Betty Lewis Memorial Tournament 2006

Entrepreneur and pharmacist Gary Lewis, founder of A1 Pharmaceuticals plc, is a keen tennis fanatic who took up the sport five years ago with the intention of introducing his children to the sport. Mr Lewis is now, with that same initial intention for introducing children to the sport, sponsoring an annual tennis tournament for kids up to the age of twelve. The ¡°Betty Lewis Memorial Cup¡± is staged at the Park Langley Tennis Club in Beckenham and is unique in the fact that it is the first red clay tournament for juniors to ever be held in the UK.

Gary named the tournament in memory of his mother, Betty Lewis, who dedicated her life to caring for children from deprived backgrounds and the mentally and physically handicapped. This passion was and is still shared by her husband Thomas Lewis, who presented the awards to the winners of the competitions.

The excellent all-weather surface of the courts at Park Langley provided closely fought finals on a blustery afternoon with intermittent showers. However these testing conditions did not deter the players and they provided a consistently good standard of play to entertain the spectators.

The winners of the cup this year were as follows:

• Under 10 Boys Winner - David Gardiner / Runner Up - Billy Bilton
• Under 12 Boys Winner - Sam Gatling / Runner Up - Sam Taylor
• Under 10 Girls Winner - Anouska Newman / Runner Up - Sophie Botham
• Under 12 Girls Winner - Jessica Wimble / Runner Up - Isobel Michie

The 'Fair Play' award went to Sam Taylor for his faultless sportsmanship throughout the tournament.

Mr Lewis is also interested in sponsoring any young keen tennis players and to use his managerial skills to hopefully create a successful team of aspiring sportsmen. Anyone who is interested in finding out more should contact Mr Lewis by e-mail at gary.lewis@a1plc.co.uk