24 Hour Tennis Marathon

Bubwith Tennis Club Flying High After Record-Breaking Charity Fundraiser

The 24 Hour Marathon returned in style, following an enforced break in 2020, by smashing all expectations and exceeding its target by more than tripling our previous best tally, which has resulted in over £1,800 being donated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Starting at noon on Saturday 19th June, the on-court action continued until noon on Sunday 20th June (plus a bonus hour or so), with money raised being split between the club and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Participants ranged in age from 5 to 86, all keen to support the two main causes.

The event saw 24 hours of continual play on the courts. Various activities took place from junior coaching from I Can Play Tennis Ltd to a friendly, yet competitive, doubles’ tournament.

A few hardy players braved the rain through the early hours of Sunday morning before others ‘enjoyed’ a Drill Tennis session with Jill Rounce as the sun began to rise. Rounding off the proceedings with superb levels of tennis on display, a National Premier League fixture between Bubwith and David Lloyd York saw our men nick a victory in an extremely close match.

In total, an impressive 139 hours of tennis were clocked up over the club’s three courts in the 24-hour period.

24 hour tennis marathon sign

The fundraising festivities were not limited to members and the club welcomed juniors who had not picked up a racket before and players from other clubs. Spectators were also catered for with a BBQ supplied by Anna’s Happy Trotters, sumptuous gelato donated by The Groovy Moo in Howden and retail therapy from Suitably Sporty.

A raffle featuring a Wimbledon 2020 towel donated by the All-England Tennis Club, plus additional prizes from club sponsors The Jug & Bottle in Bubwith, helped to boost the money collected. There was also generous support from The White Swan, Bubwith.

The Friends of Bubwith School (FOBS) added to the event selling cakes and much-needed refreshments, with their takings going directly to support the village’s primary school.

Large cheque – in every sense – presented to the Yorkshire Ambulance

Presenting a cheque for £1,600 on behalf of Bubwith Tennis Club to Keiron Hardwick, East Yorkshire Community Fundraiser for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, was Lynne Marriage, who raised the most sponsorship out of all of the 79 participants, along with Lizanne Southworth who was a part of the organising committee.

The £1,600 cheque was in addition to a further £120 collected for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance via donation buckets and a separate charity cheque to the value of £100.

Commenting on the event and fundraising achievement, Lynne said:

“It was a brilliant 24 hours and really showed Bubwith Tennis Club at its best. We had an amazing time, and it was great to see so many people join together in support of the club and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which is a charity close to many people’s hearts in this area”.

Cheque presentation to Keiron from Yorkshire Air Ambulance

After accepting the cheque for the YAA, Kieron praised the event organisers and re-iterated the value of fundraising to the charity:

“We would like to thank Bubwith Tennis Club for their incredible support and generosity and congratulate them on completing their phenomenal 24 hour tennis marathon.

 It costs £12,000 a day to keep both of Yorkshire’s air ambulances maintained and in the air and the £1,600 will help tremendously towards of our vital funding and enable us to continue our lifesaving work across the region.”

Photo gallery

We took quite a few photos over the event with 253 making the final cut! Have a look at them in our Google Photos gallery.

Gelato at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
Cakes at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
Young players receive help at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
The BBQ at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
Suitably Sport at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
Spectators enjoy the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
Social gathering at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
Teenagers ready to compete at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
Handicap doubles tournament prize winners at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
The night time session at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
All ready for Drill Tennis at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021
The raffle is drawn at the 24 hour tennis marathon 2021

Our thanks to:

Anna's Happy Trotters logo
Suitably Sporty logo
The Groovy Moo logo
I can play tennis logo
Jug & Bottle logo
LTA logo
Wmbledon logo
Jug & Bottle, Bubwith

Bubwith Tennis Club is kindly sponsored by The Jug & Bottle at Bubwith