Kate Lormor found tennis at 4 years old and has never looked back over the last 14 years! She started playing at David Lloyd Sunderland and then joined squads at Sunderland Tennis Centre.
Kate has always had the drive to participate in tennis and has taken every opportunity available to her. The Sunderland based player competed in the country’s most prestigious Year 3 Schools competition, and then from Year 7 – 11 competed regularly in the interschool tennis tournament where she finished either 2nd or 1st every year! Transferring her skills into the Club environment Kate competed in local events and also embarked on the Road To Wimbledon Competition, which saw her narrowly miss out to qualifying through to the National Event, which is held at the All England annually.
Importantly it wasn’t just playing that inspired Kate, it was also the huge range of life and employability skills that she learned throughout her journey. These included building confidence, organisation, managing and creating fun environments for participants to name a few! The skills Kate had developed through playing and learning helped when she started at Northumbria University. This saw her start volunteering through the NORTH Student Volunteer programme, including organising, refereeing and supporting several events across the North East.
Another highlight to her tennis venture took her to Canada, where over a summer break, Kate took on the role of as tennis coach at a summer camp. Kate adapted what she had learned in the UK, which helped due to the different way tennis was delivered, including some funky shaped tennis courts! Kate shared her experience,
“I was a Senior Councillor and an Assistant Tennis Coach. This has honestly been one of my highlights of tennis.”
Graham Fowler who is the Tennis Development Manager at Sunderland Tennis Centre helped Kate through her journey,
“It’s fantastic to hear that Kate is still involved in tennis. Kate soaks up all the opportunities available and is a true asset to the sport. We know there are many people who have helped Kate along the way and we cannot thank them enough.”