A former Olympic and British number one tennis coach visited Bury St Edmunds today as part of the town’s festival of sport.
Nino Severino, husband and coach of the late Elena Baltacha-Severino, met children at Charter Square in the Arc shopping centre, who were being offered a free tennis session by Titan Tennis Academy.
A number of children took part in the fun, and Titan Tennis owner Paul Hope said he was very pleased with how the event went.
He said: “It’s gone brilliantly. I’m very happy. We’ve had people who have never picked up a tennis racket before and just want to give it a go, and learn more and that’s great.
“We feel very privileged to be involved with the festival of sport and my team couldn’t wait to come here today.
“We got a great set-up with the caged area in the Arc, and had lots of interest.”
The festival, in its third year, has run throughout half-term week with a variety of different sport taster sessions available, including netball, Nordic walking, yoga, and walking football.
A Sports Aid lunch, with guest speaker Geoff Miller, will take place tomorrow at the Athenaeum.
The week-long festival also coincides with the town’s first running festival – and its first official marathon – on Sunday, October 29.
The event is being run by HaverSports, which has delivered the Haverhill Running Festival since 2014, and is being sponsored by local business Unique Bars, who run Flex Nightclub.
The running festival will include a half marathon, full marathon, 10K race and fun run, all in aid of Bury Town Pastors and the My WiSH Charity, which supports West Suffolk Hospital.
The running festival is being held at the brand new Skyliner Leisure Centre in Moreton Hall, at Sybil Andrews Academy. The routes will wind through the surrounding Suffolk countryside taking in Thurston, Pakenham and Great Barton.
Online entries have now closed. Entries “on the day” will be accepted from 2pm to 5pm on Saturday and 7am to race start on Sunday, and will cost £2 more than online entries.
They must be paid in cash with exact change and organisers have asked that participants arrive early to ensure sufficient time to register.
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