.
Miranda Smit | Board President
Miranda started to play tennis at the age of 13 in the Netherlands and joined competitions and tournaments on a regular basis in her later teenage years. In her twenties, she focused on university, doing a BSc., MSc. and PhD. in Animal Science and moving between the Netherlands, France, the USA, and Canada. After a 10-year break, Miranda started playing tennis recreationally again in Edmonton when a friend started a tennis Meetup group. After her friend moved away in 2018, she took over the management of the Meetup group and incorporated it into the Tennis Edmonton Association in 2019, where she became a director of the board, She then became the treasurer for Tennis Edmonton while continuing to organize Meet & Hit events, tournaments, and other events for adults. Bringing people together to play tennis is what makes her happy! Miranda is looking forward to continuing to grow tennis as a sport in Edmonton in her new role with ETC. When Miranda is not working or playing tennis, you can find her either on her horse, or hiking in the mountains.
Wallace Chan | Vice President
Prior to moving back to Canada, Wallace worked in various global high-tech corporations in Asia for over 28 years, gaining experiences in business planning, people development, and strategic marketing. He has been a tennis fanatic since his teenage years and has been playing competitive tennis for over 20 years. Wallace plays tennis regularly at Saville Community Sports Centre and Garneau Tennis and Beach Volleyball Club throughout the year. He also volunteers to support the junior coaching programs for EJTS whenever possible.
Since 2019, Wallace has been leading the effort of organizing summer social tennis events and tournaments for adults. He is committed to assisting ETC in continually developing the strategy of progressive tennis to enrich the lives of all ages through the sport.
.
Stephanie Chin | Treasurer
treasurer@edmontonjuniortennis.com
Stephanie was born and raised in Edmonton, where she grew up playing a number of sports including tennis. Stephanie has fond memories of participating in the junior tennis programs at the Saville Community Sports Centre and has continued to play tennis since. She lived in Vancouver for two years and enjoyed the mild weather and ability to play outdoor tennis year-round there.
Stephanie is a Chartered Professional Accountant and works at a large professional services firm. She specializes in supporting the firm’s assurance practice, specifically with privately held entities including NPOs. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys reading, travelling, and staying active.
Barbara Bergstrom | Secretary
Barbara is a retired lawyer, having been called to the Bar in Manitoba in the mid 1980s. Barbara learned to play tennis as a kid on her uncle’s grass court, but didn’t become a regular player until adulthood. She now plays at the Saville Centre in Edmonton and at Greenfield Tennis Club in the summer.Barbara is an international equestrian official, certified provincially, nationally and internationally; Barbara may not have direct experience with competitive tennis, but she has extensive experience working in competitive sports.
She also brings extensive experience over several decades with various volunteer boards and non-profit organizations, in various capacities, ranging from equestrian associations, private tennis clubs, music societies, addiction/mental health groups, to large hospital foundations Barbara became involved in EJTS through one of her doubles partners and believes that it is important to encourage kids to discover and learn to love the sport of a lifetime. She currently acts as a Secretary of the ETC Board of Directors.
Bryce Nelson | Board Director
Bryce was born and raised in Edmonton and started playing tennis at the Saville Centre at age 8, among other sports. He started coaching with EJTS in 2015, sparking his desire to become a certified Tennis Instructor. In 2016, he co-founded Blue Quill tennis club, and over 5 outdoor seasons he grew the club from scratch to over 200 members. He established programming for all ages delivered by several full-time and part-time coaches, and hosted Tennis Alberta provincial tournaments each summer. During this time, he also resurfaced Blue Quill’s three tennis courts and two basketball courts, constructed two beach volleyball courts, and built a tennis practice wall for his students and club members. Bryce obtained his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in Oncology. Besides his work at Edmonton’s Medical Isotope and Cyclotron Facility and the Cross Cancer Institute, he is actively involved in many academic and community organizations and has been the President of Tennis Edmonton since 2019, where he works to expand grassroots tennis to provide all Edmontonians with the opportunity to realize their full playing potential. Bryce is excited to work with ETC to expand quality tennis programming to more youth around Edmonton. He currently acts as a Director of the ETC.
Anastasia Machinski | Board Director
Anastasia has always had an aptitude for wanting to teach and help others. She received her tennis instructor certification when she was 15 years old. Anastasia has a wealth of coaching experience, having worked with students of all ages and levels at the Saville Community Sports Centre.
Anastasia has been a part of EJTS Board for number of years, first as secretory (2012-14) and then as a Board Director (2019-present). In addition to her work with EJTS, Anastasia helped found the Highlands Community Tennis Association and piloted Tennis Canada’s RBC Little Aces scholarship program (2011-2015) in Alberta alongside Dr. Mario Leone (a researcher who developed the Motor Skills Test battery in Quebec) and Debbie Kirkwood (Tennis Canada’s director of high performance). In addition to her work as a tennis coach, Anastasia is also a very talented artist, creating beautiful art of many Edmonton landmarks. Anastasia is committed to developing accessible tennis programming for the Edmonton area through her work with ETC. She currently acts as a Director of the ETC.
Jim Hawkins | Board Director
jim.hawkins@edmontonjuniortennis.com
Jim’s interest in tennis began as a young child in Calgary. His family lived close to the Mount Pleasant Tennis Club where the game was played on clay with a red shale surface. Jim would fall asleep listening to racquets hitting balls on warm summer evenings. When you plant the seeds early, you may be surprised at what grows. After completing secondary school, Jim attended Colorado College on a hockey scholarship, graduating with a BA. He and his wife attended the U of A in 1973-74 for their education degrees. Their teaching careers carried them to Elk Point in northeastern Alberta, where Jim served as a school principal for 22 years. Jim completed his MEd from Portland University in 1996.
On a quarter section of land he and his wife owned near Elk Point, Jim built a clay court with a red shale surface – his own “Field of Dreams.” Jim also spearheaded the building of two tennis courts in Elk Point. Upon retiring Jim and his wife moved to Edmonton, and he became a member of the Capilano Tennis Club, eventually becoming part of the executive. Jim joined the EJTS board in 2019 and hopes to work with EJTS to continue growing tennis around the Edmonton area. He currently acts as a Director of the ETC board.
Andrea Jones | Board Director
andrea.jones@edmontonjuniortennis.com
Andrea was born and raised in the Northwest Territories, moving to Edmonton to attend the University of Alberta, where she completed a BA in Recreation and Leisure Studies, and was an active participant in intramural sports. Six years after graduation, she joined the Saville Centre in Customer Service, and was subsequently given a full time position with the tennis department, where her love of tennis developed.
She has been the Tennis Coordinator at Saville for more than 14 years, responsible for development and management of programs and running numerous tournaments, as well as being the ‘face of tennis’ for Saville members. While still involved with other sports, Andrea continues to work to improve her tennis game. Andrea became a member of the EJTS Board in 2016 and has acted as Secretary until 2022. She currently serves as a Director of the ETC Board.
Justin Peng | Board Director
justin.peng@edmontonjuniortennis.com
Justin has been playing tennis for over 30 years and has taught tennis for 28 years following the completion of his Instructor certification with the Ontario Tennis Association. In that time, he has seen what many tennis clubs in Ontario and Alberta have done with their programming.
Justin joined the EJTS Board because he loves the sport of tennis and strives to make tennis more accessible to residents of the Greater Edmonton area. Tennis is great exercise and provides the opportunity to meet some amazing people at the same time. The great thing about tennis is you only need one other person to play, so playing on a regular basis is very easy. If you want to talk about tennis whether it be something technical like pinpoint vs platform to tennis gear or even Roger/Rafa Justin would be more than happy to talk! Justin is looking forward to applying his experience in business management to help EJTS accomplish its goal of offering affordable and accessible programs at facilities across the city. He currently acts as a Director of the ETC board.
Theodore Nguyen | Board Director
theodore.nguyen@edmontonjuniortennis.com
Introduced to tennis at a young age by his tennis enthusiast grandmother, Theodore’s fascination with the game blossomed. At 13, his father gifted him his first tennis racquet, igniting a lifelong love affair with the sport. During his high school years in upstate New York, as captain of the tennis team, he clinched the 1st Singles Champion title and was named Frontier League All-Star Athlete.
After a hiatus in Canada for school and work, Theodore returned to tennis three years ago, finding joy in the camaraderie and competition. Inspired by tennis legends like Federer, Henin, Nadal, Li, Clijsters, and Williams, his love for the sport remains strong. His preferred shot? A flat backhand, though he’s been exploring new techniques lately.
Off the court, Theodore is an accountant who enjoys coaching, engaging in tennis discussions, reading, and drawing. Joining the Board with a vision to promote tennis in Canada, Theodore aims to organize tournaments and programs that foster community engagement and growth.
John Crabb | Board Past President
pastpresident@edmontonjuniortennis.com
John grew up in Saskatoon and did not play tennis as a child, although he participated in and enjoyed multiple other sports. He started playing recreationally in his 20’s, and married an avid tennis player in 1976 before moving to Edmonton in 1977. He was an active member, interclub player and captain, and occasional volunteer at both Capilano and Riverbend tennis clubs during his working career. After retiring in 2009, he became President of the Capilano Tennis Club, serving from 2010 to 2015. From 2012 to 2017 he was also active with the Tennis Edmonton Association as Treasurer and coordinator of Edmonton Interclub.
John joined the EJTS Board when the Tennis Alberta pilot ‘Little Aces’ program was transferred to the Society in 2012. He became Treasurer of EJTS in 2017 and President in 2019. In 2021 John joined the Tennis Edmonton Board as VP-Junior Development and has subsequently focused on building a collaborative Grass Roots Junior Tennis Development network in the Edmonton region.
John’s proudest achievements as President of EJTS have included working with the Board and Executive Director to put in place a coherent strategic plan for the Society, building a close working and strategic partnership with Tennis Edmonton and significantly improving the professionalism and quality of EJTS’s internal policies and procedures. He currently acts as the Past President of the ETC Board.