Tennis players both young and old knocked around the clock to raise funds for charity and in memory of its former ladies captain.
The marathon tennis and table tennis tournament was held at Burnley Tennis Club in honour of talented player and former junior coach Vicki Taylor who died suddenly two years ago.
A total of 86 members and non-members took part in the event who played a total of 76 championship tie breaks in five hours before a mixed doubles tournament was held – with Iain Taylor and Judith Denson beating Matthew Hargreaves and Alice Padgett.
After 12 hours of tennis, it was in to the clubhouse to play table tennis and darts.
Organisers raised nearly £1,000 and are hoping to double it by the time sponsorship money has been collected.
The event was held to jointly raise funds for the club and also for the national charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).
CRY does various and vital research into heart disease and one such strand is Long QT Syndrome – a condition that can cause sudden death and the primary reason why Vicki collapsed and passed away.
Long QT syndrome is a disorder of the electrical system of the heart and one of a range of conditions that cause unexplained sudden death in young people.
Vicki unexpectedly collapsed while playing tennis with husband Iain at Clitheroe Tennis Club on August 13, 2006 at the age of just 48-years-old. She turned 49 while in hospital but sadly passed away in the November.
"The support we received was superb," said Iain who is also the club's captain and coach.
"Non members and players from other clubs came along to support us which we really appreciated.
"There were a lot of tired people after the event but we continued to play around the clock, whether it was tennis, table tennis or darts,
"It was a lot of fun and for a very worthy cause."
Iain said he is confident the event will raise a total of £2,000 which will go towards the CRY charity in Vicki's memory and also raise money for the club in their bid to have indoor courts – a project that Vicki was also heavily involved in.
The club currently has six courts and it is hoping to raise enough funds to cover two of them under a 'bubble' – a similar covering used at Blackburn Northern Tennis Club.
"Both of these fund raising ideas are in Vicki's memory," added Iain.
"We want to raise as much money as possible for the CRY charity so they can do more research in to the Long QT syndrome which sadly was the cause of Vicki's death."
He added: "We were thrilled with the way the whole event went and we will definitely be holding a similar event next year.
"We want to support this charity because it is very dear to me so the more money we raise the better."
