As Britain celebrated one year to go to the London Olympic Games the President of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), Peter Bretherton visited the Cumbrian region to join in the celebrations while also taking a look at some of the growing grass roots and community tennis in the area.
On his tour the President visited Silloth Tennis Club, Maryport Tennis Club and Lorton Tennis Club.
He said: “Having the opportunity to visit and highlight the work going on in community tennis on such an exciting day for British sport has been fantastic.
“Investing in the people at clubs and park sites across the country is hugely important to British Tennis. Volunteers, coaches and parents are influential in growing the game and everyone I’ve met today should be truly proud of their achievements.
“London 2012 provides the opportunity to showcase tennis in all its forms – from community to grass roots to elite – and remind people of all ages, abilities and background that anyone can pick up a racket and have fun and that’s exactly what the people of Cumbria are doing.”
On his trip the LTA President awarded Maryport Tennis Club with ‘Beacon’ status as part of the AEGON Parks Tennis Programme. This is in recognition of their high quality, affordable community tennis programmes and the centre joins more than 150 sites across the country to achieve the national accolade.
Frank Underwood, Secretary at Maryport Tennis Club said: “We moved to these courts six years ago to run in partnership with the local school and enable us to have further development for our club and members. We have since built a pavilion and we’re also looking at building a practice wall for further growth in the next year. The club could not operate successfully without the help of many dedicated members.
“Receiving Beacon status and having the chance to show the LTA President the facilities and programmes we run here has been a great opportunity. We host a variety of programmes offering juniors and adults who want to play both competitively and socially the chance to pick up a racket, including a number of free coaching opportunities throughout the year.”
In Silloth the President was introduced to the parents of junior players who have dedicated themselves as outstanding volunteers.
David Wise, Head Coach said: “Silloth Tennis Club is a small, friendly club on the Solway Firth and is one of the most beautiful places to play tennis.
“Like most clubs we rely heavily on volunteers and we have some of the very best around. The team of Louise Stoddart, Tina Paton, Wendy Richardson, Julie Fisher and Alan and Emma Oliver back up the coaching and competition programme by helping with catering, umpiring and social events. They even take their holidays from work to help with competitions and are now helping with our Clubmark bid so it’s been great to be able to show Peter the work that is continuing to develop here through our volunteer support.”
The President finished the day at Lorton Tennis Club, presenting them with their Clubmark status, providing clubs and other places to play tennis with the tools and resources they need to ensure they are delivering a quality tennis development programme and operating in line with best practice.
Paul Selfridge, Lorton Chairman said: “Although Lorton is very much a club in the country, we boast over 180 members making us one of the biggest clubs in West Cumbria.
“We are extremely pleased that the President has been able to visit us to see the thriving social and competitive tennis we offer and present us with Clubmark that we have worked to achieve.
“Clubmark will provide us with the opportunity to raise the profile of the club, show that the structures and programmes are in place and show people that by coming to our club you will get coached well, looked after and enjoy tennis.”
Jo Cunliffe, Tennis Development Manager for Cumbria added: “Tennis in the west of Cumbria is really continuing to build momentum. Places to Play like Lorton, Maryport and Silloth are shining examples of developing quality programmes, which provide affordable, fun and all year round opportunities for the whole community to get involved in tennis.”
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