New LTA President Cathie Sabin was full of praise for Derbyshire Tennis when she attended the county Centenary Awards Evening recently. The event took place on Friday at Pride Park Stadium last Friday, and was a chance for over 200 tennis enthusiasts from across the county to come together and celebrate all the achievements from the last year.
The evening kicked off with a brief introduction from Derbyshire Tennis Association John Last before Cathie Sabin spoke of how delighted she was to be attending the evening, after a day touring some of the tennis clubs in Derbyshire. She then helped present trophies to all the individual award and league winners.
Ashbourne TC walked away with the prestigious Club of the Year trophy after a momentous year that saw them move to a brand new purpose built facility at the Gateway Caravan Park in the town. The club has seen a huge growth in membership during the year and is already looking to develop further courts at the site.
Louise Holtum was one of the evenings other big winners, as she walked away with the Womens Player of the Year and also picked up the Derek Wardle trophy. Louise has moved from junior to the senior ranks this year and picked up four titles at the Derbyshire Junior Championships as well as representing the county with distinction.
Tom Rushby continued his domination of the Mens Player of the Year award as he picked it up for the third year running. Rushby, who is a coach at David Lloyd Derby, won the mens singles and mens doubles at the county closed last year and also put in an outstanding performance at county week.
One of the most popular winners of the evening was Nick John from Woodlands, who picked up the Volunteer of the Year award. Nick has led the project to install floodlights at Woodlands after the club secured funding from the Sport England Inspired Facilities fund.
Derbyshire legend Dennis Archer picked up his first Veteran Player of the Year after representing Great Britain during the last year. Andy Hadley from Church Broughton was another well recieved winner when he was announced as Club Player of the Year.
Chris Frosin was delighted to be named as the Derbyshire Coach of the Year. Frosin was priased for his work developing some of the leading young players that are emerging in Derbyshire and for his commitment to supporting the players.
The Boys Player of the Year was shared this year by Jay Clarke and Bradley Buckland. Jay enjoyed another good year in 2013 with success at internation level. Bradley Buckland was a member of the 12&U boys county team that came within one tie-break of being crowned national champions last July.
Victoria Allen picked up her second consecutive Girls Player of the Year award after another great year that once again saw her represent Great Britain at junior level.
The full list of winners is:
MENS PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Tom Rushby. Highly Commended - Simon Thornewill and James Rushby
WOMENS PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Louise Holtum. Highly Commended - Olivia Nelms and Gemma Praditngam
BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Bradley Buckland and Jay Clarke. Highly commended - Sam Ferguson.
GIRLS PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Victoria Allen. Highly commended - Hannah Davy.
VETERANS PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Dennis Archer. Highly commended - Jane Rushby and Ashley Broomhead.
CLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Andy Hadley (Church Broughton)
COACH OF THE YEAR - Chris Frosin (David Lloyd). Highly commended - Gareth Griffiths (Duffield/Little Eaton) and Jonny Brooke (Chesterfield).
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR - Nick John (Woodlands). Highly commended - Hector Taylor (Church Broughton) and Andy Bailey (Ashbourne)
CLUB OF THE YEAR - Ashbourne TC
DEREK WARDLE AWARD - Louise Holtum
Rob Salmon, Chairman of Derbyshire Tennis Association, commented "It was a fantastic evening to celebrate the centenary year for the Derbyshire Tennis Association. We were delighted to welcome LTA President Cathie Sabin and show her what a vibrant tennis scene we have in Derbyshire. It was great to honour so many people from around the county with the various awards and we are already looking forward to next years event".