The Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor, Alistair Watson and the Lady Mayoress of Bristol, Mrs Sarah Watson conducted the official opening of the new accessible shower at Cotham Park Tennis Club and to celebrate the Inclusive /Ability tennis sessions which take place at the club every Thursday from 1.30-3.00pm.
Helen Abbott, who runs the sessions along with Head Coach, Simon Porter, said “This lovely new accessible shower was made possible, in part, by funding from the Ignite programme, a charity run by Access Sport that was established as part of the Paralympic legacy. Cotham Park Tennis Club was selected as one of the 10 partner clubs in Bristol to take part in the programme.”
Julia Williams, the Ignite Club Development Manager said “we are delighted with the success of the Ignite tennis sessions at Cotham Park Tennis Club which provides free inclusive tennis for people with disabilities.”
Helen was a volunteer at last year’s Special Olympics in Bath and her work there inspired her to get involved with establishing inclusive tennis sessions within the City.
The Lord Mayor said “we are delighted to be supporting sporting activities which are inclusive”.
Julie Jones, LTA Tennis Participation Manager, who also attended the opening, said “these sessions fit in well with the Tennis Foundation disability strategy which promotes and integrated approach at community level. We intend to work with Bristol City Council to coordinate a comprehensive disability plan for the city of Bristol over the next few months.”
If you would like to know more about the Ability/Inclusive sessions at Cotham Park Tennis Club, please contact helenabbott@cotham.net