Prominent businessman and long term Territorian David De Silva has been appointed as the President of Tennis NT. Mr De Silva will become just the fourth President of the organisation in its 37 year history.
Speaking following Tennis NT’s AGM Mr De Silva said he was honored to be appointed to the position and was looking forward to what is an exciting time for the sport, ‘With construction of the Darwin International Tennis Centre at Marrara well underway it is an incredibly exciting time for the sport. Along with bringing a number of high quality international events to Darwin, we also want to use the significant investment in the sport to drive the industry to the next level. In the past twelve months we’ve had more than 4000 children in school programs alone, we want to work with our clubs to continue to grow the sport and provide Territorian’s with high quality tennis experiences both on and off the court.’
Mr De Silva went further illustrating Tennis NT’s desire to broaden its reach locally and internationally, ‘We’ve worked hard in the development of an Indigenous Tennis Program which will be highlighted by the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival being held annually in Darwin from 2018. We’re also actively exploring connections with Asia with tennis being a prominent sport in the region. It’s exciting what we’re going to be able to achieve because of the new centre at Marrara.’
Mr De Silva also praised outgoing President Warren Martin for his longstanding contribution to Tennis in the NT. ‘Warren has committed a lot of time and energy to developing tennis in the NT to which the entire tennis community is grateful. As the President for nine years Warren has overseen some significant developments in the sport which have set the sport up well for the exciting times to come’
New to the Tennis NT Board is long-time NT resident Charles Burkitt, who brings with him wide-ranging commercial experience and almost 20 years’ experience as a Non-Executive Director. Mr Burkitt has extensive business experience, having been involved in ventures involving investment attraction, infrastructure development and management of large precincts. Notably Mr Burkitt has been involved with the Darwin Turf Club, Palmerston Sports Club and the Australian Red Cross.
In addition to Mr De Silva and Mr Burkitt the Tennis NT Board also includes Vice-President Kate Lee and Directors Alicia Boyle and Matthew Campbell.
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