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ALEX AITCHISON
Occupation: Owner of Tennis Consultants International. Tennis pro at Beaver
Brook Tennis Club in Danbury. President of the Newtown Tennis Association
(NTA).
Background: Alex moved to Long Island from Melbourne, Australia, in 1972 to
help run the well-known Port Washington Tennis Academy. From there, he helped
develop Sports Development and Reaction Training (START), which helped develop
technique and reaction training for players like Ivan Lendl, Martina
Navratilova and John McEnroe. He also served as chairman of the USTA Junior
Tennis Council and helped with development of US junior program. Alex
currently serves on the USTA's Technical Council.
Family: Married to Marjorie. The couple has three sons, who all live on Long
Island. Alex and Marjorie were looking to move to Arizona, but a friend
suggested they move to New England, where they could enjoy the four seasons,
much like in Melbourne. They found a house on Lake Road and, as soon as Alex
learned that Newtown was a "tennis town," they moved in.
Biggest change in Newtown: I've seen changes, primarily in the building
aspect. We're very concerned that they don't overpopulate the town. There's
room for development, but we've got to keep the growth under control. I'm not
opposed to developers, but the development of the town must be controlled. It
will ruin the country aspect of the town. This is a beautiful town, and we
don't want to ruin it.
Organizations: NTA, USTA, Eastern Tennis Association and several international
clubs.
Hobbies: I like gardening and landscaping. We also like watching ice hockey.
Favorite kind of book: I like mysteries basically because they're free
flowing.
Favorite place outside of Newtown: My old home town of Melbourne, but I've
enjoyed a lot of places. I would say the whole of New England is just very
appealing to me.
Favorite food: Everything, but I really like Italian and seafood.
Personal philosophy: Treat all things in moderation. We're in the age of high
fat foods. Every once in a while you hear some medical report saying to avoid
this and that, but we can avoid problems by eating in moderation and
exercising.
