The first IC was formed in Great Britain in 1924 by Arthur Wallis Myers, a keen tennis and golf player, and Dwight Davis, the donor of the Davis Cup. After the first World War, they wanted to restore faith in the value of international friendships and establish some way of nurturing and preserving the camaraderie that existed between young competitors of so many countries who met in serious but friendly rivalry at tournaments around the world each year. France formed their IC in 1929, the USA shortly thereafter in 1930 and Australia just over 20 years later in 1951.
The IC Council was formed in 1948 to foster the ideals of IC’s and approve new member nations.
The Council now oversees and assists the activities of 40 Clubs around the world, with more than 4500 members.
They facilitate and encourage friendly matches and social activities between IC’s, oversee the organisation of the IC’s official tournaments such as Potter Cup, the bi-annual IC Week, Windmill, Mercelis, Carretta and other Cups/competitions for a variety of age groups. Please see the IC Council website for a definitive list of events: ictennis.net
The Council host the AGM every July in London during Wimbledon and invite representatives to the IC Wimbledon lunch, where, in recent years, the sportsmanship award has been presented. This year the recipient was Argentina’s former great, Gabriella Sabatini.
Office bearers of the IC Council are:
President - Frank Sedgman
Vice Presidents - Virginia Wade, Vijay Amitraj, Barry Weatherill, Marion Bartoli and Michael Stich
Chairman - Peter McQuibban.
Honorary Secretary - Gustavo Herrero
Honorary Treasurer - Mike Carroll
7 Regional Representatives, 3 Non-Regional Representatives and 3 Co-opted Members comprise the remainder of the Council.
For more information on the IC Council: ictennis.net
The IC Council established a Philanthropy division nearly a decade ago to introduce tennis into the lives of disadvantaged children. It now oversees 13 programs in different countries, with sponsorship through the Council and assistance from local IC’s.
Take a look at these great programs: icphilanthropy.ictennis.net