We are sad to report that Margaret Robinson, who was County Secretary of the Derbyshire Tennis Association for many years, has lost her battle with cancer.
Margaret was widely known in the tennis world at both local and national levels. Locally, Margaret was a member of Duffield tennis club and on the Derbyshire Tennis Association Management Committee for 22 years. Her hard work in running and refereeing many of the local tennis tournaments for juniors and adults won the affections of many tennis players. She was instrumental in the building of the first County Tennis Centre in the country which opened in Ashe Place in Normanton in 1993. During her time as Derbyshire County Secretary, Margaret raised £0.5 million for Derbyshire tennis.
In February 2010, Margaret was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by Roger Draper (see photo above) at the inaugural Derbyshire Tennis Awards in recognition of all her hard work and achievements.
Nationally, Margaret represented Derbyshire as a Councillor on the LTA board for 21 years looking after Derbyshire's interests as well as looking to improve tennis nationally. In 2002, she received the LTA Meritorious Service Award for volunteer work in all aspects of the game in the County and in 2006, Sophie, Countess of Wessex presented Margaret with the CCPR Torch Trophy Trust Award for outstanding voluntary service to Lawn Tennis.
Roger Draper, LTA Chief Executive said: "Margaret made an outstanding contribution to tennis in Derbyshire over many years, as lead volunteer, an excellent fundraiser for local tennis, and in developing the indoor county centre. She thoroughly deserved her Lifetime Achievement award from Derbyshire Tennis Association and she will be sadly missed. Our thoughts are with her family at this difficult time."
Margaret recently retired from her tennis commitments and has fought a hard battle against her cancer. She will be very sadly missed by her husband, David and their two children, Sarah and Tim as well as by her many friends.