Hugo Allen was rewarded for his voluntary commitment to British tennis this weekend with a camp at the National Tennis Centre, aimed at Young Volunteers.
The 18-year-old from Hemel Hempstead, was one of 23 young volunteers to be selected to attend the camp from October 2-4 in Roehampton. During the course of the weekend Allen undertook various activities to give him a further insight into how he can develop his skills as a volunteer and give him a deeper understanding of tennis.
Prior to going on the competition organiser’s course Allen had been running Orange and Green Mini Tennis County Winter Circuits and also internal club competitions.
Since the course he has been involved in all types of competition from Mini Red through to veteran’s and also from informal match plays to knock-out tournaments.
He said: “I’ve really enjoyed meeting other competition organisers from all around the country and getting their different perspectives on how competitions should be run. “I came really I think to get an experience of being at the NTC, the new home of British Tennis and to see how the sport will develop. The course absolutely met my expectations and I’m really glad I came.”
A number of different activities were held over the weekend, including listening to a talk on volunteering at the 2012 Olympics from the Head of Volunteering at the Games; a sports science talk; workshops relating to other careers within tennis; team building exercises; introducing more effective ways of communicating and encouraging more people to get involved. And the National Volunteer and Club Development Manager, Sophie Curthoys acknowledged the importance all volunteers have to play in ensuring the continued success of British tennis.
“All sports benefit from the time and passion its volunteers dedicate to various facets of the programme and tennis is no different,” she said. “This camp has been about not only rewarding each of the young volunteers who attended but also helping them develop new skills and opportunities which in turn will hopefully maximise their potential and their enjoyment.“The 2012 Olympics will depend on 70,000 volunteers and I’ve no doubt that some of the attendees this weekend will make up those numbers, as they continue to support tennis over the next three years and beyond.”