A memorial event for Alastair McNab, who died following a stroke in September 2017, has helped to raise over £2750 for the Stroke Association and St. Kentigern Hospice.
Tennis enthusiasts, friends and family attended Denbigh Tennis Club on Saturday 7th April to commemorate Alastair. The Club’s Chairman Alison Godwin began proceedings and invited Alastair’s brother Duncan McNab to speak about the work that Alastair had done with the tennis community since moving to the area from Scotland in the 1980’s.
Alastair did a vast amount of volunteering as Club Treasurer, Chair of the North Wales Tennis Committee and a key member of the Tennis Wales Board. As Treasurer, Alastair helped to obtain resurfacing of the tennis courts and new Club sponsors. He had been driving the project for floodlights and improvements at Denbigh Tennis Club, which would allow increased participation for all in the community. Following Alastair’s passing the projects to install the floodlights and fencing was completed by Alastair's brother-in-law Neall Condon.
Alastair’s brother Duncan commented:
“The family are immensely proud that Alastair's legacy will be ensured by the renaming of the courts to the Alastair McNab Tennis Courts, and the plaque to recognise his work in enhancing the club facilities. The memorial tournament has attracted huge interest from clubs throughout North Wales, which reflects how widespread Alastair's influence and community spirit was and will remain.”
Alongside Duncan, Alastair’s wife Gail and sister Lindsay, officially opened the new floodlights and unveiled a plaque, donated by Vale of Clwyd Memorials, in Alastair’s memory. As well as surpassing their online JustGiving fundraising target of £1000, the Club ran an auction which included an Andy Murray signed T-Shirt, Afternoon Tea for Two at the Denbigh Chocolate Shop and a one-year gym membership.
The remainder of the afternoon saw the North Wales Alastair McNab Tournament take place with teams from across North Wales in contention to win the title. After a number of competitive matches, the final came down to Ian Noonan and Vicki Broadbent from Mold Tennis Club against Ryan Bedwell and Georgia Lansdowne from Rhos-On-Sea Tennis Club, with the latter achieving ultimate victory 6-4.
Peter Drew, Tennis Wales CEO said: “Alastair was a true gentleman and a fantastic ambassador of tennis in Wales and we have all felt a great loss. The Club committee have done a fantastic job in organising and hosting the memorial event and we were pleased to be able to contribute ATP World Tour Finals Tickets to support the Club’s fundraising efforts.”
The Club’s chairman, Alison added: “It’s been great to see so many people pull together today in Alastair’s memory with over 100 people in attendance and over £2,750 raised for our chosen charities. The new floodlights are a tremendous asset and the Club would like thank the McNab family for all of their support for this event and for the work that Alastair did to obtain the floodlights, which was continued by Neall Condon and members of our committee. Our next event is an Open Day on Saturday 14th April, where we welcome the public to join us between 10am and 1pm to experience free tennis for all ages and abilities. Further details are available on the Denbigh Tennis Club Facebook page.”
If you would like to make a donation please visit the fundraising page: www.justgiving.com/teams/alastairmcnab
