Maree Thompson was one of three people to receive Horsham Lawn Tennis Club Life Membership in 2021

Thompson received the award alongside club stalwarts Mick McGennisken and Andrew Dorman.

"It's a big honour to be made a Life Member of the club," Thompson said.

"It's pretty exciting."

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Thompson moved to Horsham Lawn when she got married and has been involved ever since.

Aside from playing she has served on the committee and regularly helps out at tournaments. She is also the current junior coordinator "with the help of a couple of other ladies" which she "thoroughly enjoys".

"It's a lot of work but it's very satisfying to see lots of kids out playing tennis and having a good time," she said.

"We have 28 junior teams so it's quite a lot. All the courts are always full on a Saturday."

Although Thompson has had extensive involvement with the club, she was surprised to receive the award.

"It was a huge surprise I had absolutely no idea what was going on," she said.

"I've been on the committee for quite a few years now and I've ran the junior program, but I've never been on the executive committee so I didn't think I was entitled to one.

"I thought that it was a requirement."

For someone to stay with a sporting club so long you would expect it to have a good culture. Thompson gave a glowing endorsement of the environment that Horsham Lawn have created.

"It's been really good for our family; our kids have all grown up playing tennis and it's just a great club to be a part of," she said.

"It's a lot of fun, socially we all get together after tennis and catch up and often we'll have a table tennis competition every year.

"It's a really good family atmosphere for young kids and then for single people. Everyone just blends in and it's really good."

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