23 September 2024
By Bryan McCarthy
bryan@TheCork.ie
Bishopstown Lawn Tennis Club (BLTC) is gearing up for one of the biggest weeks of the year at the club. The Citygate Dental BLTC Senior Closed Competition will kick off on Friday 20th September and runs until Saturday 27th September. The Closed is a major competition at the club where club members compete in various competitions.
This year saw a record number of entries for the Closed which is being kindly sponsored by Citygate Specialist Dental Clinic in Mahon. Additional sponsors include Laser Medical and Dan Horan Physio.
Over the week hundreds of players will compete at the club in various competitions such as mixed doubles and ladies and mens doubles and singles. This year also there is a new ‘teen’ event where junior members will compete.
This tournament will round off a hugely successful year at BLTC as many trophies and competitions were won by players competing all over Ireland.
Established in 1979 Bishopstown LTC is one of Cork’s leading tennis clubs and is well known for its friendly and welcoming atmosphere. BLTC has six outdoor floodlit artificial grass tennis courts and a clubhouse with changing facilities, function and meeting room and kitchen. The club recently saw a boom in membership as more people opted to take up tennis over the last few years.
Club Captain, Rosita Murphy said: “We are delighted that once again our Closed competition has proved to be so popular with our members with more than 120 people signed up to play in various events over the week. We are really looking forward to our Closed Competition this year and it will be great to see the club busy with people playing every night. For many too this will be their first time entering a tournament so we wish them the very best of luck. Tennis fever will well and truly be taking over in Bishopstown for the week.”
BLTC recently was delighted to receive money from the Sports Capital Grant recently to do work on upgrading their courts. The club is currently waiting for news on the next round of funding so that they can complete the work that is needed on the remainder of the courts. They are thrilled that the Government and local representatives are supporting their plans by investing in the club through the Grants. They will use this funding to improve facilities at the club for members and the community,
BLTC is run by a team of volunteers who work so hard to make this a great place for people to meet, have fun and of course, play tennis. In addition to the Closed competition BLTC runs a number of other competitions throughout the year such as the Senior Open which is one of the biggest events at the club all year and always attracts large entries.