Tennis Europe Annual General Meeting 2008

Tennis Europe held its 34th Annual General Meeting in Copenhagen during the weekend of March 27th-30th, with the event highlighted by the election of Jacques Dupré as President.

The Meeting was the most successful ever in terms of attendance, with around 100 delegates from 41 of Tennis Europe's 49 member nations travelling to Denmark to hear Committee and progress reports from internal and external speakers, as well as to participate in the election of a new Board.

Elections

Mr Dupré, who also serves as the General Secretary of the French Tennis Federation, becomes the first Frenchman to lead the organisation and will combine the role with his current position. Mr. Dupré replaces John James of Great Britain, who stood down from the role after two terms in office, and defeated fellow candidate Jarl Whist of Norway by 58 votes to 12.

"I am truly honoured to become the first representative of the French Tennis Federation to serve as President of Tennis Europe", said Mr. Dupré, "I'd like to thank my predecessor John James for his hard work and dedication over the last six years and I look forward to continuing his work together with the new Board of Management, Chief Executive Officer and staff of Tennis Europe."

The Board of Management welcomed four new faces to the team. Peter Bretherton (GBR), Günther Lang (GER), Aleksei Selivanenko (RUS) and Stefan Tzvetkov (BUL) will join the Board for the period until the 2011 AGM. They will join Michele Brunetti (ITA), Philios Christodoulou (CYP), José Antonio Senz de Broto (ESP) and Ayda Uluç (TUR) who successfully sought re-election.

In recognition of his six highly successful years in office, Mr. James was awarded the role of Honorary Life President of the organisation to a standing ovation from the gathered delegates.

Two Board members to stand down in 2008 were also given honorary titles by the organization. The Meeting voted unanimously to award Pierre-Paul de Keghel of Belgium the Honorary Life Vice Presidency, while Christine Ungricht of Switzerland became an Honorary Life Counsellor, alongside Franz Feldbausch of Germany.

Awards Ceremonies

Tennis Europe awards were presented to Trevor Adamson (GBR), Shamil Tarpishev (RUS), Fredi Reicher (SLO), Larisa Presorazhenskaya (RUS), Pablo Llorens Renega (ESP) and Owen Casey (IRL) for their outstanding contributions to European tennis. Tennis Europe's Managing Director, Administration, Charlotte Ferrari was also given the award in recognition of her work for the organization. Currently serving in her final year with Tennis Europe, Ms. Ferrari was given an affectionate farewell from the gathered delegates at the official dinner.

The dinner was also the setting of the 2007 European Tennis Trophy by Lindström prize giving ceremony. Jukka Roiha, Lindström CEO, presented awards to Aleksei Selivanenko, who accepted Russia’s Junior Tennis, Professional Tennis and Overall Trophies, Karin van Bijsterveld, for the Netherlands’ Wheelchair Tennis Trophy and Günther Lang of Germany, who accepted their Senior Tennis Trophy.

The Meeting

The two-day event was launched with a lunch at the Town Hall, hosted by the City of Copenhagen. ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti and Executive Vice-President Juan Margets headed the speakers on day one, giving an update on ITF activities with a particular focus on Davis Cup, before participating in a question and answer session with delegates.

Other speakers included Robert Summer, HEAD's Advertising and Communication Manager, who informed the congress about the strengthening partnership between HEAD and Tennis Europe. Mia Monster provided some background to the Danish Tennis Association before passing the stand to Mogens Skov, CEO of Kobstaedernes Forikring, who explained his company's commitment to Danish Tennis.

John James and Chief Executive Officer Olli Mäenpää jointly presented the Tennis Europe Strategy for 2008-2010, providing the assembly with a detailed insight into the organisation's business plan and revamped structure, before the Presidential candidates were given the opportunity to make a short presentation.

Danish Minister of Culture Brian Mikkelsen officially opened Saturday's Plenary Session, and the Meeting continued with the traditional Committee reports before the Presidential election results were revealed. The assembly then approved Honorary Treasurer Jarl Whist's Budget and Financial report before voting in the Board elections.

Summing up the meeting, outgoing President John James said, "I'd like to thank the Danish Tennis Association for their excellent organisation of the event, and all the delegates for their contributions. Tennis Europe now embarks upon a new era and I'm sure all our member nations would like to join me in congratulating Jacques Dupré and the Board members on their election wins. They will work closely with the Chief Executive Officer Olli Mäenpää, and newly-promoted Magnus Grönvold as Head of Operations and Administration, in readiness for the forthcoming retirement of Charlotte Ferrari, who has made an immense contribution to Tennis Europe since its earliest days."