A WEE COUNTY woman has been named tennis official of the year by Tennis Scotland.

Olwyn Roy, from Alloa, won the award as part of the recognition for the exceptional contribution of individuals, clubs, programmes and competitions that helped tennis to thrive in 2020 as participation soared across the country.

A retired teacher and regular at Bridge of Allan Sports Club, Olwyn has been named as Official of the Year, a title which is awarded to LTA licensed officials who have made an outstanding contribution to tennis.

Olwyn has been recognised for many achievements including refereeing 250 matches in two days at the World Transplant Games in Newcastle in 2019.

She said she was “absolutely thrilled” to win the award in her third year of being nominated.

Olwyn also explained the how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected tennis, and how she learned a valuable lesson very quickly.

She said: “We’ve had a very restricted number of events and events that we have had have had to be junior events, the children have been dropped off and parents have been asked to leave.

“It’s been hard. The first tournament I forgot the café would not be open so I had no drinks. I had to drink water from the tap.

“Everybody has accepted the situation, there’s been no hesitation from the players or the parents.

"Everybody accepted it and tried to make the best out of what is a very unusual situation.”

Olwyn started officiating in 1985. During a trip to Wimbledon, she saw an advert for officials in the programme and decided to give it a try.

She has since officiated at the Paralympics in Beijing, the Commonwealth Games in Deli and will be at Wimbledon this year for the 32nd time.

The award also celebrates her commitment to step up since Covid-19 restrictions were implemented, whilst showing consideration to diversity, inclusion and safeguarding.

Winners were announced on Friday, April 23, and will receive their awards at a ceremony to be held at a later date.

Blane Dodds, Tennis Scotland chief executive, said: “The Tennis Scotland Awards provide the opportune platform to celebrate the hard work and commitment which was the driving force behind our sport’s progression in 2020, in face of the challenges posed by lockdown.

“We were privileged to witness such an outstanding standard of nominations and we are extremely proud of the contributions of the winners and nominees, alongside each individual who played a role in providing a safe and welcoming environment to play our sport last year.

“Following the barriers we faced, it feels more important than ever to acknowledge the drive and passion within our community which resulted in the continued growth of tennis in Scotland.”