20/11/13
British players won three gold medals, two silvers medals and three bronze medals between them at the Special Olympics European Tennis Tournament hosted by Special Olympics Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Federation of Tennis in mid-November.
Held on the indoor courts at the Luxembourg National Tennis Centre in Esch-sur-Alzette, the event saw over 80 athletes from 18 countries in Europe and Asia come together, with Prince Felix and Princess Claire, from the royal family of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg attending the opening ceremony.
East Midlands player Luke East was selected to read the Players' Oath at the opening ceremony, while ABTO official Martin Etheridge was chosen to read the Officials' Oath.
After a day of 'divisioning' to ensure the athletes were grouped for competition in similar ability groups, the eight British players competed in round-robin men's and ladies singles and mixed doubles groups over two days, with players using the different coloured transition balls depending in which group they played.
Wirral's Peter Millar and the East Midland's Matthew Chilvers both won gold in their respective men's singles events, Millar winning the men's singles Group M5-1 and Chilvers winning the men's singles Group M5-6.
Yorkshire and Humberside's Laura Campbell also won gold in the women's singles Group F5-1, while just missing out on a bronze medal in the Group 2 mixed doubles, in which she finished fourth.
Campbell's fellow Yorkshire and Humberside player Laura Wells came away from the event with two medals after winning silver in her women's singles Group F3-2 event, while also winning bronze in the Group 3 mixed doubles.
Scotland's Alistair Daniels was also a silver medallist in the men's singles Group M5-3, while East Midland's Alex Hopkinson won a brace of bronze medals in his respective men's singles Group M3-1 and mixed doubles events.
Another medal went back to the East Midlands when Scott Brown won bronze in the men's singles Group M4-1, while Brown just missed out on a medal in the mixed doubles Group 2 event, finishing fourth. There was also a fourth place for East in the men's singles Group M5-2.
The eight British players were accompanied to the tournament by Head of Delegation Lesley Whitehead, Special Olympics GB's national Technical Advisor for tennis, and coaches Matt Whitehead and Bev Cairns. Earlier this month Lesley was named Official of the Year at the British Tennis Awards.
Read a blog from Martin Etheridge, who officiated at the event, here.