Susie Griffiths from Wales awarded Cathie Sabin Volunteer of the Year Award
• 3 MINUTE READ
Bangor Tennis Club member, Susie Griffiths, has won an LTA Tennis Award for her work in boosting membership and tennis participation at the club.
Susie Griffiths’ exploits have seen membership increase from 60 to 200 members, while she has also raised thousands of pounds by introducing a ‘play as you pay’ scheme.
She has also increased the number of social tennis at the club and made sure the club is more accessible for the local community.
She was announced as the winner by former tennis player Annabel Croft at a live-streamed awards ceremony presented by LTA President David Rawlinson and hosted by the LTA’s Head of Men’s Tennis Leon Smith.
The LTA Tennis Awards are now in their seventh year and celebrate the achievements and contributions of outstanding tennis volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players across the country.
Griffiths was hand-picked as one of 17 national winners recognised at the awards ceremony on Thursday, which honoured individuals involved in tennis at grassroots, county, regional and national level.
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 Griffiths recognised for her tireless efforts.
Named in honour of Cathie, the former LTA President, this award reflects the unrivalled passion she had for recognising the contributions of the unsung heroes of tennis – the volunteers that keep tennis going throughout the year come rain or shine.
As well as boosting participation, Griffiths acts as a friendly face to all new members and helped secure vital funding to help refurbish a previously neglected court.
The quality and quantity of the nominations demonstrate outstanding work that has been done in tennis throughout the last year and David Rawlinson, LTA President, said: “The LTA Tennis Awards are a real celebration of the people that make our sport thrive.
“They acknowledge the achievements made by outstanding volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players, who are all vital in helping us to grow the game.
“The outstanding contributions the nominees have made to the sport and to their communities has been tremendously uplifting and I would like to thank them for their fantastic work.”
Congratulations to all the finalists in the Cathie Sabin Volunteer of the Year Award category:
- Michael Goldie (Scotland)
- Susie Griffiths (Wales)
- Sheila Hirst (Cumbria)
- Rita Mahli (Essex)
- Julie Marks (Sussex)
- Peter May (Avon)
- Nathan Turner (Staffordshire)
