PENARTH Lawn Tennis Club (PLTC) was awarded Welsh Tennis Club of the Year 2013 at the Tennis Wales annual awards evening at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff on Saturday, January 18.

The event was attended by more than 200 people from tennis clubs all over Wales, with special guest, Michael Downey, the new chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association attending.

Mr Downey, who took over the role of chief executive from Roger Draper in January, also visited the club earlier in the day to meet club officials and learn about the club and its recent development journey.

This latest award is a great accolade for PLTC and follows the club's chairman, Simon Elias, being awarded LTA Volunteer of the Year Wales, at the ATP World Tour Finals in the O2 at the end of last year.

At the London awards ceremony, Simon was given VIP access to the event, with an enviable view of the finals and was able to rub shoulders with the likes of world number one Rafa Nadal.

Both awards are in recognition of the outstanding redevelopment of the Rectory Road facilities, with new courts and floodlighting expanding the tennis facilities to now include six all-weather courts, and the outstanding redevelopment of the Victorian clubhouse, which brings together original features and modern design.

A dedicated team of volunteers, including Simon Elias, Vanessa Parselle, Susan Lyons, Rob Mahoney, Gavin Seymour, Martin Radford, Kath Muse, Gill Munro, Elfed Evans and Chrissie Pegg, supported by the club's head coach, Rob Cunningham, have worked tirelessly for years behind the scenes with a shared vision to return the club to its former glory.

PLTC is the second oldest tennis club in Wales with a rich history, including hosting the annual Junior Welsh championship on the grass courts up until the late 1970s, which saw the elite of Welsh junior tennis descend on the club for one week every summer.

The redevelopment, which took place in 2013, has enabled the club to already go from strength to strength, building its members base and expanding its tennis activities.

Looking to 2014, the club is looking forward to its first full season with six all-weather courts and will be expanding the tennis programme for adults and juniors, as well as using the beautifully restored clubhouse to offer even more social activities for adults and families.

More information on the club can be found on the club website www.pltc.org.uk