Cathie Sabin, the first lady president of the Lawn Tennis Association, has spent a day in the county visiting a diverse range of our local tennis playing venues. Adding to the occasion was the unexpected bonus of the official replica of the Davis Cup being brought along for photo opportunities.
She declared the day 'one of the best county visits I have ever had in my three years as president'. In a packed schedule she saw how tennis has expanded in the area from what has traditionally been a private club based sport to one now reaching out to all parts of the community.
Starting off on the village recreation ground in Great Glen, Mrs Sabin inspected the soon to be completed hard courts on the local park. This project has come about through a partnership between the parish council and the local tennis club who have never had a permanent home. The club will permit public access to the courts and coaching sessions at certain times in the week. Just down the road in Oadby she saw a club buzzing with activity on a cold winter's morning with veterans' tennis and a junior grade 4 junior tournament in full swing. Mrs Sabin was particularly impressed with Oadby's innovative scheme whereby membership fees have been reduced in line with the number of hours undertaken in volunteer work for the club.
Moving on to Knighton Tennis Centre, which is based in the Lancaster School grounds, coach Luke Godsmark broke off from a half term junior tennis camp to allow time for the children to meet Mrs Sabin and have a photograph taken with the Davis Cup. She recalled how she had seen the elite squad Lancaster/Knighton teams in various national schools finals, a notable achievement given that students were 16 or under and not 18 as is the case at most schools competing . A short hop away was a lunch break hosted by one of the ten oldest clubs in the world, The Leicestershire Lawn Tennis and Squash Club, where she was greeted by club manager, Helen Walker-Lane and county tennis president Mark Cox. They reported a booming membership and expansion plans at this most prestigious and historic of tennis venues.
The day finished at the recently refurbished tennis centre at Loughborough University. A partnership between the LTA Tennis Foundation, Tennis Leicestershire and the university has allowed a £500,000 upgrade of the indoor facility on the campus. The local county tennis association, Tennis Leicestershire, and the University have come together in several joint ventures now being run at the centre. This will maximise use by allowing county coaching and county indoor tennis leagues to take place when court time is not needed by students.
(photo from left to right Neil Phillips and Tony Jarvis of Tennis Leicestershire, Cathie Sabin President of the LTA with Davis Cup, Julia Fox, chair of Great Glen relocation committee)