Disability tennis in Great Britain is currently thriving, with more people taking part across venues supported by the LTA than ever before. Last year the LTA’s programme for disability tennis achieved record participation figures, making it one of the largest disability-specific sports programmes in the country.
BH Live’s disability tennis programme at Portsmouth Tennis Centre, Hampshire has been applauded at the regional LTA Tennis Awards for its role in enabling more people across the region to play.
Portsmouth Tennis Centre is a hub for disability tennis across Hampshire & Isle of Wight. Representing the south and south west region, Portsmouth Tennis Centre is also part of the LTA’s Open Court Programme.
Across Hampshire, hundreds of people living with conditions such as visual impairment, mental health and behavioural issues, brain injuries, Downs Syndrome and wheelchair users are regularly taking part in sessions, training and games.
Attracting people of all ages and abilities, the programme is supported by the Portsmouth Disability Network to encourage participation in physical activity and promote greater community health and wellbeing.
Free open days and festivals take place on a regular basis to highlight the sport and how it can improve people’s lives.
Portsmouth Tennis Centre is managed by BH Live in partnership with Portsmouth City Council.
“Tennis is a really inclusive and social sport; great for bringing people together,
said Rob Cunningham, BH Live’s Divisional General Manager.
“We are privileged to have such smashing facilities here in Portsmouth and pleased so many more people in our community are coming into the sport and reaping the benefits.”
Commenting on the awards, Alex Beaumont, LTA Volunteering Manager said,
“Every year we’re blown away by the standard of the applications and the phenomenal achievements they demonstrate in helping to grow the sport. The awards are an excellent way for us to say thank you to everyone and celebrate that progress.”
“What always stands out for me is the level of love and dedication so many extraordinary and selfless people have, not just for the sport, but for their communities. We are proud to celebrate these accomplishments and trust they will inspire more to follow in their footsteps in the years ahead.”
“As a governing body, we can’t achieve our vision of making our sport relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable without the support of dedicated and passionate fans of the grassroots game.”
More than 1,500 nominations were received for this year’s awards. The successful regional winners will now progress to the national finals their respective categories. The national winners will be crowned at a special awards ceremony on Tuesday 2 July 2019, at The Championships, Wimbledon.
To find out more about the LTA Tennis Awards, and for a full list of winners, please visit www.lta.org.uk.
South & South West Winners:
Disability award– Portsmouth Tennis Centre
Lifetime Achievement – Paul Butcher
Volunteer of the Year – Mark Taber
Young Person of the Year – Connie Simpson
Coach of the Year – James Brobin
Official of the Year – Simon Corbishley
Club of the Year – Redmarley TC
Community Venue of the Year – Winchcombe TC
Education award – St Mary’s CE Primary
Competition of the Year – GLTA Over 60s
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors:
About the LTA Awards
The awards serve to acknowledge the many thousands of individuals involved in tennis – from the 25,000 volunteers, to the 4,400 coaches and 940 officials. They also highlight the incredible achievements of some 20,000 schools, 2,700 clubs and over 9,700 LTA approved tournaments. The extraordinary contribution of the individuals and venues help to open the sport up, bringing new fans and players to the game.
For more information about BH Live please contact:
Elizabeth Symmons, PR & Corporate Communications Executive
E: press.office@bhlive.org.uk
T: (01202) 055562
BH Live operates Portsmouth Tennis in partnership with Portsmouth City Council:
A 10 court tennis facility in the north of Portsmouth consisting of four indoor courts and six floodlit outdoor courts. A comprehensive tennis coaching programme caters for all ages and abilities and is the area’s hub of accessible tennis. The programme runs sessions for tots, juniors, adults and also includes variations of the sport such as cardio tennis and touch tennis.
For more visit bhliveactive.org.uk.
Get social with us: Twitter @PortsTennis and Facebook @PortsmouthTC
About BH Live
BH Live is the south coast’s leading operator of leisure and event venues; a social enterprise that designs and builds engaging experiences to inspire people and enrich lives.
With more than five million visits a year and £42 million turnover we are changing lives and are at the heart of the UK’s growing social economy.
In 2017/18 we had 4.5 million leisure centre attendances, hosted more than 500 events and sold over half a million cultural, sporting and entertainment event tickets. We also welcomed 59,000 conference and exhibition delegates.
This generated an estimated £53 million in local economic benefit.
For more visit bhlive.org.uk.
Get social with us: LinkedIn, Twitter @BHLIVE_UK and Facebook @SocialEnterpriseBHLive