Volunteers' Week: Find out how you can get into volunteering
• 3 MINUTE READ
There are at least 25,000 volunteers in our sport, all rallying together to enrich people’s lives through tennis. Between them, they dedicate millions of hours each year to the game, whether it’s volunteering at their local club, for their county or at Britain’s biggest tournaments.
To mark Volunteers' Week (June 1- 7), we asked the LTA’s Volunteering Manager Alex Beaumont to share his top tips and reasons for getting into volunteering.
- Volunteer at an event – there are roles for volunteers at almost all events, from local competitions to major events including summer grass court tournaments, Davis Cup ties and and Tennis Foundation disability competitions. It’s great fun too!
- Support your local community – follow in the footsteps of three amazing volunteers who began a club in their village three years ago, which went on to be named Club of the Year at the prestigious British Tennis Awards. Find out more about their incredible story!
- Look online – if you’re not part of a club, search for your nearest one online and get in touch to see if you can help. Their need for volunteers may not be immediately obvious from their website, but you could be exactly what they’re looking for
- Why? Volunteering makes you happier, decreases loneliness and lets you gain and develop new skills and qualities such as confidence, self esteem, organisation and administration to name a few
- Want to help but not sure how? Learn more about how you can get into volunteering online
Throughout Volunteers’ Week, we’ve also teamed up with some familiar faces who will be surprising over 300 volunteers across the nation with a two-minute phone call.
Lucy Shuker, Sue Barker, Leon Smith, Anne Keothavong, Greg Rusedski, Jonny Marray, Mark Cox, Roger Taylor, Katie O’Brien and Christine Truman, along with 160 LTA colleagues including Chief Executive Scott Lloyd, will be making calls to over 300 volunteers across the nation to simply say ‘thank you’ for the invaluable support they provide.
Then, on Wednesday, we’ll be showcasing the inspirational stories of nine inspirational volunteers – all of which have been named British Tennis Awards finalists. The British Tennis Awards are a way to recognise the thousands of volunteers in tennis. Last autumn, a record-breaking total of 1,460 nominations were cast, which then led to the announcement of country and regional winners. In spring, an expert panel got together to decide the overall national winners and finalists, who will be announced at the official Awards Ceremony at The Championships, Wimbledon, on July 3.
