Cy Pollard has died, in his late 80s. He was for decades the guiding light at Dyke Park, and a massive positive influence on the Parks tennis scene in Brighton & Hove.
Conrad writes: “We think of Dyke today as one of the power clubs of the Parks League, but it was not always so. It was Cy’s influence and encouragement (a tough captain, by all accounts) which helped Dyke develop their squad, with crucial input from Seb Puga and our very own Claire Anderson, who was club secretary there for many years.
Cy was simply very good at attracting and encouraging tennis players, and had a genius for bringing in women players of all ages and turning them into strong Parks League competitors (see link below). As you all will have worked out by now, you need a strong core of women players to be successful in Parks League. You may not have heard of him, but he certainly knew about Team St Ann’s, and the last time I spoke to him was at our A team away match at Dyke in May. Putting on a strong performance that day in front of Cy – albeit against their 5th or 6th team! – meant a lot to me personally, and he was generous in his praise.
His influence went well beyond Dyke, and Claire and I reference his example more than anyone else. “What would Cy do?” Is a good start to problem solving. He’ll be greatly missed. Here is a true story (from 2019) about a friend of mine Katie Moorman, who went from banished 12 year old to top D1 player. Cy admired her fight and dedication above all.”
Official statement from Dyke Park Tennis:
I just need to share the sad news that Cy Pollard, our club captain at Dyke for as long as we can remember, passed away last night. He was surrounded by many of his family members in the Martlets hospice.
Cy had a huge appetite for tennis and devoted so much of his time and energy to Dyke and the B&H Parks leagues. Our club has flourished under his leadership with ever increasing membership, coaching opportunities and significant improvements in our standards of play !
He will always be a legend for us at Dyke. I’m sure that many of you can recall his competitive spirit and determination to avoid conceding any matches !
He will be sorely missed – RIP CY
Sheila Deen ( General secretary)
