Sport-by-sport - Wheelchair Tennis
Peter Norfolk
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| Chairman | Jonathan Lane | |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive | Geoff Newton | |
| Performance Director | Geraint Richards |
Sport Profile
| Funding Award (2009-2013) | £809,600 |
| London 2012 Performance | 1 Silver, 1 Bronze |
| Athletes on World Class Performance Programme | 14 |
| Past Performances | Paralympic Games, Beijing, 2008: Gold (1) - Peter Norfolk (quad singles); Bronze (1) - Peter Norfolk/Jamie Burdekin |
| Press Officer | Holly Hamilton |
| Press Officer tel | 02084 877 398 / 07506 881 047 |
| Website | http://www.tennisfoundation.org.uk |
| National governing body | Tennis Foundation |
“When I first started playing wheelchair tennis a long time ago, there was pretty much no funding available for Paralympic athletes and it was tough going to have a career on the tennis tour. But now I’m lucky to have funding from the Tennis Foundation and from UK Sport and the National Lottery which covers my travel and accommodation costs as I’m out of the country competing for so much of the year. Thanks to this funding I’m now going for my third Paralympic gold medal at the London 2012 Games.”
Peter Norfolk OBE, Paralympic champion
The most experienced and highly decorated member of the ParalympicsGB wheelchair tennis squad, two-time Paralympic champion Peter Norfolk OBE, has been part of UK Sport’s World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) for over ten years.
The other nine athletes selected for ParalympicsGB, including Beijing bronze medallist Jamie Burdekin, are also all on the National Lottery supported WCPP.
Receiving more than £800,000 of investment from UK Sport for the London Paralympic cycle (2009-13), National Governing Body for the sport, the Tennis Foundation, was given an additional cash injection in April 2012 with funding, roughly equivalent to £1000 per athlete selected for the Games, from the Team 2012 initiative to help with final preparations.
The sport decided to spend this funding on match analysis software, as well as protective wheelchair covers to keep the players’ chairs in top condition.
Geraint Richards, Head of Disability Player Performance at the Tennis Foundation, said: “We are very grateful for the extra funding from Team 2012 and the National Lottery at such a crucial time for our wheelchair tennis performance team in the run up to the London 2012 Paralympics.”
Geraint Richards was one of 13 coaches to be selected for UK Sport’s inaugural Paralympic-specific coaching programme, the Paralympic Coach Development initiative (PCDi) in 2011.
In 2009 the Invacare World Team Cup, the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis team event, was staged in Nottingham and supported with up to £60,000 of National Lottery investment. GB won the quad event and finished second in the women’s event.
Did You Know?
Two-time Paralympic champion Peter Norfolk earned the nickname ‘The Quadfather’ in the lead up to the Beijing Paralympics, thanks to his dominant form.
Selected Athletes:
Gordon Reid
Marc McCarroll
David Phillipson
Alex Jewitt
Lucy Shuker
Jordanne Whiley
Louise Hunt
Peter Norfolk
Andy Lapthorne
Jamie Burdekin
