THE TENNIS BALL RAISES OVER £160,000 WITH HELP OF SPORTING SUPERSTARS

On Saturday, 9thof November over 400 guests descended upon The Dorchester, London, to help raise money for two of Britain’s leading tennis charities; Give It Your Max (GIYM) and the International Lawn Tennis Clubs’ Philanthropic Development Programme. 

The spectacular ball, which was hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald with leading British comedian Alistair McGowan as master of ceremonies, raised in excess of £160,000 for the two charities through its raffle, donations and auction items.

Tennis Stars Tim Henman, Heather Watson and this year’s ladies Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli were joined by a host of other celebrities including Elaine Paige and footballers Robert Pires and Nikolas Anelka.

Michael Downey, who will take up his position as chief executive of the LTA in January, and Philip Brook, Chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon, were amongst the many tennis personalities present.

Tim Henman, former British Tennis No.1 and GIYM Patron said:

“The Tennis Ball is a fantastic event for fantastic charities. I’ve worked closely with Give It Your Max and the work they do is really helping to enhance the life of so many children. The money raised from this year’s Tennis Ball will help them to grow their programme to even more areas across the UK.”

Marion Bartoli said:

“It is so important to encourage tennis, the sport has given me so much. Being able to attend this year’s Tennis Ball and support both charities is fantastic, I hope all the money raised will mean even more children can benefit through sport.”

Guests enjoyed a champagne reception, which was sponsored by Norway’s largest energy company Statoil, dinner, an auction, led by renowned auctioneer Charlie Ross, before dancing the rest of the night away with entertainment from the Bogus Brothers Band.

The Tennis Ball was supported by Linklaters, Knight Frank, Zoo Communications and American Airlines, in addition to Statoil.

Chairman of The Tennis Ball John Beddington said:

“The Tennis Ball this year exceeded our expectations and we are extremely pleased to have made £160,000 for two very worthwhile charitable tennis initiatives. This was the most successful Tennis Ball yet and since we founded it in 2009 we have raised almost half a million pounds.”

The Tennis Ball was founded by a group of tennis friends from the All England Lawn Tennis Club in 2009 and has flourished in benefiting underprivileged and disadvantaged children all over the UK ever since.

For more information, visit www.thetennisball.net

-ENDS-

PR & Media Enquires

For more information regarding The Tennis Ball charity please contact Naomi Mills on M +44795250420 | E Naomi@henmancom.com or Richard Henman on M +447810 448782 | E rph@henmancom.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Give It Your Max

Give It Your Max is a Registered Charity founded in memory of Max Stotesbury. He was 18 when he died in a motoring accident in 2004. Max was an enthusiastic tennis player and during the holidays assisted Dan Bloxham, head coach at the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative, which was a great success in introducing tennis to young children in the London boroughs of Wandsworth and Merton. Starting up similar initiatives around the country was thought to be a fitting tribute to Max.

GIYM pays for qualified tennis coaches to introduce and teach tennis to children aged between five and ten years old in the state sector. The tennis is delivered during PE periods in Primary Schools in addition to evening, weekend and holiday tennis clinics. GIYM also organizes tournaments and provides programmes for the better and keener children to join tennis clubs to further their prospects. GIYM supplies schools with equipment such as kit bags (comprising a mini tennis net, tennis balls and rackets for use as part of schools or after- school activities). Its Patrons include Tim Henman OBE, Sir Trevor McDonald OBE and Virginia Wade OBE.

Successful programmes have been established in Reading, Canterbury, Deal and Orpington in Kent, Edgbaston in Birmingham, the Greater London areas of Peckham, Merton and Paddington and Aberdeen in Scotland. There are plans to open additional centres later this year.

For further information please visit - http://www.giveityourmax.org

About The International Clubs’ Philanthropic Development Programme

There are 40 International Lawn Tennis Clubs (IC’s) in the world governed by the IC Council. The IC network runs and monitors tennis based programmes for disadvantaged and disabled children, aged between 6 and 16. The Council promotes international goodwill and understanding among young people with its slogan ‘hands across the net, friendship across the ocean’. Through tennis, children will learn new life skills and acquire a sense of the possible often in very difficult circumstances.

Thanks to the generosity of those attending The Tennis Balls in 2009 and 2011, three programmes which were started in 2010 continue to thrive. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, children from the slums are given tennis coaching as well as free meals and help with schoolwork. In Leon, Mexico, the programme helps keep children off the streets and builds community spirit. This is an area where many kids work in sweatshops and addiction to solvents is rife. In the very poor South African township of Vosloorus, children passionately attend tennis lessons instead of finding other less healthy distractions.

Two further existing programmes are being supported – one run by the Dutch IC in Reigerbos, a poor suburb of Amsterdam, and one run by Sergi Bruguera, two-time French Open Champion, in Barcelona, for young people with learning disabilities.

Several hundred children have participated in these programmes over the past two years and the number of children continues to grow.