ANDERSON — Jim Hostetler has the unique experience of being a current player and former organizer of the Community Hospital Anderson Tennis Classic. He ran the tournament for most of its previous 27 years, and now is strictly a participant.

That experience, Hostetler said, has allowed him to appreciate the annual event in various ways.

“It’s a chance to go out and see other tennis people that you may not have seen for some time,” said Hostetler, also a longtime Highland High School boys and girls tennis coach. “It’s become a tradition here.”

The tournament, which draws participants from Muncie, New Castle, Indianapolis and Marion, begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday and continues through July 27. Almost all of the matches will be played at Anderson University, with a few matches taking place at Highland.

This year’s tournament includes a whopping 39 divisions, with the largest being the boys varsity singles division and its 34 competitors. Other divisions begin with the quarterfinal round. The spectrum ranges from boys and girls to men’s and women’s to coed categories.

“It’s become a fairly big event to the tennis community,” Hostetler said. “It’s something that a lot of tennis players pencil in on their calendars. This year’s participation is similar to what we’ve had in the past.”

The tournament originally was run by the Anderson Parks Department, and has gone through several different sponsorships before Community Hospital took the reins. Weekday matches will begin at 5:30 p.m., with Saturday matches starting at 9 a.m. and Sunday matches at 1 p.m.

Divisions include age ranges as young as coed 10-year-old singles, and as old as 55 singles and doubles in the men's division. In all, there are 16 boys/men’s divisions, 12 girls/women’s divisions and seven mixed divisions. There are also father/son, father/daughter, mother/son and mother/daughter doubles divisions.

“There are eight courts full of players,” Hostetler said. “It’s an enjoyable evening.”