Steve Shaw earns top honour at the LTA Tennis Awards
By Tom Harle
A devoted disability tennis volunteer has been recognised for his contribution to the sport in Cambridgeshire at the LTA Tennis Awards.
Steve Shaw, 67, is a committee member at Cambridge Tennis Club, the largest club in the county, with a passion for encouraging disabled players to pick up a racket.
Among Shaw’s varied contributions include setting up disability tennis forums, creating local links through his day job as a social worker and even volunteering as a ballboy.
The volunteer, who has been working at the club for the last three years, was delighted to receive the Disability Award for Central and East.
“I’m conscious there are lots of people out there who do a lot more than me but I’m very pleased to have won the award,” said Shaw.
“Like all volunteers, I do what I do because I enjoy it and think I’m helping people in some small way. That’s reward enough for me.
“We work a lot in local schools and it’s been great to see children get so much out of our sessions. I hope to develop our links with schools and local groups further.
“I’ve volunteered all over the country at disability events, including blind and partially-sighted tournaments, and it’s been great to witness the enjoyment tennis brings to people.”
Successful regional winners will progress to the LTA’s National finals in each of their respective categories, with Shaw’s accomplishments to be judged alongside the best in the country.
LTA Chief Executive Scott Lloyd said: “These awards acknowledge the extraordinary contribution of the individuals and venues that help us open tennis up, bringing new fans and players to our sport. Now more than ever, it is important we celebrate their contributions and hope that tennis can rally together to get through this very challenging time.”
Launched in 2015, the LTA Tennis Awards acknowledge the many thousands of individuals involved in tennis – from the 25,000 volunteers, to the 4,400 coaches and 940 officials, as well as the 20,000 schools, 2,700 clubs and over 9,700 LTA approved tournaments across the country.
Now in their fifth year, a record number of 2,100 nominations were received nationally for this year’s awards.
For more information about the work the LTA is doing to grow tennis in Britain, log onto LTA.org.uk.
