Bahamian tennis pro Mark Knowles at his Celebrity Tennis Invitational in 2009. Photo: Ash Henderson
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Nassau, Bahamas - Mark Knowles is pleased to
announce that plans are well underway for his annual
Mark Knowles Celebrity
Tennis Invitational. This year the tournament will be held
December
2nd - 5th 2010 at the Atlantis Resort & Casino and other locations.
This year, on
our tenth anniversary,
we are also very pleased to announce that a new sponsor, MDC Partners,
an international Marketing & Communications Network, will join with
our other sponsors to give us their support. Our major sponsors
to date include:
Atlantis Resort & Casino,
Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch Private Bank & Trust; Pictet
Bank & Trust Ltd; Serenity Point, Abaco; The Balmoral; The Bahamas
Ministry of Tourism; American Airlines; The Bank of the Bahamas,
Everkey Global Fund,
Templeton Global Advisors,
Odyssey Aviation, The Bahamas Weekly, H3O and The Ministry of Youth
Sports & Culture.
This event was started by Mark
in 2001 to raise money specifically for local children’s charities
and just 4 tennis professionals competed in this first event.
Since then it has grown by leaps and bounds and the donations to these
children’s charities has now reached the very notable milestone figure
of $500,000.
Speaking at a dinner sponsored by Ministry of Tourism for the players and sponsors of the Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational in 2009 was Vernice Walkine, Director General, Ministry of Tourism. Seen next to her is event host, Mark Knowles. Photo: MarkDaCunha.com
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Since that first year many
more famous players have been attracted and have come to enjoy visiting
The Bahamas and compete in the event. These include: Andre Agassi,
James Blake, Bob & Mike Bryan, Jim Courier, Jennifer Capriati, Robbie
Ginepri, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Fred Stolle and Nicole Vaidisova.
On this the 10th Anniversary, the response from the touring
tennis professionals has once again been stupendous and details of the
names of these and other special guests will be released shortly.
The format for the tournament
includes a Pro/Am doubles tournament for Platinum sponsors, a Pro Exhibition
match and there will also be an exciting opportunity for our top Bahamian
juniors to interact on court with the visiting professionals.
There are still a few sponsorship
opportunities available
and interested parties should contact Vicky
Andrews at
vickyk@batelnet.bs
or cell: 357-9670.
Sponsors and tennis pros gather for a group shot at a dinner hosted by Bahamas Ministry of Tourism at Fathom's restaurant, Atlantis in 2009. Presenting and platinum sponsors were Atlantis, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, Pictet Bank & Trust, Ministry of Tourism, The Balmoral, Serenity Point Abaco. The tennis pros are kneeling in the front row. Photo: MarkDaCunha.com
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About the Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational: The
Mark Knowles Celebrity Tennis Invitational is a Charity Event hosted by
Mark. It was first held in 2001. The event is held in December at the
National Tennis Centre in Nassau (New Providence), Bahamas. The purpose
of the event is to raise money for various charities, such as The
Sassoon Pediatric Heart Foundation, The Cancer Society, The Association
of the Physically Disabled, The Childrens Emergency Hospital, The Boy
Scouts of Bahamas, The Special Olympics and scholarships for promising
junior tennis players. Visit:
www.knowlzee.com
Last year's 2009 Mark Knowles Celebrity Invitational Exhibition at the National Tennis Center with members of the Colours Junkanoo group. Tennis pros from left to right: Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Mark Knowles, Benjamin Becker, Marvin Rolle, Photo: Ash Henderson
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