Scotland’s Western Lawn Tennis Club win Competition of the Year award
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The club scooped the LTA’s Competition of the Year Award after being recognised for its work adapting to Covid-19 restrictions and showing sustained innovation through lockdown.
The club scooped the LTA’s Competition of the Year Award after being recognised for its work adapting to Covid-19 restrictions and showing sustained innovation through lockdown.
The competition provided a welcoming and enjoyable environment for players and demonstrated excellence in its organisation and delivery.
They were announced as the winners by Scott Lloyd, the LTA’s Chief Executive, at the live-streamed awards ceremony presented by LTA Head of Men’s tennis and Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain Leon Smith OBE last night.
The LTA Tennis Awards are now in their sixth year and celebrate the achievements and contributions of outstanding tennis volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players across the country.
And they were hand-picked as one of 16 national winners recognised at the awards ceremony last week, which honoured individuals involved in tennis at grassroots, county, regional and national level.
Western LTC worked hard to make their Championships a more inclusive event, involving squash players who had taken up tennis during the pandemic, and live streamed matches via Facebook for those at home. They used walk on music to accompany players on to court to create an energetic atmosphere and the tournament raised over £11,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Despite the restrictions of lockdown, Western LTC Club Championships ran a hugely successful finals day in August and even channelled their inner creativity by embracing a ‘Wimbledon style’ fanfare for the main events.
Nominations were drawn from over 25,000 volunteers, nearly 5,000 coaches and 1,000 officials, 22,000 schools, nearly 3,000 clubs and over 9,000 LTA approved tournaments, with the Western LTC Club Championships recognised for its work in the Glasgow region.
The quality and quantity of the nominations demonstrate outstanding work that has been done in tennis through the pandemic and David Rawlinson, LTA President, said: “The LTA Tennis Awards are a real celebration of the people that make our sport thrive.
“They celebrate the achievements made by outstanding volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players, who are all vital in helping us to grow the game.
“The past year has been challenging for everyone, but to see the tremendous positive contributions the nominees have made to the sport and to their communities has been tremendously uplifting.”
National Runners Up
East Gloucestershire Club Championships
The East Gloucestershire Club Championships took place over several weeks and attracted over 400 entrants aged from 4 to over 60 years old. The finals weekend included LTA umpires which gave the event a professional feel and much thought and planning had gone into the whole day, including the presentation ceremonies so that Covid guidelines were adhered to at all times.
E Y Wilkey Welsh Open
The E Y Wilkey Welsh Open, which took place at the Rhiwbina (Roo-bina) Lawn Tennis Club, is the only Seniors’ tournament to be held in Wales. In 2020 over 100 competitors from 10 nations, an increase of 36% on the previous year, battled it out to win a Welsh-themed prize.
LTA Competition of the Year 2021 – National Shortlist
- The 12 Counties annual competition
- Bucks Junior County Closed Championships
- East Gloucestershire Club Championships
- The Jack Petchey Foundation Celebration Events
- Shotley and Benfieldside Tennis Club Championships
- Western Lawn Tennis Club Championships
- The E Y Wilkey Welsh Open
