News | 6 June 2024
Cardiff Met Tennis has been nominated as a National Finalist in the LTA Tennis Awards.
The nomination has come off the back of the programme recently winning the 2024 Tennis Wales University of the Year Award. The University tennis programme was recognised for its outstanding work in engaging students and the wider community through its activities.
The nomination comes in a year where tennis at Cardiff Met has grown substantially, with its student club becoming the largest and the most competitive it has been. The club now has over 100 student members ranging from complete beginners to players competing on the national stage.
The nomination highlights its recent achievements, including being named Welsh Tennis University of the Year. Alongside winning this, the University’s men’s team finished third in the Men’s Premier South League – the highest that any Cardiff Met men’s tennis team has finished in the history of Cardiff Met Tennis.
A significant factor contributing to this success has been the array of off-court opportunities offered to students. The club extends various employment avenues to students, notably through coaching positions on the Junior Tennis Programme for Cardiff’s young people, with over 150 children participating weekly.
A prime example of a Cardiff Met Tennis Programme graduate seizing employment opportunities is Amy Wright. Following her completion of a master’s degree in Sports Psychology at Cardiff Met and her role as University Tennis Coordinator, Amy has recently secured the role of Head of Tennis at Surrey University, where she now dedicates herself full-time to the sport.
Additionally, the programme recently welcomed Gethin Williams as the new Community Tennis Lead Coach. Gethin not only competes for Wales, but also secured the runner-up position for the Tennis Rising Star Award at the 2023 LTA National Tennis Awards.
Head of Tennis at Cardiff Met Sport, Billy Barclay, said: “We are very proud to be nominated in the LTA Tennis National Awards. The past year has been extremely successful, with success on and off the court.
“We’ve adapted the University’s
Open Campus Way of Working and embedded it in everything we do. We’re focused on providing opportunities to students across various schools of the university – from coaching and media to event management and physiotherapy.
“Hosting the UTR Professional Tennis Tournament in partnership with The Progress Tour is a great example of this. Cardiff Met Sport and Cardiff School of Sport have worked with the event organisers to create a bespoke event with prize money on offer.
“It also offers student placement opportunities, raises money for Volunteer Zambia and gives the community a chance to see professional tennis on their doorstep. We still have some exciting projects in the making and hope that Cardiff Met Tennis can continue to build off the back of what has been a successful year.”
The LTA Tennis Awards are on 2 July, 2024, hosted at the world-famous National Tennis Centre in London.
