Cathie Sabin, the first ever woman president of the LTA, visited Devon on Saturday 20th August as part of her goal of visiting every county during her term of office.
Cathie was met by Justine Kraushar our County Chairman and David Vinall our LTA Councilor who proceeded to take her on a tour of some of our clubs and places to play in Devon.
First stop was Hill Lane & Lockington Avenue Tennis Club where they were met by Barry Rogers, Peter Ryland and other members of the committee. Whilst watched a mini tennis session they were told of some of the challenges that the club faces and also about their plans to raise money to erect a statue or plaque to celebrate the achievements of Angela Mortimer who came from Plymouth. They were also told some of the history of the two clubs which included Fred Perry playing in a Davis Cup match on the Lockington Avenue courts in 1931!
Next stop on the tour was St Budeaux Tennis Club where they met David Williams and Cathie presented him with the trophy he was awarded by Devon LTA for Outstanding Achievement. An enjoyable hour was spent with coach Ricky Palmer and his junior coaching session players.
At the City Council owned Devonport Park Tennis courts, John & Glenn Richards (who also coach at Hill Lane TC) were providing free coaching and running a free tennis session as part of the Tennis For Free initiative. It was great to meet Barry Mountstevens, the Sports Development Officer for Plymouth City Council and Katherine Bell, a tennis apprentice employed by the council in a joint initiative with the LTA to help deliver tennis in the city.
From here they moved onto Plympton Tennis Club, Devon LTA Club of the Year, where they met several members of the committee including Jane & Peter Wilson, and Nicky Ormshaw. They were told of the club’s plans for the future and they watched some of the adult club session on the courts.
Cathie and David then made the long journey north to visit the county’s newest £2.8m tennis facility, the Atlantic Racquet Centre in Bideford. Cathie met several members of the committee and development committee including Andy Lobato, Anoushka Lynd, Sue Doncaster, Marian Vinall and the club President Peter Colwill. She was shown the plans for the Centre and the work already completed on the building to date. She was also told of the amazing growth the in the tennis programme and club membership that as been achieved in the club’s first year.
David Vinall commented, ”Despite having a long day starting at 9.30am in the morning and finishing at 7.30pm in the evening Cathie seemed to enjoy every minute of her day. She was very engaging and knowledgeable with everyone she met. It was a great pleasure and honour to welcome her to our county and to take her on this tour.”