● 17 year old John Heppell of Durham & Cleveland recently won the Aegon British Tennis Young Volunteer of the year 2017 for the North region.
● The Aegon British Tennis Awards are awarded by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), The Tennis Foundation (TF) and lead sponsor, Aegon. The awards champion and reward individuals who deliver tennis in local communities across the country.
● John plays and volunteers as an assistant coach at Durham Archery Lawn Tennis Club.
● John has now been rewarded for his volunteering with the opportunity to volunteer in the ‘Play Tennis Zone’ at Wimbledon 2017.
● John will travel to London for the second week of the Championships (10th-16th July 2017).
As Wimbledon approaches we can all look forward to watching 2 weeks of fantastic tennis on the grass courts of the All England Club on our televisions. But 17 year old John Heppell from Durham will get closer to the action than ever before as he has been selected to volunteer in the ‘Play Tennis Zone’ at the 2017 tournament.
John was invited to volunteer at the Championships as a result of being awarded the Aegon British Tennis Volunteer of the year for the whole of the North region. In the ‘Play Tennis Zone’ John will give fans and spectators the opportunity to try tennis and encourage them to get involved in the sport. John has been to Wimbledon several times, most memorably attending the 2008 men’s final which saw an epic 5 setter between Roger Federer of Switzerland & Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
Of the opportunity, John said
‘I am really looking forward to experiencing Wimbledon in a new way and engaging with people of all ages and backgrounds who attend the tournament. I really love tennis and the whole Wimbledon experience is unparalleled’.
John will have the opportunity to watch plenty of tennis as part of his volunteering experience and has also been invited to the British Tennis Wimbledon Ball at the Hurlingham Club on the evening of Saturday 8th July.
John was inspired to take up tennis at the age of 4 after watching Roger Federer on television. He took to the grass courts at Durham Archery Club and a decade later started volunteering on a Saturday morning, helping the coaches with the younger players. Now aged 17, John has taken on the role of Assistant Coach at the club helping young players achieve in their first tournaments. He is a Level 2 qualified coach and hopes to take his Level 3 and become a fully qualified coach when he turns 18 and embark on a career in the sports industry. He has shown great commitment giving up his Friday evenings and Saturday mornings to help younger players and loves inspiring people to improve – ‘I want to make players feel happy and able to enjoy the tennis as it really is a great game, I love it’ said John.
Andy Murray will begin his defence of the 2016 Wimbledon title on 3rd July 2017 with the 2017 champion being crowned on Sunday 16th July. 2016 ladies champion Serena Williams will be absent from the tournament this year as she awaits the arrival of her first child, leaving the women’s draw wide open.
For more information about Durham Archery Lawn Tennis Club visit: www.daltc.co.uk. For more information about the Championships, Wimbledon 2017 visit: www.wimbledon.com