Shropshire's LTA Tennis Awards winners deservedly recognised

The Shropshire winners of prestigious Lawn Tennis Association Awards deservedly stepped into the spotlight as their contribution to the sport was recognised.

The annual LTA Tennis Awards highlight and reward the achievements of people, clubs and schools.

The county's winners were announced at Tennis Shropshire's recent AGM, with the recipients of certificates now going forward to be considered for regional awards for the Midlands.

Then the next step is potentially being shortlisted to be LTA Tennis Awards National finalists this summer.

Two of Shropshire's winners from last year impressively went on to win top national awards.

Amy Dannatt received the Rising Star Award, with The Shrewsbury Club claiming the Performance Competition of the Year Award.

They were selected as national winners from more than 2,200 nominations across England, Scotland and Wales in a number of categories. Launched in 2015,

Shropshire's former LTA president Cathie Sabin - who was always so passionate about recognising the efforts of inspirational individuals involved in tennis - was instrumental in the awards being introduced.

Tennis Shropshire chair Fiona Jones said: “The awards have become a really important part of the Shropshire tennis calendar.

"There's so much good work that goes on in clubs around the county with volunteers playing such an important and inspirational role.

"We receive so many quality nominations every year which makes it very difficult to choose the winners.

"There are lots of people doing great work in clubs that have yet to be nominated, so we want to keep encouraging people to think about all those wonderful volunteers who make tennis possible for others.”

This year's Lifetime Achievement Award for Shropshire was presented to Louise Ferguson of Newport's Boughey Gardens Tennis Club.

Louise has been a volunteer at the club for over 40 years and held most positions on the Boughey Gardens committee.

She has just taken the role of safeguarding lead. Louise has always been renowned for being very welcoming and encouraging people new to the club to enjoy their tennis.

Keith Wootton, from Shrewsbury Lawn Tennis Club, received the Cathie Sabin Volunteer of the Year Award.

As the club's hard-working groundsman, he goes above and beyond in his role and takes huge pride in the condition of the club's grass courts.

The Competition of the Year was won by Telford Tennis Centre's Monster Smash competition.

This was a real fun competition for parents and children.

Well organised, there was the opportunity for players to wear different outfits, with the competition a popular way to encourage families to have fun together on court.

Nikki Hoy, from Telford Tennis Centre and We Do Tennis, was named as the county's Development Coach of the Year.

An inspirational coach for many years, Nikki coaches lots of children at Telford Tennis Centre, spending lots of time on court.

She offers great encouragement to youngsters taking up tennis. Ludlow Castle Tennis Club's Linda McMahon won Shropshire's Tennis For All Award.

Linda regularly coaches Harrison Algar, a local youngster who recently received a new bionic arm, while she was instrumental in encouraging some Ukrainian children to start playing at the club.

Some of their parents are now also playing and Linda, with support from the club, managed to secure funding to enable them to become members.

Linda also coaches young adults with learning disabilities at Ludlow Castle Tennis Club, one of the leading clubs in Shropshire and very supportive of making tennis accessible for everyone.

Simon Haddleton, The Shrewsbury Club's director of tennis, received the county's Official of the Year Award.

Having been officiating for a number of years, Simon expertly runs so many competitions in Shropshire, providing people of all ages with the opportunity to play competitive tennis.

He is also a role model and inspiration for younger referees following in his footsteps.

Shrewsbury's Cathie Sabin Community Tennis Centre was named the Shropshire winner of the Connecting Communities Award.

The two-court indoor centre has quickly become an important venue in terms of encouraging community groups to play tennis.

A growing range of groups make use of the centre's facilities, with many of the players new to tennis and discovering what good fun picking up a racket provides.

Pictured: Louise Ferguson of Newport's Boughey Gardens Tennis Club received Shropshire's Lifetime Achievement award in the LTA Tennis Awards from Keith Smith, the president of Tennis Shropshire.

Simon Haddleton, left, the county's official of the year, with Keith Smith.

Amy Dannatt collected the Connecting Communities Award on behalf of the Cathie Sabin Community Tennis Centre from Keith Smith.

Nikki Hoy was the winner of the county's Development Coach of the Year Award.

Linda McMahon, who won Shropshire's Tennis For All Award, with Harrison Algar at Ludlow Castle Tennis Club.