The Award is an initiative that is strongly supported by Lincolnshire Tennis. It has been championed and promoted since summer 2013 by Fair Play Ambassador, Patricia Kenneally-Forrester in order to encourage all Lincolnshire players, parents, referees, tournament organisers, coaches, and clubs to support the LTA’s guidelines concerning ‘everyone’s right to ENJOY, give and have RESPECT when in a tennis playing environment’.
In total, there were 14 nominees for the award from local tennis event organisers, referees, and from Patricia’s own observations of conduct during last tennis season's local events. To qualify for nomination, all nominees, as individuals, needed to display Fair Play qualities in their conduct on and off the court, and especially by consistently being gracious in defeat, and fair in winning during 2013.
In alphabetical order, nominees ranged from orange ball to adult players from clubs across Lincolnshire County as follows:
Ashton Baker, Barnaby Buckley, Faye Button, Tom Cozens, Sebastian Darke, Lucy Evans, Dana Kenneally-Forrester, Jake Holt, Ruth Hume, Dominic Newcombe, Lewis Picker, Bridget Scott, Jake Sherrick, and Lydia Walker.
All nominees received a Fair Play Certificate at the Lincolnshire Tennis Awards Event last night. The overall winner received Lincolnshire’s first ever Fair Play Award Trophy.
Nevertheless, all nominees are to be strongly commended for their commitment to Fair Play during 2013. Well done to you all!
And the 2013 Winner is …
It was very fitting that the first person to receive the Lincolnshire Fair Play Award is someone who consistently has proven herself to be an excellent role model to one and all, both youth and adult players.
This person is Faye Button
Nominations for the Fair Play Award for the 2014 tennis season can be sent to: kenneallyforrester@msn.com
Until then, ENJOY and RESPECT one another in tennis!!