Royal garden party honour for tennis coach
A CYNON Valley tennis coach had the honour of being invited to the Queen’s Garden Party.
Alun Bowditch, club secretary of Aberdare Tennis Club, got the invitation to the Buckingham Palace event – just three such parties are held each year as a way of celebrating “people from all walks of life” who have worked positively in the community.
Alun, who attended the day with wife Barbara, said it was an “honour”, adding: “Luckily, the weather that day was also sunny and warm and we both enjoyed the once in a lifetime occasion.”
The party, which happened on May 16, was attended by Queen Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh, who spoke with some of the 5,000 guests after a rendition of the National Anthem played by the military bands. Alun is an active member within the sporting society of Aberdare, and has been recognised and rewarded by Rhondda Cynon Taf council. Over the past few years, he has been awarded two awards on behalf of RCT, congratulating him on voluntary work at Aberdare Tennis Club. This work then also led to another accolade in 2015, when he was awarded Volunteer of the Year, at the Tennis Wales Awards ceremony in Cardiff. Aberdare Tennis Club is lucky enough to have teams being entered at a competitive level, competing in Aegon County Tennis League and Cymru Kitchens Winter Doubles league.
He said it is a club recognised for its sporting achievements and quality of coaching. Alun explained: “The Aberdare Tennis club holds coaching sessions for juniors on Wednesday evenings, and adult members play every Thursday night and Saturday morning.
“We also hold Friday night sessions for people who are returning to tennis and would like to have some coaching before joining fully.”