Celebrity event is here to stay

THE CEO and Celebrity Charity Tennis event will continue to sparkle for years to come.

The tournament was assured of a bright future after the LTA of Malaysia (LTAM), which has been supporting the CEO and Celebrity Charity Tennis since 2008, pledged its continued support.

The national association will be the official venue provider and also offer technical expertise to make the event a success again on Dec 9.

The tournament will be held at the National Tennis Centre (NTC) in Jalan Duta, the home of LTAM, which will also provide umpires, linesmen and ball boys for the tournament.

The annual event, aimed at raising money for the NSTP Charity Fund, was inaugurated in 2008 and is making a return after a one-year lapse.

LTAM secretary Ibrahim Abu Bakar said the event will not only bring CEOs and celebrities together but also inspire the younger generation to take up the sport.

"We have been supporting the CEO and Celebrity Charity Tennis from the beginning and it is also nice for the event to make a comeback," said Ibrahim.

"The involvement of the CEOs should also attract children to take up the sport seriously. Not only can they grow up to become good tennis players but also emulate the CEOs by becoming equally successful in the business world.

"We will be providing 11 courts for the event as there will be 44 players competing in the doubles and if there are more, we can use the adjacent NSC courts.

"We also hope that a good turnout will achieve the target of raising money for the NSTP charity fund."

The CEO and Celebrity Charity Tennis event raised RM61,160 in 2010, and NSTP Corporate Communication head Wan Abdillah Wan Nawi expects a similar amount or better to be collected this time.

Each player will have to contribute a minimum of RM1,000 as participation fee while companies wanting to become corporate donors must purse RM5,000 to have their logos in the tournament's publicity material.

The players will play five doubles matches each with different partners. Those who get the most points will be declared winners.

The NSTP has also had a new tie-up with eCEOs Sdn Bhd as the joint-partner for the charity event. - www.nst.com.my