Newcastle Tennis Club lift prestigious sporting award

16 September 2015

NEWCASTLE Tennis Club has won the prestigious Junior Club of the Year title at the annual Belfast and District League awards ceremony held at the weekend in Belfast Boat Club.

The coveted award is based on nominations from other tennis clubs which the local players have met in Belfast & District League competitions earlier this year.

The prize is recognition of the sporting behaviour displayed by all the Newcastle girls’ and boys’ teams as well as the hospitality shown to visiting teams at the Bryansford Road club.

A 14-strong delegation of Newcastle junior players, accompanied by volunteers and parents from the club, was in attendance at Saturday’s prize-giving event to collect the award.

The event also saw the Newcastle U-18 team boys team collect the plaque for winning Division 5, while theU-14 boys A team won Division 4 of the Belfast & District League.

Newcastle U-14 girls were runners-up in their division and the U-14 boys B team gained valuable experience in their first season of competitive play.

Although he didn’t win it, Scott Monteith was one of the nominees for junior player of the year in recognition of his sportsmanship, reliability and commitment.

The Belfast & District League hosts a fun competition event to reward all the dedicated juniors who represented their clubs earlier this year.

The players are divided into teams, mixing with each other and playing lots of fun tennis-based games, answering quizzes and getting to know one another.

Newcastle’s Ben McGuigan and Scott Monteith made it to the final, albeit on opposing teams. Ben’s team came out on top, having been substantially in the lead all the way through.

When all the games and prize giving were over, a very tasty BBQ was provided and enjoyed by all.

Newcastle Tennis Club wishes to acknowledge the support of Newry, Mourne & Down District Council for financial assistance for community tennis access and development, which has enabled additional coaching for up-and-coming young players, increasing confidence, skills and standards.

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