Tom Mawby was rewarded for his voluntary commitment to British tennis this weekend with a camp at the National Tennis Centre, aimed at Young Volunteers.
The 19-year-old from Ascot, was one of 23 young volunteers to be selected to attend the camp from October 2-4 in Roehampton. During the course of the weekend Mawby undertook various activities to give him a further insight into how he can develop his skills as a volunteer and give him a deeper understanding of tennis.
Mawby has been involved in various mini red and orange tournaments helping referees to run their competitions at several locations such as the county closed event.
He said: “I’ve had great fun. Meeting the other young volunteers on the camp has been great; the accommodation has been good and we’re also learning a lot of stuff that I haven’t come across or used before.
“It was good to get the opportunity to present our feedback back to the group – I had to think a bit on the spot, but it turned out well and I got some extra points for my team which was good!”
A number of different activities were held over the weekend, including listening to a talk on volunteering at the 2012 Olympics from the Head of Volunteering at the Games; a sports science talk; workshops relating to other careers within tennis; team building exercises; introducing more effective ways of communicating and encouraging more people to get involved.
And the National Volunteer and Club Development Manager, Sophie Curthoys acknowledged the importance all volunteers have to play in ensuring the continued success of British tennis.
“All sports benefit from the time and passion its volunteers dedicate to various facets of the programme and tennis is no different,” she said.
“This camp has been about not only rewarding each of the young volunteers who attended but also helping them develop new skills and opportunities which in turn will hopefully maximise their potential and their enjoyment.
“The 2012 Olympics will depend on 70,000 volunteers and I’ve no doubt that some of the attendees this weekend will make up those numbers, as they continue to support tennis over the next three years and beyond.”