SUNDERLAND CITY COUNCIL is hosting the 2014 National Premier League (NPL) Tennis finals 27-30 March.
This is the third consecutive year that the city has been invited to host the national finals, with 16 teams from all over the country competing at the Sunderland Tennis Centre in Silksworth to be crowned champions.
The four-day event is being organised in partnership between Sunderland City Council and the National Premier League.
This high-profile national sporting event is being sponsored by Sunderland City Council with community and business partners Sunderland College, University of Sunderland, Advanced Vehicle Leasing, Dunlop Sport and the hpm group.
Some of the country’s leading individual tennis players and clubs have qualified to take part including four from the region, Virgin Active Wearside, Tennis World Middlesbrough, Durham University and the South Northumberland Tennis Club.
Cabinet Secretary for Sunderland City Council, Councillor Mel Speding, said: “We are proud that our city has again been chosen to host the 2014 National Premier League tennis finals.
“Following last year’s sell-out crowds, we are looking forward to welcoming fans from around the country to the Sunderland Tennis Centre which will provide the perfect venue.”
Councillor Speding added: “I’d like to thank the organisers and players for agreeing to give up some of their time while they’re here, to go out at grass-roots level into our local schools and clubs to talk to our young people about this fantastic sport and even invite some of them to be ball boys and ball girls at the event.”
As part of that engagement at grass-roots level, the team representing Durham University at the national finals will visit Richard Avenue Primary School tomorrow morning (Tuesday 18 March) at 9.30am where its captain Johnny Binding used to be a pupil.
Headteacher at Richard Avenue Primary, Mrs Karen Todd said: “We’re delighted to welcome Johnny back to our school, to share his passion and experience of tennis and sport with our children.
“Getting involved in sport at any level is so important for young people’s personal development. It helps build up determination, perseverance, teamwork and lots of other transferable skills which will help later in life beyond sport.
“I know this from personal experience. When I was at school I was into gymnastics and became a coach I was a teenager. It was then I realised I wanted to work with children which is why I studied to be a teacher.”
Details of matches/tickets (concessions available) for:
- Qualifying rounds Thursday 27 March (10am – 7pm),
- Quarter-finals 26 March (1 and 6pm),
- Semi-finals 27 March (11am and 3pm) and
- The final on Sunday at 2pm
Tickets are available from Sunderland Tennis Centre, Silksworth Lane, SR3 1PD on561 5900 and event organiser mdixontennis@btinternet.com
Captain of the Virgin Active Wearside team, Adam Barraclough from Seaburn Dene in Sunderland, said: ” We are really looking forward to competing in the NPL Finals once again in our home city, and hoping to shock some of the stronger teams, and have a good run in the competition.”
