LTA Tennis Foundation sponsors Sporting Equals Awards
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The LTA Tennis Foundation (LTA TF) will be sponsoring the Sporting Equals Awards for a second year.
The Awards, which will take place on the 5th of October, are all about celebrating sporting excellence within ethnically diverse communities. The LTA TF’s mission is to improve lives through tennis and has a strong focus on supporting projects in underserved communities.
The LTA TF are sponsoring the LTA Tennis Foundation Community Tennis Award, which 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.
Three organisations have been shortlisted for the award, and the winner will be decided by a public vote which runs from the 16th to the 27th of September.
About the shortlisted organisations
Black Tennis Mentors UK CIC
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.
Key activities of the organisation include:
- Mentorship Programmes: Offering one-on-one and group mentorship from experienced professionals within the tennis industry.
- Workshops and Seminars: Hosting regular events that feature successful black tennis figures to share their experiences and insights.
- Resource Development: Creating materials and online resources that cover various aspects of playing, coaching, and managing within the sport.
- Community Engagement: Actively engaging with local tennis clubs, schools, and community organisations to provide support and create opportunities for young black athletes.
The team is composed of experienced professionals, most of whom come from the black community. Their diverse expertise ensures the smooth operation of the business, enabling them to deliver impactful programmes and foster a supportive environment for the black tennis community.
Black Tennis Mentors is already seeing the impact of its work, having successfully established its mentoring programme, regularly shining a light on the achievements of black athletes, delivering workshops to enhance tennis and life skills to support careers, and creating a community of black tennis players that promotes collaboration and support.
Nadia Kanyike, Project Manager said, "Being nominated for the LTA Tennis Foundation Community Tennis Award is an incredible honour for Black Tennis Mentors UK. This nomination means so much to us for several reasons. First, it shines a spotlight on the important work we're doing in our community, bringing tennis to diverse groups who might not otherwise have access to the sport. Second, it's a wonderful acknowledgment of the dedication and hard work our team puts in every day. Third, it motivates us to continue and expand our efforts in the future, knowing that our impact is being recognised. Lastly, this nomination helps raise awareness within the broader sports industry about the importance of diversity and inclusion in tennis. We're truly grateful for this opportunity and excited about the potential to reach even more people through our work."
Breaking Barriers Tennis Association (BBTA)
The creation of Breaking Barriers Tennis Association (BBTA) was prompted by the need highlighted by Sport England’s research, revealing significant disparities in sport and physical activity engagement across socio-economic groups. A statistic that particularly stood out to the founders was that individuals from ethnically diverse backgrounds are disproportionately inactive (33%) and least likely to be active (54%). The team wanted to understand why this was happening in their community and found that families face multiple barriers when thinking about accessing tennis, including cost, weather, perceptions, and lack of access to equipment.
As a result, BBTA was created, aiming to break down barriers to the social, mental and physical benefits of tennis for underrepresented communities.
The programme works to integrate children from non-traditional tennis playing backgrounds into a traditional tennis environment, to experience tennis and reap the benefits of the sport – working to truly open up the game. BBTA have partnered with four tennis centres which are all accessible for some of the most deprived areas of Leeds.
The project is about breaking down barriers to fun, good quality, consistent coaching in good tennis facilities. This integrative project fosters social connectedness between traditional and underrepresented communities along the way, levelling and opening tennis up.
In the first six months of delivery the team have seen over 140 children from underrepresented groups take part in tennis sessions. There are many heartwarming stories about the impact of the programme already.
Hajira, a parent whose children attend the sessions, said: “The BBTA programme has been great for Hassan and Hannah. It has been a great opportunity and a chance to experience tennis, and for Hassan especially, who has been under investigation for ADHD, he has just taken to the sport. The coaches that have been provided through this have really understood my children and not made them feel different in any way, just given them an opportunity to thrive and enjoy sport.”
Justin Taundi, Founder of BBTA said; “We are delighted to be nominated alongside other organisations doing incredible work. The nomination is really recognition for the brave guardians and children on our programme, who’ve trusted us to put them in unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations and have been great to work with. Our partners who were open to our ideas and help us deliver great tennis experiences for children”
Rising Stars Tennis Academy (RSTA)
After noticing a lack of diversity in tennis, a sport they loved, a father and son team decided to set up a tennis academy that introduced tennis within their community, making it accessible and creating pathways for children and their families into the sport.
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 aspect (learning the specific technique), a physical aspect (to improve the overall fitness) and the mental aspect (working with kids through worksheets and conversation). Equipment is provided for all players who attend and keep the classes small so players can get the individual attention they need to progress.
RSTA also offers pathways for aspiring coaches. Representation and having role models children can look up to within their community is important, and the team believes this begins with the coaches.
Each week over 100 children attend the sessions, with 90% being from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Children who had never picked up a racket before are now playing in LTA tournaments and enjoying all the benefits that come from playing.
Abdul Sammad Ahmed, founder and owner of RSTA said; “It is an honour to be nominated and recognised by the LTA Tennis Foundation. It gives us a real sense of validation that the efforts of our team are being noted, this only drives us even more to make tennis accessible to as many people as we can and continue to grow the community we have created.”
The public vote runs from the 16th of September and closes on the 27th of September – people can vote on the Sporting Equals website.
About the Awards
The awards are now in their eighth year and were designed to recognise and celebrate the contributions made by ethnically diverse people & communities to sport. The Awards help drive change in the sport sector where more role models from more communities in more sports are a priority to increase participation. The recognition of hard work and dedication stimulates interest and unearths talent on and off the field of play.
The awards focus on elite and grassroots sport – celebrating achievements and profiling ethnically diverse role models.
Dave Hardman, EDI Strategy Manager for the LTA says, “I am delighted that the LTA Tennis Foundation has agreed to support the Sporting Equals Awards for a second year. The awards night is an important moment in the year for inclusion and shines a light on the amazing work that is happening to open up tennis in ethnically diverse communities.”
Sporting Equals Awards
Head to the Sporting Equals website to cast your vote for the LTA Tennis Foundation Community Tennis Award.
