Coastwatch charity raises £1,400 at Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament 2024

The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI), which has a station at Brancaster Beach, raised almost £1,400 at this year’s Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament.

The NCI is the ‘eyes along the coast’ with volunteers assisting in the protection and preservation of life at sea and along the UK shoreline.

There are 60 stations around the coastline of England and Wales and the closest lookout to Hunstanton is by the sea wall alongside the Royal West Norfolk Golf Club adjoining Brancaster Beach.

Each year the Tournament supports a local charity and this year it donated £500 to NCI (Brancaster). Trade stall and long-time Tournament supporter Top Spin Tennis, which has a number of retail outlets in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, donated cash raised through a player fastest service competition. Additionally, the organisation held a bucket collection.

Collectively NCI (Brancaster) benefited to the tune of £1,396 and during Tournament week recruited a further two volunteers to its ranks.

Brancaster NCI comprises a team of more than 30 volunteers - there are more than 2,700 nationally - who keep a vigilant watch over the Beach and surrounding waters monitoring the sea and shoreline, providing essential safety support for mariners and beachgoers. In the event of potential maritime emergencies, volunteers forewarn of actual or possible incidents at sea so a lifeboat can be launched at the earliest opportunity.

The local station was established in April 2022 when a second hand Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeguard station was donated to serve as a lookout location.

Mark Thompson, of NCI (Brancaster), said: “The support of local organisations, such as the Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament, and the community in the area is absolutely critical for the continued success of the station. We would like to thank the Tournament organisers and all players and spectators for their support this year.”

Andrew Creighton, Tournament chairman, said: “NCI (Brancaster) performs a vital job along the popular Brancaster coastline and the Tournament was delighted to support the charity this year.”

Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament, which has been held for more than 100 years, is the UK’s largest event of its type. This year more than 1,000 competitors took part ranging in age from under 10-years-old to over 80-years-old with matches played across 38 grass courts on the town’s Recreation Ground.

Next year’s Hunstanton Lawn Tennis Tournament takes place August 17-23 on the Recreation Ground.