THE annual presentation of awards ceremony for the Wilson Plymouth and District Tennis League competitions took place on Thursday at the Duke of Cornwall Hotel, Plymouth, attended by some 120 players and visitors.
David Williams, league seniors secretary and MC for the evening, said although not an outstanding year with some problems in completing the match programme, it had again been a good one with some fine matches and close results in some divisions.
The possibility of a mixed doubles league competition was being considered for 2004 to fill the gap after the league in August to maintain inter-club competition.
The two up and two down arrangement for promotion and demotion for each division had proved successful. He thanked all who had participated and made special reference to those who work diligently behind the scenes to make it such a success, in particular the match captains in arranging their own club teams.
Peter Sherlock, league juniors secretary said the change of format with scoring based on games won and not sets had been successful and it was encouraging to see more youngsters coming into clubs. He expressed special thanks to all the parents who assisted with transport for the juniors.
Trophies and prizes were presented by Simon Prout, ExSports, Adrian Cole, Wilson tennis balls and Steve Hitch, league chairman.
For Tavistock Tennis Club it was a mediocre year with the ladies' C team promoted as runners-up of division 5 receiving a plaque, the men's B team promoted as runners-up from division 2 (plaque) and the club winning the mixed doubles handicap (bowl) competition for the first time (cup).
There was a merit award for Anne Bruce as top player in the ladies' division 5 for the second year running and in the classification for secretarial awards, not necessarily players, Phil Harbottle and John Burgess received prizes for contributions to the game.
For Yelverton Tennis Club, Roger Froud and Tony Bayagbonia received an award (plaque) for the top pair in the men's division 2.
Steve Hitch in a closing speech thanked David Williams for the tremendous effort he puts into running the seniors league, to Peter Sherlock for running the juniors and Mary Bayliss who runs many large junior tournaments in Devon. He also thanked all clubs for entering the competitions and the league committee for all it does for the smooth running of matches.
Recent Tavistock friendly matches: Lost 3-5 away against Yelverton, MXD only. Team: Jane Colegate/Tim Wallis and Melody Mason/Malcolm Tripp. Lost 4-8 away against St Budeaux played MXD and LD/MD. Team: Sue Parsons/Simon Thomas and Gaynor Pollard/John Burgess.