Queanbeyan Park Tennis Club and Pat Moloney have taken out top honours at the Australian Tennis Awards held at Crown Palladium on Monday night.
Queanbeyan Park Tennis Club became the first Tennis ACT affiliated club to win the Most Outstanding Club award. As well as the honour of being named Australia’s top club, they received a $25,000 prize to help continue the development of the club courtesy of Tennis Australia.
It has been an exciting 12 months for the club which has seen major improvements to the facility resulting in increased participation, members, and facility occupancy.
Community has been at the core for the club, running free Cardio Tennis sessions for Mums Exercise Group Australia (MEGA), Solider On and supporting local indigenous participation in the NSW Knockabout Health Competition. They have also facilitated court usage for disability support groups including the Disability Trust and Valmar.
The club has developed a strong relationship with their local coaching business, Parkside Tennis Academy, which has successfully run a number of events including Tennis Festival and their inaugural Glow In The Dark night where the lights were switched off and the courts lit up with specialised ultra-violet black lights.
The club has also completed recent upgrades to improve wheelchair access and build a children’s play area.
Club President Kathy Sly, was excited on hearing that the club received the accolade.
“We are very proud of our achievements and it’s quite humbling to be among the tennis elite in Australia and to receive this recognition. We are just a small club with a lot of very committed volunteers and coaching team.
Secretary, Kris Mitchell says passionate people within the clubs environment has been key to their success.
“The club, since we got our new coach has really gone ahead in leaps and bounds because of their enthusiasm and the committees drive to work with them.
“We are just a bunch of people who love of tennis and love having a bit of fun while we do it.”
Pat Moloney was also recognised for his huge contributions to the sport when he was awarded the Most Outstanding 35+ Tennis Senior. Moloney has been a long time member, player, administrator and mentor with Tennis Seniors for decades.
Moloney has made a huge contribution to Tennis Seniors both locally and nationally. He was the President of Tennis Seniors ACT for eight years, held the position of Vice President, and has been the Secretary of Tennis Seniors Australia since 2012. He is also the Tournament Director of the ACT Open Seniors Tournament and an ACT selector.
Moloney has represented the ACT at the Australian Teams Carnival 33 times, the most of any male player. He also represented Australia earlier this year at the Super Seniors World Championships in Umag, Croatia.
For Moloney, the sport has been a life-long passion of his.
“I’m 75-years old, started tennis when I was 18 and I’ve been playing ever since, going up out of junior ranks into the adults, not in a top line, and then going playing Seniors tennis all the time, got involved in administration. I love the game and [I’m] still going.
“The comradery amongst the players is tremendous and as you get older, they’re around all the time as well. You’ve basically got lifetime friends and people you meet overseas and in Australia. It’s a real sport for life,” Moloney added.
Ashleigh Barty took out the night’s top award, winning her third consecutive Newcombe Medal, after a breakthrough season claiming her first Grand Slam title and ending the year at world No.1. For a full list of all award winners, click here.
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