Organizers of the annual Azimuth Shipping Lines Limited Junior Tennis Championship have rolled out new plans for the 2023 edition of the tournament.
The sponsor, Captain Stephen Owolabi Martins, MD/CEO of Azimuth Shipping Lines Limited, has always mentioned that he plans to make the competition bigger every year.
And the latest edition is nothing short of impeccable of the information reaching Nigeria Tennis Live are anything to go by.
Coach Richard Inyang, the Tournament Director, informed our correspondent that the competition this year is taking a new turn, and some very unusual changes will be seen by the players and coaches.
“We’re not lodging them at the Stadium this year, it’s a different arrangement altogether – better than ever,” the soft-spoken junior tennis coach began.
“This time, they’re going to be lodged in Lekki, precisely Comfort Court Apartment in Richmond Estate, Ikate – Lekk, and they’ll be given their meals in the same apartment.”
He explained, also, that the prize monies will be increased for this edition of the competition, noting: “This year promises to be really, really different as the sponsor has assured us that his prizes will start from the quarterfinal.
“Losing Quarterfinalists will be going home with N20,000, Losing Semifinalists will be going home with N30,000 then the Runners-up will be going home with N50,000 while the winner will go home with N100,000.
“The cash prizes are in form of education grants to the players, though, because we don’t give out cash to junior players.
“All of these will be alongside gift items, of course, and trophies, for the winners and runners-up in all the categories.”
Nigeria Tennis Live also gathered that there will be transportation to the match venue and back to the apartment, everyday.
As at the time of filing this report, a total number of 240 players – 65% boys and 35% girls – had registered for the competition from 18 states of the federation.
