The Saint Lucia Tennis Association (SLTA) Inc. will stage its inaugural Tennis Awards this evening (Saturday 25th January 2020) from 7.00 p.m. The celebratory event will take place at the home of local tennis, the Saint Lucia National Tennis Centre located in Beausejour, Gros Islet.
“The two hour event is aimed at recognizing the achievements of the tennis players, individuals/volunteers who work at all levels of our sport and who go above and beyond to support the game, from grassroots initiatives to supporting Saint Lucia’s biggest events,” said SLTA Inc. Administrator Scyla Murray.
The main highlight of the programme will be the announcement of Junior (male and female) Tennis Players of the Year and Senior (male and female) Tennis Players of the Year.
According to Murray, in attendance will be SLTA Inc. President, Stephen Mc Namara and members of his executive; Keynote Speaker, Saint Lucia Olympic Committee (SLOC) Inc. President, Fortuna Belrose; a representative from the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports; nominees/awardees; specially invited guests to include parents; sponsors and members of the media.
Murray noted, “There will also be a special induction into the Tennis Hall of Fame and the presentation of a posthumous award to a person who has left their mark on the sport in Saint Lucia. It is the hope of the SLTA Inc. that these annual awards will serve to heighten the visibility of tennis and motivate upcoming players island-wide”.
After much deliberation, the SLTA Inc. Awards Committee released the names of the nominees for the celebration of excellence.
The nominees for Esteemed Award for Sporting Excellence: Vernon Lewis and Stephen Marcelle.
Coach of the Year: Scyla Murray; Vernon Lewis; Ron Blanchard; Hamlet Phillip; Dean White and Ricardo Francois.
Academy of the Year: Vernon Lewis Tennis Academy; Southern Amateur Tennis Club; Acers Tennis Club, Blanchard Tennis Academy and Total Tennis Academy.
Senior Tennis Player for the Year (male): Clent Mitchel; Adriel Bousquet who is currently studying at Ave Maria University in Florida and Maxx Wiliams who is currently studying at the Bill Adams Tennis Academy in Florida.
There is only one nominee for Senior Tennis Player for the Year (female): Meggan Williams; Wiliams is a Sophomore at the University of Charleston, West Virginia. She also won the award last year.
The Junior Tennis Player for the Year (male) nominees are Arden Rosemond (student of St Mary’s College) and Jordan Hunte who is currently studying at Sanchez Casal Tennis Academy in Florida.
Jorja Mederick (student of Leon Hess Comprehensice Secondary School), Iyana Paul (Balata Combined School), Alysa Elliott (St Joseph’s Convent) and Aviona Edmund (St Joseph’s Convent) will look to score a few aces on the judge’s cards for the female Junior Tennis Player of the Year award.
Team of the year: Jorja Mederick and Alysa Elliott; Arden Rosemond and Joey Angeloni; Iyana Paul and Latoya Murray.
Awards will also be presented to the top three high performance athletes per category male/female: Under 10s, Under 12s, Under 14s, U16s and Under 18s.
For Media Awards, David Pascal (The Star), Anthony De Beauville (The Voice) and Kenson Casimir (Saint Lucia Sports Online) are all nominees.
The lone nominee for the Community Achievement Award is Ricardo Francois.
For the Technical Official Award, five individuals will vie for that title: Iesha Emile, Catherine Morille, Dara Sidoine, Thaddeus Emile and Ronel Blanchard.
Posthumous Award: Finbar Willie and Una Francis; while the Hall of Fame Induction will bring the curtains down on the evening.
SLTA Inc. has expressed gratitude to the entire tennis fraternity, donors, sponsors and the Parents Committee for their contribution and support in the planning of this evening’s celebration.
