Charlotte Peckover, Mason Recci and Marianne Lancaster have all reached the national finals of the prestigious Powder Byrne Tennis Trophy. Charlotte, in the U10 Girls Singles, faces Alice Hill from Nottinghamshire. Mason will play Donovan Cellupica-Towers in the 14 and Under Boys Singles and Marianne, along with doubles partner Richard Tuck have their final versus Rhys and Julie Hanger from Sussex.
These players began their journeys to the finals back in June, alongside some 450 fellow competitors playing throughout Great Britain. Other entrants in the tournament included: British Junior number 1 and Junior Wimbledon semi-finalist Oliver Golding, who won the event back in 2004, at the age of 10.
On the 28th November, all the finals will be played at the state of the art LTA National Tennis Centre at Roehampton, where Andy Murray and Britain’s other top players train.
The aim of the Powder Byrne Trophy is to attract children and families, aged 8-18, to competitive tennis – whatever their standard. The 2010 event; with entries across England, Scotland and Wales, has seen over 600 matches played over 6 months. As well as the individual age group singles events from U10 to U18, the tournament also includes family doubles and adult singles events.
In 2011, the Powder Byrne Trophy will once again be open to every tennis player, of every age, regardless of their rating or whether they are members of a club or not. The flexible postal format allows better players to be seeded through to the latter rounds, which avoids less experienced players coming up against seasoned competitors early on. In most cases, the format allows for the initial matches to be played locally.
Two new events are being added to the 2011 tournament: local mini-tennis events for youngsters aged 8 and under in a red ball event and an orange ball event for youngsters who are 8-9 years of age. These will be the first ever nationwide red ball and orange ball events.
For more information on the Powder Byrne Trophy please visit the website: www.powderbyrne.com or alternatively you can email powderbyrnetrophy@octagon.com to receive an entry form for the 2011 tournament.