Members' Choice Award
This prestigious award will honour the most inspiring people within the Real Tennis and Rackets community, as chosen by our members.
The Annual T&RA Dinner and Awards Ceremony hands out a variety of awards that recognise outstanding professionals and amateurs in both games. Some of the categories include the Maltby (volunteer of the year), the Warburg and Latham (best performance by pros), the Baerlein and Negretti (best performance by amateurs), and the Henry John (best young professional). The recipients of the T&RA Awards are chosen by our Board and Games Committees, which have deep knowledge of the Real Tennis and Rackets community.
The Members’ Choice Award will honour inspiring individuals involved in the Real Tennis or Rackets world. Whether a player, a professional, a volunteer or otherwise, they will have contributed to our games in a noteworthy way over the past season, as decided by our members via a poll sent by email.
We were overwhelmed by the number of nominations for the Members’ Choice Award. We will therefore be posting some of the lovely comments people said about so many Real Tennis and Rackets players, professionals and supporters of the game each week on our website and social media channels. We will kick off this week with the Real Tennis superstar who received the most nominations and the Rackets professional who also received a considerable number of votes.
Maggie Henderson-Tew
We thought this nomination given by one of the members summed up very nicely what the majority of the other nominations were saying:
"Maggie is the Radley Club Captain. Her 2023 spring newsletter is 28 pages and this sums up just what she does for Radley and the wider Real Tennis community. Without Maggie the club would not be what it is today - thriving. She leads, organises, fundraises, cajoles, washes, cooks and plays every day of the week with huge enthusiasm and energy - you never see a down Maggie.
She takes an interest in every single club member's welfare and is a huge supporter of the professional team.
Her wider Real Tennis interests are global, finding opportunities for new courts to be built and encouraging and supporting these to fruition. Her Real Tennis network is second to none and anyone walking through the door is given the best of welcomes.
She is just the best Captain that we, at Radley, could wish for - we, and the wider Tennis community, are very fortunate to have her."
Thank you Maggie for all of the work that you continue to do for our beloved game!
Mark Briers
This second nomination highlights Mark's continued enthusiasm to grow the game of rackets and especially the ladies' game
"Over the past 30 years Mark has shown total dedication to the rackets community. His unique and transparent coaching methods have generated significant success for the men's and women's game and he has fostered a wonderful community that continues to thrive and be enthusiastic about the game all over the world. Mark is a total hero in the rackets scene and deserves some recognition amongst the community."
Thank you Mark we commend your dedication to Rackets, in particular, girls rackets and the continuation of participation of players both boys and girls post school.
Dan Jones
This nomination highlights Dan as a great ambassador for Wellington Real Tennis as well as the sport. Dan continues to show enthusiasm and encourage the juniors to play as well as being an inspiration on court.
"Dan is always enthusiastic and constantly encouraging new members to join our wonderful game. He is an inspiration to the newest and oldest members."
Thank you Dan for everything you do for the game!
Ben Geytenbeek
He has enabled clubs to stream matches with high quality. This has improved visibility of major events within the Real Tennis community.
Singlehandedly (with perhaps a little help from Jacqui!), Ben has transformed the streaming of Real Tennis at not one but multiple courts across the country. 'Ben's Den' is now a feature at major tournaments allowing top quality real tennis to be enjoyed on your in the comfort of own home/work place. Multiple cameras, integrated scoring, audio, amazing in game statistics all appear seamlessly on your screen.
Furthermore, Ben has generously shared his knowledge and time to assist individual Clubs and the T&RA in setting up their own systems.
Thank you Ben for all the video streaming you have done for us and the clubs! It has also improved sponsor visibility and has the potential to draw in a new audience for the game.
Chris Ronaldson
Chris has dedicated his entire adult life to the sport and deserves every recognition possible.
His enthusiasm and care for the sport remains unwavering throughout the many years he's been involved and he remains a shining example of a true professional. His mentoring of young professionals is outstanding. His constant support is admirable for the development of Real Tennis all over the world.
Thank you Chris for your unerring commitment to growing the sport and breathing new life into struggling clubs.
Paul Weaver
His continuous active support of the juniors.
Your warmth and passion for the game never goes unnoticed!
We thank you Paul for all your work with bringing on the Junior real tennis players!