Lancashire LTA is delighted to announce that Sefton Park & Mersey Bowmen Tennis Club have jointly been named the North Region’s Community Venue of the Year in the 2017 Aegon British Tennis Awards.
The venues had previously been named Lancashire Community Venue of the Year, which saw them progress to a regional judging panel, who decided to recognise the community venue partnership for this further Regional award.
Sefton Park, in conjunction with Mersey Bowmen Tennis Club, is a highly successful inner-city tennis hub which boasts over 500 registered players. Weekly Tennis for Free sessions at the site have proved extremely popular – topping national tables - and form the focus of community provision at the park. Staffed by a team of two coaches and eight volunteers, the sessions attract over 80 participants each week during the summer months. The Regional Awards panel recognised the breadth of tennis provision at Sefton Park and Mersey Bowmen Tennis Club which includes Tennis Tuesdays, Advantage Tennis Training, Local Tennis Leagues, Tennis Xpress and a midweek junior programme.
Sarah Stephenson from Lancashire LTA added: “It is an honour to have a regional winner in the 2017 Aegon British Tennis Awards. The contribution towards local tennis in Lancashire has been outstanding and the award is fully deserved. We wish Sefton Park and Mersey Bowmen Tennis Club every luck as they now go forward to be judged by a national panel for the title of national award winner.
The awards are a joint initiative between The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the Tennis Foundation, partner Aegon and 40 local/national tennis associations, including Lancashire. The Awards reward and champion the people who deliver tennis in communities across Great Britain.
As a Regional Award Winner, the venue will now be put forward to a national judging panel who will determine overall winners for each category in the Aegon British Tennis Awards. Those successful will then be invited to attend the national Aegon British Tennis Awards ceremony in London on 4th July 2017.