything else. There was a lot of competition to do drama as a degree course and so he needed high grades. He remembers that most drama courses required an ‘A’ and 2 ‘B’s at A level.  The University of Birmingham offered him a place if he got 3 B’s so he opted for their course.  He actually got 2 ‘A’s and a ‘C’ at A level so he was accepted to study a BA in Drama and Theatre Arts – graduating in 1998. [Clocktower Radio Interview] Matthew remembered some good times studying at Birmingham in this Birmingham Mail interview:- ‘The 31 year-old star has fond memories of the city where he attended Birmingham University to study drama. And as well as treading the boards in the city’s theatres he managed to hit a few of the dartboards in its pubs, too. “It was bostin’,” he laughs. “I had a great time. I used to live on balti. There were a lot of curry houses that used to open late that I remember fondly. I wasn’t thinking about being an actor but I enjoyed doing drama and it had a very good course.  I really came out of my shell and I met the people who are still closest to me there.  We were like cock of the walk and thought we ran the town, or we thought we did as far as the drama course went. We were members of the summer darts league at The Brook Pub in Selly Oak, which got in the way of a lot of work.” [Birmingham Mail]

[The Brook Pub in Selly Oak – now demolished from Our Brum]

[Screenshot from ‘Silent Night’.]

Towards the end of his degree Matthew still wasn’t totally set on a career in acting but he says that his friend Gary got a place at Drama School and “I knew I was a better actor than him [laughs] so I thought I could do it too!”  “I thought, I should give that go! Why don’t I give it a crack?” [Backstage]  He says – “If you ask my teachers and my mother they would say ‘We always knew’ – but I didn’t!”  [Clocktower radio interview] Matthew applied for a loan to attend drama school and got a place at London’s Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.  I went up to London to audition and managed to get the postgrad course there.”

By the way - this is Gary - we have a lot to thank him for!

Goode fans owe this guy EVERYTHING!!!!   He is Gary Crystal - Matthew Goode’s mate from way back.  Matthew wasn’t heading for a career in acting until this guy applied for Drama school and got in.  

“I knew I was a better actor than him [laughs] so I thought I could do it too!”  “I thought, I should give that go! Why don’t I give it a crack?” [Backstage]

Gary is now a director/editor/writer.  And Matthew Goode?  Well whatever happened to him?  

[📷- IMDb]

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias x Reader - Top Spies Part 5/8

Okay, now I'm happy! 😄

Ruben and Reader are super spies, who have to pretend to be a married couple on vacation as a co-signed mission. A enemies to lovers fic, very sweet and funny!

Enjoy!

Things weren't awkward between you and Ruben since your little rumble in the sand, they were just different.

"So what are your plans for today?" You asked. Ruben was just returning from his morning jog, shirtless and dripping in sweat. You sat on the villas front balchony, enjoying a light breakfast.

"Not much, you?"

"Alejandro has invited us to play golf with him and his family this afternoon."

Ironically you and Ruben had settled in quite well with Alejandro and his family. They would often insist that you join them for a day on their yacht or a day kayaking in the sea. Ruben would usually try and come up with excuses why you shouldn't go, but Alejandro and his family kept insisting.

"What did you say?" Ruben asked.

"Well I said that you weren't much of a golfer and that it would probably be just me."

"Bet Alejandro liked that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" You frowned.

"The guy is clearly into you Y/N. He's just waiting for me to let you out of my sight."

"And will you?"

The scent of man invaded your nostrils as Ruben stepped up to you. For a moment you thought he was going to bend down and kiss you, however he paused as his lips hovered above yours.

"Never."

He snatched a grape from your plate. You admired the way his back muscles moved as he headed inside to shower. A part of you wanted to drop your skirt and join him. A very dominant part of you imagine what it would be like to fuck Ruben. Would he be gentle or rough? Handsy or tough?

Your guess was a bit of both.

********************************************

It was very obvious that Ruben wasn't much of a golfer, that he had never even held a club before. He was fine leaving you to it. Alejandro's nephew was eager to show him his collection of torphies instead.

"That's alot of golfballs." You acknowledged.

Arriving at Alejandro's golf course there were several piles of them overflowing the ranch.

"I'm thinking of expanding the resort with four more courses across the island, all with a view of the coast." He said.

"And for that you need more golfballs, makes sense." You nodded. "You should ad some more obstacles to the course, like a pond."

"No. Sand is fine. With water it gets too complicated with the golfballs."

You understood what he meant. It really was a hassle fishing golfballs out of the water, most of them got lost forever.

"Have you ever played golf professionally?" Alejandro asked. He was observing the way you picked your next golfclub, carefully weighing it in your hand, giving it a light swing.

"I stopped in the junior categories due to lack of funding from my parents."

"A shame. I would have stepped up as a sponsor if I knew you back then."

"Well that's very kind of you to say."

You learned that Alejandro supported alot of youth golfers in Portugal, including his nephew. You truly shared the passion for the sport, him a bit more since he was willing to invest in many young players careers.

"If I may ask, what was your maiden name before you got married?"

"It's was....."

You almost said it. You almost blew your cover revealing your real name.

Alejandro noticed your hesitation, tilting his head in curiosity. "I'm sorry for asking so many question but it feels like I should know who you are based on your merits. I've been on the board for the junior championships for over fiftheen years."

"No need to apologize. My junior career isn't somthing I'm really proud of. It basically eneded before it started."

"I see. And your maiden name was....?"

"Y/N!"

Thank god for Ruben. He interrupted you and Alejandro just in time.

"Yes?" You asked since he looked to have seen a ghost.

"Our reservations.... "

"Our what?"

He looked over your shoulders where Alejandro stood and that's when you realized that somthing was definitely up.

"Right, our reservations." You played along.

"You have reservations?" Alejandro questioned.

"Yes, to the spa." Ruben said.

"I'm sorry." You apologized. "I totally forgot about it."

Alejandro shook his head. "It's no worries. I can have Beatrice rearrange the reservations for tomorrow."

"That's very kind of you." Ruben said, already dragging you along with him. "But my wife and I need to relax today."

You left the golf course but did not stop at the spa nor the villa. Ruben drove you all the way to the marina before you finally asked him. "Whatta fuck?"

"There is a submarine." He said, a bit exhilarated about the fact.

"A what?"

"Alejandro's nephew told me that his uncle has a very big boat, like a whale. A whale that can dive underwater."

"What should we do?"

"Report back to Captain. But by then it might be too late. If the Drugs are here on the island I'm sure it's getting ready to get devided and split up in more portable amounts."

"I don't know Ruben, sounds like you want us to make the bust ourselves. I don't think that's such a good idea."

He turned to look at you, seeing the concern in your eyes.

"We won't do anything to jepordize the mission let's just assess the situation and gather evidence."

There was somthing in his eyes. He really wanted to do this.

"Fine, let's find this submarine of yours."

It was later in the evening when you choose to search the bay for a 100 meter submarine, lurking in the calm waters, however with no luck of finding it.

"They can't hide it underwater, another ship might run into it." Ruben said. "But what place could be big enough to hold a submarine, let alone hide it from an island full of tourists?"

"The caves at the golden cliffs!" You exclaimed. It's where Alejandro's family had taken you kayaking a couple of days ago. You never entered the dark caves with the kayaks, but surley they appered large enough to hide a submarine.

"Fuck Y/N, what would I do without you?"

You and Ruben traced the submarine to a hidden cove on the coast of the island, where it was anchored deep in the water.

"I can't believe it." You laughed. Ruben was right all along.

"We'll have to report back to the agency once we get our hands on the evidence. Call captain Harlow and tell him to prepare the team to demand a warrant for the arrest of Alejandro Martinez."

"Ruben your seriously not thinking about going down there are you?"

He looked eager to investigate further.

"Y/N, entering the ship is the only way I'll get a hold of the evidence that we need. Trust me, I won't be long."

Trust wasn't the problem, you thought.

Ruben took notice of this too, how your steps altered, your expression indecisive. All because you didn't want him to enter the ship and leave you behind.

"Hey." Ruben closed the gap between you, letting his hand stroke your cheek.

"Ruben I don't want you going down there."

"I know. " He nodded. "But I have to, it's our chance to finally put this guy behind bars."

"I know but..."

"You won't lose me Y/N. We're partners, remember?"

You smiled as his thumb swiped across your bottom lip. Either it was you who tilted your head up to kiss him or the other way around, him tilting down to kiss you. Nonetheless, you were kissing, a real kiss, soft and sweet.

You lips parted with the echoing sound of the cave, Ruben's forhead knocking against yours.

"Wait for me here." 

You nodded. "Okay."

As you made your way closer to the submarine, you suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind. You and Ruben turned to see the shadow of a burly man, sneaking up on you.

"You're not supposed to be here!" The man growled, pulling out a gun.

He stepped into a spring of light, revealing his face. It was Andrés, Andrés Fierro.

"Alejandro won't be happy to know that you're here."

You and Ruben acted quickly, drawing your own weapons and taking cover behind a nearby boulder. You exchanged a quick glance, and then Ruben nodded.

"Ready?" he whispered.

You nodded, heart pounding in her chest. "Ready."

The battle was intense, with bullets flying through the air followed by the loud echoes exploding in the distance. You and Ruben had Andrés Fierro cornered. But as you made your way closer to the submarine, you suddenly felt a sharp pain in your shoulder.

"Ruben..."

You crumbled to the ground seeing the wound from the stray bullet.

Ruben saw the look of shock on your face and rushed to your side, pulling you behind a nearby boulder.

"Y/N, no!" he shouted, his voice filled with panic. "You've been hit!"

"Don't let him get away!" You said through gritted teeth. "He'll blow our covers."

Ruben looked conflicted, but he knew there was only one right thing to do.

"I'll be okay," you whispered, your voice barely above a whisper. "Just finish the mission."

Ruben nodded, his eyes filled with determination. He knew that he had to get to the submarine. With a fierce cry, he charged forward. You heard two gunshots and the crumbling shouts of a man. The cave fell silent, however you were never in doubt, Ruben had killed Andrés Fierro.

[untilthenexttee]

PING advances Prodi G junior clubs; introduces junior custom-fitting app

PHOENIX (July 16, 2024) – Engineered with the score-lowering technologies of its adult line and inspired by its on-going commitment to introduce more juniors to the game, PING announced today the next generation of its custom-fit, custom-built Prodi G junior clubs. The new Prodi G clubs are available for custom fitting and pre-order at authorized PING golf shops around the world and on ping.com…

[feng-shui71]

i'm curious lets say after canon re5 (Wesker is considered dead but due to heisenberg's conspirecy board, its complicated), Jordan meets Jake Muller and finds out Wesker is his dad, how would they feel about each other since: either Wesker never informed Jordan over Jake or Jake didnt know his deadbeat dad still had a wife what would your take be?

Ooh!! I like this idea! also I did NOT play re6 so i apologize if Jake is ooc. Bonus drawing at end

Okay so in my canon for them Jake technically doesn’t exist because instead of meeting Mrs. Muller during Wesker’s time in the military, he meets Jordan instead, but let’s say somehow he’s here, maybe the fling with Muller and meeting Jordan was just months apart in this case:

I think Jordan would be kinda confused, like what the fuck do you mean he’s YOUR DAD?? Explain??? She’s honestly a bit pissed that Wesker didn’t tell her, or even mention the fact he was that involved with another woman before her, I mean a heads up would’ve been nice. However after the initial skepticism dies down Jordan is extremely nice to him and tries to accept and treat him as one of her own. I don’t think she’d try to force a relationship with him if he’s not willing to but would try to step up and care for him since Wesker couldn’t.

On the other hand, I think Jake would feel conflicted about Jordan. I think he’d harbour some feelings of resentment or anger towards both her and his father, the fact that he left him and Mrs. Muller for some random woman puts a sour taste in his mouth. Seeing the fact that Wesker had other children, that he actually had a presence in their lives whereas he was left with nothing? not even an ounce of acknowledgent for his existence? it’s painful for him, the resentment for Wesker growing more and more exponentially as a result. I don’t think he opens up at all at first and is a bit standoff-ish with Jordan, maybe even a little (a lot) rude at points but nonetheless I think he’d come around to her after some time has passed, it’d be a really long time after their first meeting though.

Now, one person I do think he’d fw heavy is Junior, definitely a “Step-brothers” situation at first though like they’d fight and argue and try to fucking kill eachother. Jake would rub his nuts on Junior’s drumset and Junior would try to hit him with a golf-club while Jake screams rape, then eventually mutual interests will bring them together.

bonus doodle:

[jade-kyo]

Season 17 post restoration thoughts

Casually skipping 16 and going straight to 17 because lord knows I can’t afford to lose anymore braincells. I genuinely enjoy this season so I’m looking forward to the rewatch!

Ngl jumping straight from 15 to 17 really highlights how absurd this is like bro why is there gods and shit omg 😂

The fates are racist- that explains a lot

Donut my sweet baby boy

You know as much as I hate time travel stories this works way better for a “lets reference and call back to as many previous arcs and seasons as possible” nostalgia trip than Restoration did

Okay while I personally prefer the take that Donut is fully aware of all the innuendos he makes and is doing it to be a little shit I do think it being unintentional is really funny considering the ace Donut thing

“You have me all wrong” “I doubt it.” Donut the master at not getting gaslit

Donut knows Wash’s name is David- meaning Wash must have told all the reds and blues his real name

JESUS CHRIST DONT KILL JUNIOR

Felix is afraid of knives

Man I love it when Dr. Grey sounds like herself

We love insurance fraud

DONUT WASH TEAM UP MY BELOVED

Wash just silently shooting Donut again has me wheezing holy shit

The Wash and Carolina conflict is so freaking good man I love them

Man this season is just genuinely entertaining to watch despite everything- the way I wish we could’ve gotten this character writing with a better story

Oh what’s that a way to reference back to all the freelancers that includes Wyoming and the triplets. The concepts are wild again.

Also it’s just genuinely hilarious

WASH SCREAMING INSIDE HIS HELMET

DELTA OMG I FORGOT HE WAS IN THIS SEASON

I need to find the ost for when Wash and Carolina reunite and she’s saying how she trusts him and doesn’t know why bro this music is so pretty

Seriously I’m enjoying this as a nostalgia trip so much more than restoration

Oh I can feel my inner 15 year old desperately trying to take control of my body and send me down the carwash pipeline again holy shit- platonic or romantic. They’re good either way 🙂

OH GOD THE CABOOSE FEELS AGAIN THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL

Kai I love you with all my heart and soul but you do not disrespect Junior like that

STOP BEING MEAN TO DONUT HE IS DOING HIS BEST

Yes Caboose IS a genius and also my son

Kai messing with Tucker is glorious holy shit is that bit funny I love them

“Time is made of circles” what a nice, funny and succinct callback. Look at those concepts being wild.

Not Tucker dropping the “your mom” bit on Doc AGSKHAKS

HELL YEAH DONUT YOU FUCKING TELL THEM THATS MY BABY BOI!!!

PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wash might be a competitor with Church for number one Donut Stan

Or simulation headcanon: Church is projecting his liking of Donut onto Wash

Okay but Donut should be in the caves not under the pelican FR PEOPLE STOP FORGETTING ABOUT THE CAVES!!!

Laughs in Spanish

I love competent Caboose and Donut

“My testicles send their regards” has no right being as badass as it is

Love a good Tucker moment- sure wish it wasn’t just redoing his character development that never should’ve been undone to begin with

OKAY BUT TUCKER AND DONUT MOMENT THO???? So good- can’t believe Donut is the “angsty bitch”

WASH AND CAROLINA AKDHAKBSKSHSKDHK

Love them talking about the AI like they’re Carolina’s siblings

Holy shit the voice acting between these two is so good

“If he’s single there’s no hope for any of us” sargington nation rise

Sarcastic Donut my beloved

I said this last time but seeing Church impaled by a golf club, even if it is actually Genkins, is entirely unnecessary bro I don’t wanna see that

THE LABYRINTH!!!

GOD CAROLINA VS CAROLINA AGAJSHKAH FROTHING AT THE MOUTH

Sarges vision is further proof that the correct ending for him is retirement

OKAY I STILL HATE THE LOPEZ VISION LISTEN I GET HE COMES BACK BUT ITS JUST IN POOR TASTE

“Don’t say toodles” LOVE sassy Donut so much

DOC BADASS MOMENT LETS GO

GRIF SIBLINGS MY BELOVED

Grif enlisted reveal you will always be famous to me

I never actually thought about it too deeply before but now that I am holy shit do I love that detail it’s so good and actually reminds me of my own brother who enlisted for similar reasons and regrets it now- seriously Grif enlisting is so realistic, a lot of kids sadly think the military is the only thing that can give them structure and purpose. It’s a great addition to the anti military themes of RvB

And yet- despite all these good red team moments- THEY FUCKING TURNED SIMMONS INTO A PENIS JOKE???? AND A BAD ONE AT THAT?????? COME ON S17 I THOUGHT YOU WERE BETTER THAN THIS THATS SOME S16 NONSENSE

TUCKER CANONICALLY HAS PANIC ATTACKS- the fact they kept his visions so vague is truly a CRIME

“Still got my penis” “what-“ GOD DAMN IT THAT ONE WAS ACTUALLY FUNNY COME ON I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A POINT EARLIER

AND WE DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO CABOOSE- honestly I know they probably didn’t have this arc planned back then but they should’ve used the labyrinth for Caboose to find closure in Church’s death rather than the Time Machine nonsense in s15. I feel like that would’ve been infinitely more interesting.

Carolina vs Carolina MY BELOVED HOLY SHIT I AM FROTHING AT THE MOUTH

OH FUCK THE FREELANCER TRAINING ROOM IM AKDHKAHSKSH THIS SHIT IS SO GOOD

GIGGLING KICKING MY FEET WE LOVE THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

Caboose gets it!!

GOD THE SLOW PIANO COVER OF BLOOD GULCH BLUES I CANT

AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH

Man what nice fairly satisfying conclusions to everyone’s arc- don’t we love wild concepts.

Sure maybe it’s not anything super poetic or perfect like 13 but at least it makes sense

Hell I’ve even warmed up to Donut leaving! Bro deserves some him time and it’s not like he said it was permanent or anything… doesn’t that just really hit you in the wild concept 🙂

You know what- this season is genuinely such a delight at times. Im thinking about adding it to my regular rewatch list along with 1-13 as just like a little bonus I can have at the end cause it’s just such fun. Glorified fanfiction! We love to see it- maybe Restoration sucking was a blessing in disguise cause it really gave me a new appreciation for 15 and 17 (but 17 especially). I probably won’t rewatch 15 as much cause being honest I don’t really enjoy it in its entirety as much as 17 but it’s got good moments I love.

Now- I know the logical thing for me to do is go back and watch 16 and then Restoration but here’s the thing… I don’t want to.

I genuinely do not enjoy those seasons. I don’t want to put myself through something that’s just gonna make me angry and bitter just for the sake of giving commentary on them- not right now anyway. Maybe one day I’ll feel like being a bit salty and do it but that’s just really not how I want to spend my time with my favorite show. I’ve already rewatched any clips from restoration that I cared to rewatch and I don’t think any of my feelings on it are gonna change. And I’ve seen 16 enough times to know my feelings won’t change.

Now what I am considering doing is rewatching 1-13 for the 20th time (<- accurate number, I’ve kept count over the years) and continuing to do these thought posts cause they’re good fun to do! So who knows whenever the time comes you’ll probably have to deal with more of my insane ramblings 😂

[autismtana]

so you wanna write a heartbreak high fic, but you're american (part 2)

Back in November, I wrote this after reading a bunch of Heartbreak High fics. I always planned to write a part 2 featuring some more aspects of Australian schooling, but my own writing, work and personal things (aka mental illness) got in the way.

As with part 1, this is NSW/Sydney specific, as that's where I'm from and where Heartbreak High is filmed and set. People from other states might have different experiences (I know a little bit about Queensland for example, because my parents are from there and most of my relatives went to school there).

If there's anything not covered here that you're curious about, please check part 1 as I may have covered it there, or send a reply.

Extracurricular activities: these are not timetabled during lesson times (some schools have things like Friday afternoon rewards but those don't really count). They're generally just for fun and a way for kids to socialise. What extracurricular activities are available depends on what the teachers at the school are able to run but aside from competitive and social sport, these are things like debating, mock trial (fake court cases, highly recommend, very fun), music ensembles like choir/jazz band/orchestra, then there are some academic things like Tournament of Minds, coding, streamwatch. The more academic activities are generally more selective, especially if there's a competition aspect like ToM. Extracurricular activities have absolutely no bearing on whether or not a kid will get into uni, although depending on what they are, they can be good to put on a CV for jobs. There are also no limits on how many extracurricular activities a student can do (there's no "oh he chose basketball instead of orchestra as his extracurricular" ... he can do both, they're also usually not running at the same time). Sydney schools tend to run more activities than regional/rural schools because the public transport system means that it's easy to get to and from places outside of school hours. Non-metropolitan schools tend to run things during recess/lunchtime so there's a limit on how many things kids can do.

Sport: most Australian kids participate in some form of sport. The most common ones are: soccer, cricket, netball, rugby league, AFL, touch football, athletics, swimming, basketball and tennis. Private schools often offer things like golf, rugby union and sometimes even skiing, rowing and equestrian. Hartley High has a group of cheerleaders and, like with the uniform thing, this is extremely rare. Cheerleading is a thing in Australia, but it mostly happens through clubs, kind of like gymnastics. It's more common for girls here to just be involved in a more conventional sport instead (usually netball, which, in my opinion, is the most boring sport in the history of the universe, but is pretty popular in Australian schools; league tag is also extremely popular in more regional areas). Depending on how big the school is, Aussie kids who play sport either get involved with school teams or local club teams, and they tend to range from more social/fun to more competitive, particularly as kids transition from the juniors into the older age groups. Some schools might not necessarily have school teams but will scrounge up a representative team for inter-school competitions (so this would be like if the inter-school basketball competition team wasn't necessarily the school basketball team but was just made up of the best 10-12 basketball players that tried out or signed up). Other schools have more competitive teams that compete against other schools. Schools in NSW have to do a mandatory amount of hours of physical activity, so some schools will let kids choose a sport for a certain amount of time to do during that time (this might be when the competitive teams compete). Club sports generally happen on Saturdays and Sundays (for me, AFL was Saturday, soccer was Sunday, rowing was Saturday morning if we didn't have a regatta that week). Kids who excel at a particular sport might get to participate in NSW combined high schools (CHS). Some of the more "prestigious" schools are part of athletic associations like GPS and CAS. In terms of post-school, I know very little about how it works, but all I know is that it's nothing like any of the American systems. We don't have a system like the NCAA here; I know a little about the AFL draft but it's too complicated to explain so here's a Wikipedia article about it (I know nothing about how NRL players go pro so don't ask me that). An Australian kid might attract a scholarship to an American university to play sport overseas, but our universities don't work like that.

Student leadership: Generally, all schools have one or two School Captains and one or two Vice Captains (some schools let the whole school vote for captains, but usually they limit it to teachers and the older grades). Then there are House Captains (kind of like the prefects from the transphobic lady's book), and they're usually elected by all the students in that house. They're involved in inter-house competitions which I'll touch on later. Some schools have captains for things like different extracurricular activities. Schools generally have a student representative council with one or more elected representatives from each grade, depending on how big the school is. My school was a Catholic school, so I got to be a Liturgy Representative (and I absolutely put that on my CV when I applied for my first shitty bakery job).

Carnivals: pretty much every Aussie school has a swimming carnival and an athletics carnival. This is where there's a bunch of races (and field events for athletics) and you participate in as many as possible to get house points. Sometimes swimming is only open to more competitive students but generally more people participate in athletics. Most Australian kids have swimming lessons as part of mandatory PE in primary school and in years 7-10 (I got my bronze medallion as part of mine and I'm now a member of my local surf lifesavers group). The house captains rile up their houses and get them to sing war cries to cheer everyone on (my personal favourite was 'how funky is your chicken'). The winning house gets ultimate bragging rights and is pretty much always the red house (they tend to put all the sporty kids in red and the dweeby nerdy kids in yellow for some reason). You get house points for going in events, but you also get them for cheering the loudest or having the cleanest area. Really, it's just a fun way of getting out of classes.

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

Zoe's Reprise: Part One

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.2k

Summary: Rossi needs your help when a young girl brings a case to his attention, unfortunately, at her death. High School reunion invitations have gone out, and you receive yours, unfortunately.

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

x

"I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." - Albert Einstein

Today is an early day since you and Spencer can't sleep. Usually, you'd find something to do like play indoor mini golf or play some chess, but may as well come to work and get ready before everyone else comes in. Spencer is at his desk doing his morning puzzle while you get coffee for the both of you. You cap both cups and start to make your way to your desk when someone from the mailroom stops you.

"Are you Y/N?"

"Yes."

"This came for you."

You have to balance the two coffees in one hand in order to take the thick letter from the young man. Spencer notices you're struggling and comes over to take one coffee from you.

"What is that?" he asks when the young man walks away.

"I don't know. Nothing ever comes for me. Everything goes through JJ."

You set your coffee on your desk so you can open your letter. Inside is an invitation to one of your high school's reunions. Instead of keeping it the normal ten or twenty years since you've graduated, your classmates thought it'd be fun to make it a lucky thirteen years.

Thirteen years since you've seen some of the worst people you've ever met. You've seen a lot of criminals in your day, but nothing compares to high school girls and boys. They're ruthless, especially to someone with your abilities.

"It's a high school reunion invitation."

"What's wrong? You don't look too happy."

"I went to two high schools in Texas because my family had to move at the end of my sophomore year. The first high school I went to was in Dallas and then in Corpus Christi."

"So, what happened?" Spencer asks.

"I was a quiet kid. I didn't really join many clubs or stood out because that's not who I was. I got good grades but I was bullied a lot because of what I can do. I didn't have a lot of control over it like I do now.

"At my Dallas high school, I caught a teacher having sex with a student. I told the principal which got the teacher fired. When the whole school heard what happened, she became a laughingstock. She started bullying me, then her friends joined in, then the whole school and it got so bad that I had to transfer. I finished junior and senior year in Corpus Christi," you finish.

"Wow, I'm so sorry. Were things better for you at that other school?"

"In the beginning. No one knew who I was but then the same thing happened. I was more quiet than before, but I saw a kid in my class with bruises on his face. I knew he wasn't being treated right at home because all I could see was his father and alcohol bottles. I tried talking to him but people overheard. Once again, I overstepped. People hated me again until I graduated."

"Are you going to go to this reunion?"

"I don't know if I even want to. I'm afraid of what they'll say to me."

"That shouldn't matter. Who cares what they think?"

"You're absolutely right but I'm still scared. I'll think about it. If we have a case in that city at the same time as the reunion, then I'll go. If I do, then you have to be my date."

"I can do that," he smiles.

You kiss him quickly before heading over to Penelope's office with him. She, Derek, and JJ are in there to see the pictures of JJ's son.

"Ooh, let me see my godson!" you grin. JJ passes a few photos over to you, and your heart melts at how cute he is. "He's so cute! You really need to bring Henry over. We really want to babysit. You can sleep all day and relax and leave him to us."

"I did talk to him. We're going to make that happen," JJ chuckles.

"Yay!"

Penelope's phone rings, showing Rossi calling her from being on his annual leave.

"Is this David Rossi, the famous bestselling author David Rossi?" she jokes.

"What are you doing?" you ask over speakerphone. "You're not supposed to be calling on annual leave."

"I think it just ended."

"What do you mean?"

"Garcia, Cleveland police are sending you some files. Get JJ to distribute them to the team right away."

"What are we looking at?"

"I don't know yet. Just see if the team can find a connection with these crimes. I'll call you back in a few hours."

"Yes, sir."

"Back to work," JJ says and puts away her photos.

Zoe Hawkes was found dead this morning by a woman walking her dog. Her dog wouldn't stop barking until Zoe was discovered. Apparently, Zoe was at Rossi's book signing with the intention of talking to him about something, but you don't know if there is any other connection between the two of them.

Zoe was found next to her car with her keys still in her pocket, the car alarm was still activated, and there was no sign of a break-in. There was blunt-force trauma to her head and signs of strangulation. The murderer asphyxiated her with the scarf she was wearing. The motive must not be robbery otherwise her things would have been stolen. She had unused pepper spray in her purse, but you're unsure if she didn't want to use it or never got the chance to.

Local police went door-to-door to see if there were any witnesses but nothing came of it. Police theorize that Zoe was looking into murders that occurred in the area. Most recently, Kayla James was murdered and raped three days ago in a burglary-homicide, and they theorize that she was killed because she was snooping around the older case.

As the team gathers in the briefing room, Rossi is on the phone to give his input since he's in Cleveland right now. He has Zoe's laptop so Penelope can go through it, so while JJ presents the case, Penelope is working on getting access. JJ puts a map on the board with the location of all five victims, not including Zoe.

"All crimes are within a seven-mile radius," you note, "but all the neighborhoods are completely different. They range from poor to rich to industrial to residential."

"The physical locations are dissimilar but the operating zone's well-defined," Hotch adds.

"Okay, I'm in," Penelope says. She immediately looks at what she was looking at last through her search history. "The first thing she looks at is a crime column to probably stay current on her studies. The first three are the most recently opened documents she created."

"It looks like she was compiling empirical data about homicide trends in Cleveland," Spencer says. "Do you think she knew the killer?"

"I don't see any notes indicating suspects," Rossi says.

"Well, Dave, she's a criminology student. She's been taught to analyze statistics and apply theory, not investigate killers. Let's talk about what we know."

"Alright. Victim one is Travis Bartlett who was last seen at a gay bar," JJ lists. "He was shot at night in a park. Victim two is Lily Nicks, a thirty-four-year-old prostitute with her throat slashed. Victims three and four are June Appleby and Troy Wertsler who were shot in their car at a parking lot outside of a movie theater. Victim five was twenty-eight-year-old Kayla James who was killed in her home. She was bound with a bag over her head, and evidence of rape."

"The sixth victim was Zoe," you state.

"Victimology, weapons used, and COD are all different. It's hard to imagine it's even the same unsub."

"It can't be a coincidence that Zoe goes to Kayla James' house and gets murdered," Rossi argues.

"Alright, let's say it's the same killer. Does anyone see a pattern?" Hotch asks.

"With the first crime, the unsub shoots the victim. In the second crime, he rapes a woman and slashes her throat. With the third crime, he escalates to killing two people. By the fourth, he escalates even more to raping a woman, binding her, and suffocating her. It seems like every crime escalates to something worse. If it's the same killer, we can argue that there's a progression of violence with every kill."

"It could be an anger excitation offender getting more daring with each crime."

"I think I got something here," Derek chimes in and shows some of the pictures of the bodies. "Look at this: the slashes in the prostitute's throat are all shallow, unsure cuts. A telephone cord, rope, and duct tape were used on Kayla. It's like he couldn't decide how to bind her. Without a gun, this guy is inexperienced."

"Wait, doesn't the crime scene of the couple in the car remind you of anything?" you ask. "It looks like they were shot with a .44 Bulldog just like the Son of Sam used on his victims. The second crime reminds me of Jack the Ripper with similarities being it's a prostitute whose throat was slashed. Kayla was bound, tortured, raped, and suffocated with a bag over her head like BTK. Pen, what neighborhood was Travis found in?"

"At a park in the Kingsbury Run area."

"Zoe reminded me last night that Cleveland's most famous serial killer was the Butcher of Kingsbury Run. He found his victims in gay bars, shot them, and dumped their bodies there. Travis was last seen at a gay bar and his body was found in Kingsbury Park," Rossi says.

"This unsub is a serial killer studying other serial killers."

"See you in Cleveland, Dave," Hotch concludes the meeting.

He's heard all that he needed to hear.

Cleveland is a little over an hour away by plane, so you get there fairly quickly. Rossi didn't seem too anxious over the phone but when you see him in person, you can feel the guilt radiating off him in waves. Your heart feels heavy, there is a weight over your chest, and you feel uncertain about what you're doing. All of these feelings are coming from Rossi who is feeling them for Zoe.

"Are you okay?" you ask when you greet him.

"Why?"

"There's no reason to feel guilty, Rossi."

"Don't do that," he immediately shuts you down. "I don't need you reading me right now. Don't worry about it." He takes the team into one of the empty conference rooms that he's set up. "We'll get started on the evidence boards. Detective Dan Brady's our point. I'll let you all introduce yourselves."

Dan walks over and Hotch introduces the entire team.

"I know it may seem far-fetched, but copycat killers are not entirely uncommon. This one happens to be copying several different killers."

"If he's trying to be the butcher of Kingsbury Run, why didn't he cut up and mutilate the victims like the real guy?"

"That was seven weeks ago. He was just getting started. Beginning killers are often frightened of the crime itself. They're more interested in getting it over with as quickly as possible and fleeing the scene," Emily answers.

"He was just using the Butcher's ruse as a way to lure the victim to be alone with her. By the time he killed Kayla, he'd progressed. He came very close to copying all of the BTK's MO. He's reading, learning, and borrowing from others because he doesn't know who he is yet."

"Because of this, we think he's young and impressionable, maybe even a student. He's someone probably enrolled in criminology classes. Our technical analyst is going through the names of local students right now."

"Up to this point, changing his MO has prevented investigators from linking the crimes. That's why we need to work quickly."

"Are you sure about this?" Dan asks.

"It's not a coincidence that all of these random, violent murders in this localized area are copycats of serial killers."

"It's as if all the worst serial killers have converged on Cleveland. Every time he plans to kill, the murder weapon, the MO, and the victimology will all change. Detective, will you let your team know we're ready to give a preliminary profile?"

"Sure."

"Garcia found three male students enrolled in criminology classes with felony records," JJ says. "Before you say it, we don't need to interview them because one of them is studying abroad and the other two are in jail on other charges."

"Tell Garcia to check enrollment in online and correspondence courses and see if we have any luck with those parameters." Rossi leaves the room without a word. "Will you guys handle the profile?"

"Is everything okay?" you ask.

"Everything is fine."

Hotch leaves to talk to Rossi while Dan gathers his men and women to hear the profile. You want to go out there and help Rossi, but you're needed in here right now. Plus, Rossi doesn't want you to read him and you're respecting his wishes.

"We have six homicides in a seven-mile radius in east Cleveland," Derek gets started. "Now, this small zone indicates that he's a geographically stable offender. This type of offender is characterized as young, socially immature, of average intelligence, with psychopathic personality traits. They also usually live alone and have an antisocial nature."

"A serial killer's first murder is very telling. This unsub chose the MO of Cleveland's own butcher of Kingsbury Run for his first murder. The butcher isn't as well known as other famous serial killers, but he is a local legend."

"Because he picked the butcher to be first, we believe he's a native of Cleveland and probably grew up hearing stories of the Butcher. This is someone who is obsessed with serial killers. His computer will be filled with research on them. He'll have abundant images of murderers on his computer and possibly even snuff films. He uses these like pornography as they provide some sort of sexual release."

"Sorry to interrupt," JJ comes into the room. "There's reports of another body."

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[stateofsport211]

The Challengers Are Real: An Introductory Post to the ATP Challenger Tour

A more compact version in the form of a Twitter thread can be found here.

Mike Faist (left) and Josh O'Connor (right) play Art Donaldson and Patrick Zweig in Challengers, portraying New Rochelle Challenger 2019 (📸 Challengers official trailer on YouTube)

If anyone comes here from the Challengers movie starting Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist, which plot centered on a former Grand Slam tennis champion who registers to compete in a Challenger-level tournament and is somewhat drawn against the former lover of his wife (and coach) after a losing streak, even minus the romance part (which might or might not be true off-court), the plot is reminiscent to the real-life occurrence as a player’s career might have winded down due to a lot of factors (that could even go hand-in-hand), most notably injury and loss of form.

The ATP Challenger Tour was established in 1978 with 18 tournaments (in more limited locations than today) to serve as a feeder system for the ATP Tour, where it often operates 24/7 with more than 180 events in 40 countries nowadays, with the potential to increase this year. Being likened to the Minor Leagues in baseball, with players playing better than the club players (including us), it is characterized as the place where people try to transition from juniors/college to the professional Tour, hanging on due to enormous factors that do not allow them to break through (just yet), and regaining the form they once had (especially for former top players), which are the reasons the Challenger Tour is often dubbed as “the real deal” instead of the main Tour itself.

Beware of the length. This is a possible long read as this fan article aims to introduce non-tennis die-hard/hipster fans or even casual/non-tennis fans to the real-life ATP Challenger Tour. It might be essay-ish, but it can be useful!

How Are the Events Organized?

The tennis tournament hierarchy (📸 self-illustrated)

As an intermediary between the players who are starting, hanging on, and approaching retirement, the ATP Challenger Tour is in the middle of the professional tennis tournament hierarchy. It is the second-tier tour to the ATP Tour tournament structure, hereby referred to as the main Tour, and the ITF World Tour Tennis (formerly Futures). In this regard, the Grand Slams, whose scale is higher than the main Tour tournaments, are overseen by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), as well as the aforementioned ITF World Tour Tennis and the tennis field in the Olympics organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Challenger Tour itself comprised as many as 196 tournaments in 2023 held in 46 countries in comparison to the main Tour's 64 tournaments in 29 countries, while the ITF World Tour Tennis tournaments had a whopping 571 tournaments in 73 countries as of 2023, strengthening its position as the fundamental pillar of the professional tennis for the development of the future tennis stars with the Challenger Tour as its in-between.

On another note, the rankings system in tennis is updated almost weekly (except for the 2-week-long tournaments both in Tour-level and Grand Slams) compared to golf, for example.

The ATP Challenger Tour logo banner that was placed in the net during the Lille Challenger earlier this year (📸 Lille Challenger official website)

Back to how the Challenger Tour works, even though it is frequently averaged between 1-5 tournaments per week, with the least being in the week of the Roland Garros/French Open qualification rounds (1 in 2023, which was the Skopje Challenger), they are currently divided through 5 tiers depending on the points won by the eventual champions according to the most recent reform starting in 2023, which are:

Challenger 50 is the lowest tier;

Challenger 75;

Challenger 100;

Challenger 125;

Challenger 175, usually held on the second week of the 2-week Masters 1000s (the highest Tour-level event after the ITF-sanctioned Grand Slams) and often likened to a 250 (the lowest Tour-level tournament in scale) for their heavy draws.

Compared to the Tour level, the Challenger-level calendar is revealed periodically (usually every 3 months) and is accessible through the ATP’s website. To add, a Challenger season lasts slightly longer than the Tour-level calendar, for example in 2023–which main Tour season concluded with the Nitto ATP Tour Finals on November 20 and the Davis Cup Finals Knockout Stages on November 27–where there are 4 Challenger tournaments in the week of November 27-December 3, which are located in:

Yokkaichi, Japan (outdoor hard)

Maspalomas, Spain (outdoor clay)

Maia, Portugal (indoor clay)

Temuco, Chile (outdoor hard)

Clement Tabur (left) and Marco Trungelliti (right) as the runner-up and champion of the Kigali 2 Challenger, respectively, which took place in the Rwandan capital in the beginning of February 2024 (📸 Imvaho Nshya)

The tournaments themselves take place in a variety of locations, which will be dubbed as "their own swings" by taking into account its frequent differences between the main Tour events, either by location or by surface. For example, looking at the past few years:

2024's Indian swing (a string of Indian Challenger events, in this context) started weeks after the Australian Open with the Chennai Challenger, followed by Pune, Bengaluru, and New Delhi;

Challenger's own indoor (hard/clay) season is separated into two, which are the beginning of the season on par with the Tour's pre-Middle East swing European indoor season (e.g. for 2024, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Quimper, Koblenz, Nottingham 1, Cherbourg, Glasgow, Pau, Lille, and Lugano), with an addition of indoor clay Challengers like in Szekesfehervar (usually in March) and Maia (usually year-end), and toward the end of the season on par with the year-end European indoor season (as of 2023, e.g. Orleans, Bratislava 2, Hamburg, Ortisei, Bergamo, Helsinki, and Danderyd).

In addition, the North American circuit is notably divided into indoors at the beginning of the year (e.g. for 2024. Cleveland; and add Rome, GA Challenger in 2023) and after the US Open (most notably Charlottesville, Knoxville, and Champaign Challengers), and outdoors season with the concluded Indian Wells Challenger between the end of January and the beginning of February 2024, and while the Tour-level grass season came into a close, the outdoor hard-court in Palmas del Mar kick-started the summer hard-court season in 2023, but the Phoenix Challenger stood in between the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1000s held in the former's second week;

Challenger Tour's own clay season, both European and Latin American, which will be explained in a separate section considering its prevalence and impact to the current tennis landscape;

Other than Tunis, another notable tournament held in Africa was the Kigali Challenger in Rwanda from earlier this year, which became the seventh African country to organize a Challenger-level event;

Challengers' Mexican swing, which differed from the 2 tournament stops on the main Tour as this featured several clay-court and hard-court tournaments;

The Challengers used to have some carpet tournaments based in Eckental and Ismaning, the former which was folded in 2022 due to budget and support constraints, with the latter being the sole carpet tournament of the Challenger Tour since then despite carpet tournaments still being played in the ITF (former Futures) level;

The Challengers' own Asian Swing, which spanned between the South Korean swing spread before the French Open (around April), with parts of the Chinese swing being added to the timeline in 2024 before its second chapter in between/after the US Open (September-November) in line with the main Tour's Asian Swing, added by the Japanese swing to close the year (per the 2023 calendar).

Speaking of the Tour being 24/7, there will be several weeks where tennis visibly never stops. For example, in the second week of April 2024 (Apr 8-14), there are tournaments in:

Busan, South Korea (outdoor hard, which commenced the first half of the Asian Challenger swing);

Split, Croatia (outdoor clay);

Madrid, Spain (outdoor clay);

Sarasota, Florida, United States of America (outdoor green/HarTru clay, which kicked off one-third of the US green clay court circuit pre-French Open);

Morelos, Mexico (outdoor altitude hard, which continued this half of the Mexican Challenger swing, which succeeded the clay-court tournaments of that swing).

Furthermore, there is also a possibility that the 4-5 tournaments held that week will be played on 3 different surfaces, mainly clay, hard, and grass, with the grass-court tournaments being a preparation for the Wimbledon Championships; however, all of the grass-court Challengers solely take place in the United Kingdom. For this year, an example of those weeks is the week of June 3 (the 23rd week of the year), where there are 5 tournaments played on 3 different surfaces, which are located in:

Surbiton, United Kingdom (outdoor grass);

Heilbronn, Germany (outdoor clay);

Prostejov, Czech Republic (outdoor clay);

Zagreb, Croatia (outdoor clay);

Tyler, Texas, United States of America (outdoor hard).

Challenger Tour's Own Clay Season

One of the most prominent Challenger-level clay tournaments in Buenos Aires, with a packed home crowd (📸 ATP official website)

Even though the main Tour events have their own clay swing during the Golden Swing (the South American clay-court events usually held in February before the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1000s, the latter that is famously called the "Sunshine Double") right after the two said hard-court Masters 1000 tournaments (starting from the end of March until the beginning of June), as well as a mini-clay season after the Wimbledon Championships before the North American summer hard-court swing (between July-August), the clay-court season never stops in the Challenger Tour, especially South America.

Parts of the Challenger Tour in South America were initiated by former World No. 31 Horacio de la Peña called the Legion Sudamericana in 2021 as he pointed out the lack of opportunities for Latin American players to develop their game on their home soil. From there, he brought the South American tennis federations together (such as but not limited to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay) that not only comprised the clay-court Challengers as they mostly grew up on clay but also featured the hard-court Challengers, such as the Brasilia and Temuco Challengers by the end of the last season (2023), leading up to the Australian summer hard-court season to start the following year. This generated a huge impact on the growth of Latin American tennis as this was supported by the immense passion of the local fans as proven by their well-attended events. For instance, in 2022 alone (a year after this initiation), Argentinean players won 23 Challenger titles and 14 South American players partook in the Australian Open qualification rounds, which increased three-fold compared to their 2021 Australian Open qualifications participation rate as there were 20 players from the region in 2023 compared to only 7 in 2021. The number also grew into 10 South American players inside the Top 100 as of April 29, 2024, in a group of 35 Latin American players inside the Top 300 by that time, and could possibly be higher as the year progressed.

On the other hand, the clay season in the other parts of the world (mainly Europe) spanned from before the French Open until almost the end of the year. For example, most of the 24 Challenger-level tournaments held in Italy were clay-court tournaments, which explained the steady rise of Italian tennis as they invested a lot in their players' development from the availability of the lower-level tournaments until the coaching department to add to their passion of sports in general. Some others took place in different parts of Europe, including another possible tennis powerhouse in the Czech Republic, where Challenger tournaments held there are mostly clay-court ones, thanks to their grassroots development as well that cultivates the passion for the game in them (including having tennis courts almost everywhere), hence there are (young) talents from almost everywhere in the country.

Detailed writing about the South American Challenger's clay-court circuit as part of the entire pre-Roland Garros/French Open qualification build-up article, dated from the beginning of the 2023 clay season, can be found here.

Broadcast

The Challenger TV advertisement on the ATP official website (📸 ATP official website)

The ATP Challenger Tour is broadcasted in a dedicated part of the ATP official website, free of charge and repeatable as long as there are no technical problems on their website. People could rewind and document their moments, from the most hilarious ones to the hottest tennis shots and points the players constructed. Starting at the beginning of this year, compared to what is commonly said as the “dodgy CCTV camera” stream that was used back in the day, the current streams have HD cameras, making the moments even more visible.

Interestingly, these past few years, several Challenger tournaments have also been broadcasted on the local televisions of the country (or a specific place) where the competition takes place despite only the main courts or the later rounds. For instance, the tournaments in Latin America are often broadcasted by ESPN (Star+), DirecTV, or TyC Sports (in Argentina), ORR in Austria, L’Equipe TV/BeIN Sports for some French tournaments, and recently, Tennis Channel 2 broadcasts the Phoenix Challenger as part of their attempt to broadcast more US-based Challenger tournaments.

Some upcoming sections might have contained the outline of select players' journey to the author's best knowledge and how the Challenger Tour and the recent enhancements from the ATP play a part in their careers. Out of plethora of tennis players, they are just (tangible) examples of the influence of this circuit before or during breaking through/coming back to the ranks.

Top Players and Emerging Talents

According to the ATP Rulebook, it is stated that within the top players, the Top 10 players 21 days before the first Monday of the ATP Challenger Tour tournament are prohibited from entering by all means possible, be it through direct entry, wild card, or Special Exempts, especially in the 75-175 categories. For those ranked 11-50 by then, they could enter the 175 category per their ranks 3 weeks before the said tournament, and the ATP also has to approve their wild cards should there be a proposal, receiving a limited amount of wild cards depending on the Challenger Tour and the Tour-level schedule for that week. However, those players ranked 1-150 by then are not allowed to enter the 50 category, with the players ranked between 51-150 can receive a wild card upon approval (especially 50-100, where they must have the same nationality as the tournament).

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray (left) with his Surbiton Challenger title (📸 LTA) and former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori (right) with his Palmas del Mar Challenger Title (📸 The Japan Times), all won last year

Usually, former top players partake in the Challenger Tour for numerous reasons, mainly returning from injury (or suspension, if any) and grinding to regain their form back, which often takes forever–or, in some other instances, it's the nearest tournament to say farewell (as a professional player) to the sport that raised them. One of the most prominent examples from the first category was from former World No. 1 Andy Murray, who made his return to tennis with a metal hip in the summer of 2019, where he also rebuilt through the Challenger Tour until he became a permanent fixture again several years later, including his participation in the grass-court Challengers to prepare for the bigger-scale tournaments, as he won the Surbiton-Nottingham Challenger double in 2023–and somehow found himself winning the Aix-en-Provence Challenger on clay months prior, and former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori, who returned from his injuries in Palmas del Mar Challenger 2023 as an unranked player receiving a wild card to partake, winning the whole tournament afterward to mark his comeback to the sport despite his inability to catch a break in between once again. Former World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini, who was sidelined for more than a year due to various injuries, came back to become the runner-up in the Phoenix Challenger weeks before winning his first ATP-level title in two years in Marrakech (250). Recently, Frances Tiafoe hit a rough patch since the end of last year, which extended to this year's clay season, where he takes a wild card to rebuild in the Cagliari Challenger (which is a 175) for the week in hopes of rebuilding the confidence missing from his game, starting his campaign in the next few days as he received a first-round bye.

Ugo Humbert (left) with his Metz (250) 2023 title (📸 Tenis Magazyn) and Jan-Lennard Struff (right) with his Madrid Masters 1000 2023 runner-up trophy (📸 Sport 1 Germany)

There were several other notable stories where they reached new heights after being unable to catch a break regardless of age (for the older players, they are often called "late bloomers"). Ugo Humbert, who repeatedly ended up injured within the past years, marked the beginning of his resurgence with the Rennes Challenger 2022 title, followed by surviving an almost 4-hour match to win the Pau Challenger 2023, as well as the Cagliari Challenger at the same year before making stronger runs in both summer grass and hard-court seasons, ultimately winning the Metz (250) title on his home soil to out-perform his previous career-high ranking of 25 attained back in 2021, now having the best ranking of 13 from April 15, 2024. While it might have been the end of the road for Jan-Lennard Struff, he picked up where he left off last year by reaching 3 Challenger-level semifinals before re-entering the Top 100 thanks to his Monte Carlo Masters 1000 semifinal appearance as a qualifier, followed by becoming the runner-up of Madrid Masters 1000 as a lucky loser. Proving the doubters wrong once again, he finally won his maiden ATP-level title in Munich (250), where he became the third-oldest first-time champion since the ATP Tour was established in 1990.

Pierre Hugues-Herbert (top) won the Quimper Challenger 2024 (📸 Ouest France) and Benoit Paire (bottom) won the Puerto Vallarta Challenger 2023 (📸 Noticias AL Mexico)

However, not everyone had a successful comeback story. While former singles World No. 36 and doubles World No. 2 Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who also completed his career Grand Slam in doubles with Nicolas Mahut rebuilds as this was written, his comeback was plagued by some setbacks and injuries until the middle of 2023, as well as some other issues in between. Right as he started to get the knack again after winning the Quimper Challenger 2024 and becoming the runner-up of the Naples Challenger, another setback occurred in taking care of his youngest son who had just undergone surgery. The struggle can also be felt for former singles World No. 16 Benoit Paire, who fell as low as being ranked 217 on February 2, 2023, due to several losing streaks. Even though he found some knack after winning the Puerto Vallarta Challenger 2023, followed by the San Benedetto del Tronto Challenger months later before closing his season by being the Maia Challenger runner-up, his rollercoaster results comprised the rest of his season, including another string of early exits to start 2024 that prompted speculations of his retirement after the Rome Masters 1000 and the French Open/Roland Garros based on his latest updates.

Patrick Kypson with his Cleveland Challenger 2024 title (left) and Steve Johnson with his Bloomfield Hills Challenger 2023 title (right) (📸 ATP Challenger Tour's official Twitter–1, 2)

Often, which is also applicable to emerging talents, these Challengers are also part of the reciprocal Wild Card Challenge for the countries holding a Grand Slam, for example how the green clay trio of Sarasota-Tallahassee-Savannah Challenger in the United States became an addition to the other red-clay events spread in the different parts of the world for the players from the United States to compete to earn Roland Garros/French Open wild cards as a reward of their performance (as well as for their French counterparts within their system made by their federation) or an equivalent challenge for their summer hard-court season to form the US Open Wild Card Challenge in addition to counting their performances in equivalent surfaces corresponding to the Grand Slams. For instance, this paved the way for Patrick Kypson, who earned both the French Open 2023 and the Australian Open 2024 wild cards thanks to his exceptional performance in the mentioned series of tournaments, backing the latter up with a title in Cleveland Challenger, as well as solid runs in Delray Beach (250) the week after to finally enter the Top 150 for the first time. In contrast, after winning 2 Challenger titles in Bloomfield Hills and Lexington, former World No. 26 Steve Johnson won the US Open Wild Card Challenge last year and received a wild-card to the US Open last year, which turned out to be his last appearance in his home Slam (since he is from the United States), as he decided to hang his racquet during the Indian Wells Masters 1000 earlier this year.

Today, young talents also benefit from the College/Junior/NextGen Accelerator Programs that speed up their rise, which will be explained right in the next section.

The College/Junior/NextGen Accelerator Programs

The Junior/College Accelerator Program diagrams (📸 ATP official website)

For some people who had outstanding junior careers or even collegiate careers (for the latter, it is now for those who attended the US universities, notably playing in the NCAA), they are rewarded with the College/Junior Accelerator Program to try their hands against the best of the game as early as they transition from junior/college to the professional Tour. This partly answered the previous concerns about players having difficulties transitioning between the junior and professional circuit while recognizing their immense potential at times, thus the necessity to promote the rise of young talents to build through these accelerated opportunities.

In this case, the stand-outs from juniors (mostly between 1-30 in the ITF junior rankings, as well as the junior Grand Slam champions and finalists), college (ranks 1-20 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association/ITA rankings), and NextGen (for players aged 20 and under inside the Top 350 ranking range) by the end of each season will be allotted certain occasions (and select tournament levels) to play in the main draw of both the Challenger Tour (in this case, it is for junior and college) and the main Tour-level (which applies to the NextGen players), as well as the ITF World Tour Tennis-level (for the up-and-coming juniors in a certain ranking range as illustrated). This hopes to nurture their talent and improve their pathway to develop their game, thus elevating their progress through the higher ranks of the game.

Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez (top left, 📸 International Tennis Federation), Joao Fonseca (top right, 📸 ATP official website), Martin Landaluce (bottom left, 📸 Tennisnet.com), and Ben Shelton (bottom right 📸 On Running Switzerland) as one of the examples of rapid rises through or influencing the Accelerator Programs

Outside of these, making it more tangible, some people in this category notably received wild cards in their local tournaments that could also help their development as they only allotted limited occasions to use their junior rankings. This might be the case for former junior World No. 1 Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez, who received numerous wild cards in Mexican Challenger and Tour-level events within the past 2 years before finally making his Challenger-level quarterfinal debut this year in Acapulco, or another former junior World No. 1 Joao Fonseca, who also benefited through a combination of his junior rankings/wild-cards/direct entries between 2022 and 2023, paving him the way to become the Asuncion Challenger runner-up and in the main Tour, the Rio de Janeiro (an ATP 500-level tournament) quarterfinals on his home ground before forging his college eligibility (right before starting his academic year) to turn professional. In addition, another former junior World No. 1 in 2023, Martin Landaluce, who notably trained in Rafael Nadal Academy, also has his Challenger and main Tour-level participation a combination between most of the wild cards and direct entry apart from the direct entry when his ranking is sufficient, which started to pay off when he reached his maiden Challenger-level quarterfinals in Alicante last year before reaching his first Challenger-level semifinal in Tenerife 2 just several months ago.

For college, this might not be possible without Ben Shelton's rapid rise, who became a runner-up in 2 Challenger-level tournaments and won 3 back-to-back tournaments (Charlottesville-Knoxville-Champaign) in 2022, some of them through wild cards thanks to his potential being spotted after being crowned the champion of the 2021/22 NCAA Singles Championship when attending the University of Florida, solidifying his rise through his fourth-round appearances in the Australian and US Open before winning his first Tour-level title in Tokyo (500).

Behind the Scenes of the Real-Life Challengers

Billy Harris in front of his van, the vehicle he used to travel between tournaments for three and a half years (📸 The Times)

As of 2017, there are more than 14,000 tennis players (male or female) who tried to make ends meet. However, only a handful of them could make the cut in the world's best, undergoing an arduous journey to the top, and most were unable to continue due to travel and financial difficulties. The latter is crucial not only for them to participate in a tournament (and its related logistics) but also for them to be able to practice (with a coach or more), to recover (e.g. through physiotherapy), as well as numerous other necessities while on Tour. Often, some could not afford traveling coaches for this reason, and finding sponsors could also be a struggle for them to keep moving forward. These are some reasons tennis players are often regarded as independent contractors.

Generally observing, there are various examples from players to manage them, but not everyone can live the life depicted in the movie. Some might have ended up playing select tournaments a year, sleeping in a van for the nearest tournaments compared to any other accommodation options, or regrettably, resorting to match-fixing (which also became an extensive issue for tennis in general) due to the little points and prize money they receive in the lower-level tournaments before the ATP institutes the prize-money-related reforms as part of the Challenger restructuring in 2023, as well as the Baseline initiative (with the financial stability for the Top 150 being the goal) later that year.

Some who could not catch a break, for instance, suffering from continuous injuries, took ages to (re)build from where they left off, and those who could not take it any longer gave up playing the sport due to the "demands" needed to reach the top. In the latter's case, some turned out to be a coach (like Zendaya's character, Tashi Duncan), a real-life case for the example of Gianluigi Quinzi.

These days, thanks to platforms like YouTube (and other social media platforms), some players document their experiences through their vlogs (video blogs) starting from how to win their first ATP point, how to travel in between tournaments, as well as preparing for the said competitions, until analyzing their own matches. Some prominent examples came from such as but not limited to:

Simon Freund

Federico Coria (look up: Fede Coria)

Juan Pablo Paz

Fabien Salle

Felix Mischker (look up: Tennis Brothers)

Karue Sell (look up: My Tennis HQ)

Challenger Doubles

Marcus Willis/Christian Harrison, the winner of this year's Savannah Challenger (📸 WSAV-TV)

In addition to the singles sector, the Challenger Tour typically has a doubles sector. Interestingly, this is another cross-line between up-and-coming doubles specialists, who are the players who only play doubles for several reasons (which also includes doubling the joy, doubling the fun, and doubling the chaos altogether), and those who frequently play singles but frequently/occasionally play doubles as well. While sometimes the consideration comes from the extra prize money they could earn from the latter kind of players, some turned out to have equal potential in doubles just like in singles or vice versa (having their potential also spotted in the doubles scene before singles), often having higher doubles ranking than singles despite playing both (which could be the case for those like Orlando Luz and Daniel Cukierman). Speaking of doubling the fun and mess, the Challenger-level doubles matches can be as hilarious as exhibition matches, which was exemplified by the Little Rock Challenger 2023 semifinals between Alexis Galarneau/Nicolas Moreno de Alboran and Callum Puttergill/Kelsey Stevenson.

Somehow, some rising pairs also started their way here and made their waves, often by winning multiple titles. For instance, before their doubles break-up at the end of the US Open 2023, Julian Cash/Henry Patten notably won 11 Challenger titles, 10 of which were won in 2022 (including the year-end Maia Challenger), the last one being in the Sarasota Challenger 2023. There are also some notable up-and-coming pairs, with some also having their collegiate roots, such as Ryan Seggerman/Patrik Trhac, who won 7 ITF titles before winning 3 Challenger titles since they paired up last year, or Sadio Doumbia/Fabien Reboul, who became more prominent as they partner more often these past few years as proven by their 15 Challenger-level titles since 2019 and 3 ATP Tour-level titles since winning their first title in Chengdu (250) 2023. There is also a “rebirth” lore in former singles World No. 322 Marcus Willis, who announced his retirement in 2021 and decided to give the professional Tour one more go a year later as a doubles specialist, winning 3 Challenger titles by the time this was written with 2 different partners to kick off this season.

Harri Heliovaara/Lloyd Glasspool, one of the most notable Challenger doubles breakout (📸 LTA)

One of the other remarkable doubles breakouts from the Challenger Tour came from Harri Heliovaara/Lloyd Glasspool, who won 4 Challenger titles in 2021 and became a runner-up in 2 other tournaments before breaking out as an alternate in Rome Masters 1000 by reaching the third round before reaching the quarterfinals in the French Open, partnering for at least one more year before splitting after the Shanghai Masters 1000. Currently, Heliovaara plays with another rising doubles player in Henry Patten (who came to the scene with Julian Cash before their split), as Lloyd Glasspool plays with veteran Jean-Julien Rojer. Since watching Challengers is free, it is time to watch more (Challenger) doubles, just like Tennis Tribe campaigns for the main Tour as well.

The Challenger Fandom and How They Stan Players #OnTheRise

The full-house stands during the ATP Challenger Tour tournaments in Shenzhen (top) and Buenos Aires (bottom) (📸 ATP Challenger Tour, the latter via Buenos Aires Challenger)

The tennis fandom extends from the main Tour-level fans, which most people usually are, and the "die-hard" fans, some of whom are dubbed as tennis hipsters, which is a group of passionate fans who adore the players' grind in the lower-level tournaments (Challengers and ITFs), often preferring to watch or follow matches in that level, some of which being unstreamed, than the main professional Tour-level matches. They even have their own definitions of talents (= potential players) and goats (= greatest of all time), where the potential of these players is revealed as the year progresses and as the circuit runs regardless of age.

However, parts of the fandom are still being shadowed by people who occasionally/frequently bet on the outcomes of a game/set/match, some of which influenced match-fixing practices as mentioned in the previous sections. While betting seems tempting, as many warnings on responsible betting as there are, it is not encouraged (especially at the places where it is illegal) not only for financial reasons but also affects self-esteem, relationships, physical and mental health, work performance, and social life, which can harm family, friends, workplace, and communities, as evident in the broader tennis issue.

Interestingly, some tournaments are well-attended, with even the Challenger-level players and tournaments gathering more fans to appreciate the game and the grind. Some such examples are the Latin American events (e.g. in Argentina, Chile, and Brazil, among others), the French tournaments (where a famous chant “papapapapapapapapapa ole” is chanted, it must be either in French tournaments or involving French players), the competitions held in Italy and the United Kingdom as there are a handful of fans also watching the Challenger tournaments all the way in Japan and South Korea, as well as the recently-concluded (by the time of this draft) Kigali Challenger in Rwanda. Some tournaments have “free entry” in most parts of the day, while some tournaments have (at their local rates) more affordable tickets to attend the later days of the tournament. Some become passionate fans of a particular player/some players they followed or regularly attend the nearest Challenger tournament near them, and some can also be inspired to pick up the racquet and play several years after their attendance.

From this, the lower-level tennis fandom might not be as prevalent as the main Tour, but even without the gambling element, some become legitimate avid fans for their love of the game. They chase talents, find joy in their respective journeys, and are pleased should they break through or break even after hanging on for several years. This is in line with the ATP Challenger Tour’s #OnTheRise campaign, where they championed what is seen as a repetitive process of grinding, which represented hard work, perseverance, and discipline, paving the way to greatness. This is sometimes overlooked due to the (statistical) comparative nature between one player and another since there is also a perception that life is not a race, and everyone has their own path to the top, which tennis opens the gate to. Ultimately, for some “die-hards,” following the players from the start, all the effort, until they rise or become one of the legends is a pleasure. Sometimes, these fans also made sure “they are there for/until their last dance” when the player’s last-ever professional tournament played to honor their incredible careers, which marked their retirement from playing tennis professionally, took place in their nearby Challenger tournament, or those that made a significance in their careers. All those reasons are believed to be also behind the #WatchChallengersFolks campaign, which has been widespread on Twitter these past few years.

Important Links

ATP Challenger TV (free broadcast of the Challenger Tour matches)

ATP Challenger Tour annual calendar, updated periodically

Entry Lists (for Challenger-level and above to check on the participants of each event)

Live Rankings (real-time ranking estimates before the official rankings come out) (1, 2)