Congratulations to the University of Plymouth Tennis Club committee, who have been awarded their Icons Award for their efforts through an extremely difficult year.
The UPSU Icons Awards celebrate our Sports Clubs and Societies that have gone above and beyond throughout this year. There are certain criteria each group has to complete to win their award which is then approved by the UPSU Sports and Societies Teams. This year we have seen so many amazing things happen throughout our student community, including the efforts of UPTC.
Who are the Tennis Club: 
"The University of Plymouth Tennis Club is one that is open to players of all abilities, whether you are a first time player with no previous experience or a player with plenty of match experience, we as a club will welcome you with open arms.
UPTC may not be the biggest club on campus, but we offer a tremendous amount of opportunities for all our members, be sure to join one of the most exciting, family-like clubs on campus!!!"
- University of Plymouth Tennis Club
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Committee Members behind the Club -
- Chair - Callum Scott & Holly Storey
- Treasurer - Lucy Faulkner-Elliott & Michael Holding
- Safety Officer - Elisavet Lazarou & Janki Shah
- Secretary - Holly Storey
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Tennis Club Successes:
This year the University of Plymouth Tennis Club has successfully completed all the criteria needed for their Icons Award during a year like no other.
The club has reviewed, completed and signed off all relevant documents required by the Sports Department of the SU, ensuring all documents are updated on the SU website as well as attending all Sports Forums, except for one, through the year. The club has held a successful Annual General Meeting (AGM) for members to vote in in the 2021-22 committee for the club, as well as complying with all of the Students’ Union policies and procedures.
All trips, tours and events have been registered with the SU as well as the committee keeping in touch with the relevant activities coordinators, completed all mandatory committee training and demonstrated effective financial management through the use of their budgets and funding.
UPTC has engaged with the SU throughout the year, including an Instagram takeover on the official UPSU Instagram account, and via email with important updates from the committee. Even during a difficult year of keeping members engaged the club has hosted online events and socials, even in-person ones when restrictions allowed, including Zoom quizzes, Picnics and live Q&As on Instagram, alongside successful social media campaigns such as the club Meet the Committee campaign, membership sign-up campaigns and a variety of celebrated days including International Women's Day.
During the year UPTC has taken part in fundraising events, including raising money for the Poppy Appeal and taking part in the ‘Move for Mind’ Strava challenge raising over £500 for various charities throughout the year. They have demonstrated effective communication between the committee and members with regular meeting updates every couple of months and making use of the UPSU email system to update members on how the situation surrounding COVID-19 is affecting tennis and its players. The club has actively promoted the UPSU Elections, encouraging its members to vote on who should represent them within SU and University as well as holding several introduction sessions including Q&A’s with the committee, online group meetings, drinks on Zoom and welcome quizzes.
As well as completing all the above criteria the Tennis Club has gone above and beyond for the award by entering two Men's Doubles Pairs and one Woman's Double Pairs into the local Mannamead Winter League. They teamed up with the University of Plymouth Squash Club back in March to take part in the 27 27 Challenge hosted by Mind to run 27 miles over 27 days which, across the whole country, raised over £1,000,000 for Mind!
And last but by no means least, the club has gained external recognition for their group, they’ve been announced as the National Representatives for Tennis with GiveToLocal, an organisation that helps clubs, across lots of sports, gain sponsorships and funding. The Tennis Club was shortlisted with 300/400 other sports clubs across the country and was then selected to be one of the final Focus Clubs (5 within each sport), then after a 4-week period of completing simple tasks on the GiveToLocal app, they were selected to be the tennis club that would be represented nationally!
A huge achievement as it is will potentially bring huge sponsorships for the University of Plymouth Tennis Club. It is clear to see how much hard work has gone into this club from the committee and its members, to not only just survive through this year but also gain national success, we’re very proud to award Icons to the University of Plymouth Tennis Club.
Congratulations from all of us here at UPSU!
The University of Plymouth Tennis Club has been awarded their Icons for all the amazing work they have done over this year voluntarily and on top of their own studies, this couldn't be more deserved and we can wait to see what you bring to the Students' Union next year!
Stay tuned and keep an eye on our social media channels over the coming weeks to read a profile of each student group that has achieved Icons this year.
You’ll be able to find out more about what they did to receive this award and how you can get involved in September.
Want to find out what Sports and Societies are out there? Click here