Victoria had a strong connection to a squad that produced this country's best ever finish in the world of international team tennis. Three of the four team members lived in the city, while the fourth, a globetrotting soldier and Winnipeg resident named Col. Henry Mayes, played his tennis in the B.C. capital. The others were J.F. Foulkes, a three-time Canadian champion and nine-time B.C. champ; team captain Robert Powell, who honed his game in Britain and played at Wimbledon in 1909; and Bernie Schwengers, the Dominion singles champion in 1911 and 1912 and a great all-around athlete. The squad beat Belgium and South Africa in preliminary matches before the pairing of Powell and Schwengers lost their singles and doubles matches 3-0 in the Davis Cup final at Wimbledon.

Hartley was a constant on the summer tennis scene as a coach and instructor between the 1940s and '70s. Discipline developed through army service - his athletic prowess was enhanced playing basketball, soccer and other sports for the force during wartime - combined with unending patience and an affable teaching style led him to become one of the region's favourite coaches. A prolific cross-country and road racing runner in his own youth, he was considered by some to be ahead of his time with his technique and training methods. While tennis would eventually become his focus, he developed a number of aspiring runners at Victoria High School. But it was his dedication to creating lesson programs that taught the fundamentals of tennis, and his work to expand those programs around the Capital Region, that helped produce generations of players who ultimately passed on their love of the sport to their own families. It's no wonder the current Cedar Hill tennis facility bears Hartley's name today.