Graeme Manwell and David Glass accepting the award from John Inverdale

The Northumberland Club, based in Jesmond, has won the ‘Tennis Club of the Year’ award for 2014 at the 22nd Club Mirror Awards in Manchester.

The Northumberland Club fended off competition from more than 200 other nominated clubs to win the illustrious award. BBC Sport’s John Inverdale, in front of 650 guests, awarded the trophy to Club Manager Graeme Manwell and Duty Manager David Glass at a gala dinner hosted at the Palace Hotel in Manchester.

The nomination for club of the year was made by Club Mirror magazine and the judges spent months visiting and examining all the nominees before shortlisting the final six.

The winning club had to stand out from the crowd and the Northumberland Club did just that, meeting a long list of criteria including the provision of quality facilities, providing a welcoming and safe environment and having sport development programmes which offer playing opportunities for as many people as possible.

Club Manager Graeme Manwell said: “It is a true honour to win such a prestigious award against such strong opposition, and is one which everyone connected to The Northumberland Club will truly value.”

Manwell pledges to continue the hard work that won the Club the award, commenting that “there is much work still to be done and we will work tirelessly to improve the activities and facilities which we are able to offer. Our aim is to have more people on courts, having fun and taking part in exercise regardless of their age, background or lifestyle.”

In light of wining ‘Tennis Club of the Year’ Manwell is optimistic for the future of the Club, telling JesmondLocal that “we hope that being recognised as ‘Tennis Club of the Year’ will enable potential members to recognise that the coaching programme which we have on offer is a high quality product acknowledged at a national level. This can only be a positive award to help drive the club forward and to increase participation of tennis in the city”.

Head of judges Caroline Scoular was full of praise for the club, acknowledging that “despite the tough economic recession, The Northumberland Club have continued to help breathe life into their club by producing a well planned calendar of social events for their members to enjoy. The necessary attributes required to win this award are rigorous and only the very best clubs in the country are awarded the Club of the Year title.”

Scoular was particularly impressed by the club’s efforts to help disability groups. In only its first year of its disability programme, The Northumberland Club has held a National Blind and Visually Impaired Tennis Tournament, has run sessions for adults with learning disabilities and are in the advanced stages of introducing wheelchair tennis sessions for 2015.

The club has a vast selection of playing opportunities in a variety of different sports. Although the club’s achievement was for the tennis club, the owners provide members the chance to participate in other sports such as squash, racketball and badminton, as well as offering fitness services and disabled opportunities.