Mayberry new title sponsors for high-school tennis

Mayberry Investments Limited are the new title sponsors for high-school tennis in Jamaica.

This announcement was made recently at a media briefing at Mayberry's Oxford Road offices. The briefing was was called to announce that the 2011 finals will be held this year from November 17-19 at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre, Piccadilly Avenue.

In making the announcement, Gary Peart, CEO of Mayberry, also announced that there would be two associate sponsors, Access Financial Ltd and bakers Honey Bun. The new title sponsors have replaced LIME who provided support for 16 years.

Having attended Campion College, an institution he referred to as a "tennis school", Peart said that it was an easy decision for his company to take over sponsorship of the tournament, as he had experienced first-hand the benefits of playing tennis. He said it was also important to note that the horizons for tennis players had broadened in recent years, as it was now a sport that enable students to not only earn college scholarships, but also to make a good living professionally.

The sponsorship, he said, was for a three-year period, and the associate sponsors were as committed, as his company is, to the growth of the sport in Jamaica. Marcus James from Access Financial said that he, too, played tennis, and the decision to "come on board" was easy, as he also knew the benefits of playing tennis and the opportunities it provided to young athletes in Jamaica. Tennis needed sponsorship dollars, he said, and he was therefore pleased to assist.

Speaking on behalf of Honey Bun, director of marketing Krystal Chong said her company was proud to support the growth of tennis in Jamaica, a sport, she said, that was not getting the financial help that it needed, and which provided young players with so many opportunities.

Former Jamaica tennis star Richard Russell, who is the tournament chairman, said that he was overwhelmed that not one, but three sponsors had come to the rescue of the high-school tournament, which serves a great purpose in nurturing young players. As one who has been associated with the sport for more than 50 years, Russell said he regarded it as "the greatest sport on earth" and was pleased to see its growth worldwide, and in Jamaica.

Providing opportunities

Parents, he said, need to know that being a tennis player was now a viable professional option, and there were colleges in the USA who were anxious to recruit good tennis players, especially female players, to come to their institutions. The high-school tournament, he said, would assist greatly in providing opportunities for talented players.

Stephen Steele, a Tennis Jamaica director, expressed the gratitude of the organisation to the sponsors for their faith in Jamaica's high-school tennis programme, and pinpointed the fact that tennis provided opportunities for young people to learn leadership and social skills and the importance of being disciplined.

Tournament director David Sanguinetti announced that 13 schools had qualified for the finals. Competition will be for under-14 boys and girls and under-19 boys and girls, and the format will be first to six games, and at six-all a seven-point tie-breaker will be used. There will be both singles and double matches.