Soaring temperatures couldn't stop tennis players from serving up heat on the courts during the Carr Cup, one of Navy's longest running sports competitions.
Despite temperatures hovering around 32 degrees, Able Seaman David Park kept cool in the final against Lieutenant Joseph Benzie, winning 5-3 in his fourth crack at the competition.
During the event at Holsworthy Barracks on February 5, participants played five round-robin games, with top scorers progressing to knockout semis then a grand final.
Able Seaman Park relied on strong ground strokes and a renowned backhand to seal the win, but was unsatisfied with his number of unforced errors.
"I feel super happy, but there is still space for me to work on. There is no finish with tennis, there's always something you can improve on," he said.
"Because I love tennis so much, I'll be participating in this event every year as long as my chain of command supports me. I think it's a great event, though I wish it could happen more frequently."
A week later, on another sweltering day at Holsworthy, 16 teams battled it out for doubles supremacy.
First-time partners Chief Petty Officer Cameron Alcorn and Leading Seaman Jean-Paul Delgado went on an unbeaten run to win the Burrell Cup.
Leading Seaman Delgado said the duo from Maritime Warfare School picked up each other's style after the first game and complemented the other's rhythm.
The grand final was an exhausting back-and-forth battle, in a contest that came down to the last game, according to Leading Seaman Delgado.
The pair were up 3-1, before their opponents came back to tie 3-3.
"We overtook to 5-4, then they won the next game to tie again so we agreed to finish on the next game," he said.
"I was serving in the last game and finished with an ace. It was good to play that level of tennis and see the competitive sides of both teams."
Competition organiser Leading Seaman Samuel Hinchliffe said it was a great way for sailors to break up the week and get out from behind the computer or off the ship.
"It also involves that little bit of ship-to-ship rivalry. If you're on Warramunga and you're playing someone from Arunta, you feel like you should represent your ship and play a bit harder," Leading Seaman Hinchliffe said.
"I think it's fantastic, and at the end of the day you can say congratulations and go off to the pub for a beer and have a laugh."
