We were delighted to welcome back the LTA Tennis Foundation as award sponsors for The Sporting Equals Awards 2024! The LTA Tennis Foundation Community Tennis award recognises an organisation or programme that has demonstrated excellence in bringing tennis to ethnically diverse communities in the past 12 months. The organisation must be able to demonstrate how they have achieved positive social impact and how their organisation or programme is improving lives through tennis.
The LTA Tennis Foundation (LTA TF) is the LTA’s official charity with a mission to improve lives through tennis. The LTA TF is a grant and loan giving charity, and the funding provided is solely for the grassroots of the game. We are committed to working in all parts of Great Britain with a particular focus on diverse and underserved communities where the game is less well established.
Earlier this year the LTA hosted the Tennis Black List event for the second year, recognising role models from black and mixed black heritage communities and contributions across all levels of tennis. In addition to this it supported the launch of the ‘Black Tennis Collective’ - five pioneering organisations from the black tennis community forming a powerful collaboration with the LTA to increase visibility and participation within the black community in tennis.
Throughout the year the LTA and LTA Tennis Foundation celebrates cultural and religious moments, such as Black History Month, Ramadan, and Diwali, which this year included colleagues sharing their traditions fostering greater understanding, empathy, and connection within the organisation.
We received a high volume of votes in our LTA Tennis Foundation Community Tennis Award with it being the category with the third highest amount of votes of all award categories and over 450 votes on the day voting opened alone.
In the category we had three incredible finalists who were as follows;
Black Tennis Mentors
The creation of the Black Tennis Mentors UK CIC was prompted by the recognition of systemic barriers faced by the Black tennis community in the UK. Despite the rich history and potential of black athletes in tennis, there remains a significant lack of representation within the sport. Black Tennis Mentors UK CIC is a mentorship platform dedicated to supporting the Black tennis community in the UK. Their mission is to provide tailored guidance, coaching, and resources to aspiring black tennis players, coaches, volunteers, officials, student-athletes, health and fitness instructors, media and marketing managers, event managers, and others interested in the sport.
Breaking Barriers Tennis Association
Breaking Barriers Tennis Association (BBTA) aims to break down barriers to; perception, cost, accessibility, weather and barriers through; social, mental and physical benefits through tennis for underrepresented communities. The programme works to integrate children from non-traditional tennis playing backgrounds into a traditional tennis environment, to experience playing tennis and reap the benefits of the sport – working to truly open up the game. BBTA have partnered four tennis centres which are all accessible for some of the most deprived areas of Leeds. The project is about breaking down barriers to offer fun, good quality, consistent coaching in good tennis facilities.
Rising Stars Tennis Academy
Rising Stars Tennis Academy provides tennis classes for players of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, with inclusion sitting at the heart of the programme. The team believe all players are equal, as they are tennis players before anything else. The sessions look at the technical aspects, physical aspects and the mental aspects. Equipment is provided for all players who attend and keep the classes small so players can get the individual attention they need to progress.
On the night it was Black Tennis Mentors who stormed to victory with over 46% of the total vote. The award was presented to member of Black Tennis Mentors team including Co-Founders Arum Akom and Jabilayh Asante by Chair of LTA Tennis Foundation Tim Lawler MBE and Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Gold Medallist Ayaz Bhuta MBE.
Speaking of the win on the night Arum Said ‘Any of us could have won, we’re all doing amazing work, within a similar field its about trying to break barriers. To be amongst those individuals is an amazing achievement.’
Since their award win Black Tennis Mentors have featured had features on the LTA’s website https://www.lta.org.uk/news/the-black-tennis-mentors-reveal-how-history-can-help-enact-meaningful-change-for-the-black-community-and-beyond/ and with The Voice https://www.voice-online.co.uk/sport/tennis/2024/10/10/black-tennis-collective-to-serve-up-something-different/.
We wish all of finalists the best of luck with their ongoing projects!
