CRICKHOWELL Tennis Club has been selected as one of just three finalists for the prestigious Welsh Club of the Year annual award, presented by Tennis Wales.

Following the club's recent nomination, a panel of judges selected just three clubs in this category, Crickhowell, David Lloyd Cardiff and the North Wales Tennis Centre in Wrexham, to go through to the 2009 Tennis Wales Awards ceremony, to be held at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea on the evening of Saturday July 18, with the winner being announced on the night.

The club's place in the final three has been based on a number of criteria (a year-on-year increase in club membership, high British Tennis membership numbers, player/court ratio, a successful coaching programme, competitive opportunities for all, the attainment of Clubmark status etc).

The club currently has 212 members (the highest of any two-court club in the whole of Wales), including 120 juniors, and has a hugely successful coaching programme, run by Welsh international captain Chris Hill, involving 110 mini and junior players and 20 adults.

Over the next couple of years, the club is looking to expand its facilities to six courts, a project which is one of Tennis Wales' top three priority projects nationwide.

As part of the build-up to the ceremony, a film crew will be visiting Crickhowell next Wednesday to view the club's facilities, see the players in action and interview club members and officials.

Commenting on the exciting news, Chairman Jeremy Kerrison told the Chronicle, "The committee is delighted that the hard work put in by everyone involved with the club both on and off-court over many years has been recognised by our governing body. It would be a wonderful achievement and a fantastic bonus for the club and the town if we were to be voted club of the year!"