Local media and local tennis players came to help launch singles league in Newcastle July 3rd 2013!
The competition which has been named the 'Active Newcastle Tennis League' has been introduced by Nigel Billen and Sally Kinnes who operate a non for profit organisation called 'Local Tennis Leagues.' It is in partnership with Newcastle City Council (Active Newcastle) and the LTA.
The link with Newcastle City Council has been invaluable because of the Active Newcastle programme, which has around 36,000 people registered and has won National Awards! They have sent out information to all Active Newcastle card holders, put it online, tweeted and amazingly got the BBC to come to the launch that was aired the same day on North East & Cumbria news. Nigel emailed about an hour later and they had already had an entry because of the broadcast so fingers crossed even more come in and the league offers the people of Newcastle an opportunity to compete in some fun matches and feel great about it!
The league is mixed singles and can be played around the city for those who enter. It’s the first of its kind in the region and is a fantastic opportunity for people to let off steam following work, uni or just general day to day things and is flexible and affordable. Yes you have to pay a small entry fee, but everything is organised to start off with by Nigel and Sally, you can play anywhere on the park courts for free, there are prizes on offer, you get free membership with British Tennis (worth £25) and if you play 3 matches you receive a can of new balls! Sally and Nigel, who run ‘Local Tennis Leagues’, arrange the groups depending on standard. They achieve this by asking people to complete a questionnaire. For further information please go to the local tennis league Newcastle page, which can be found here.
A big thank you to Walker Technology College for bringing the young players to help at the launch, Newcastle City Council colleagues along with Nigel Billen who made the launch just in time after catching the first train from London as the sun was coming up!
The above is one part of a city wide plan currently being developed with a number of key partners with the aim to increase adult participaton. British Tennis has around 1.5 million people who play once or twice a year and this is a great opportunity for those people to continue playing!
In addition to the above we are looking at taking tennis into Leisure Centres through the partnership and offer programmes such as Cardio Tennis for fitness fans, Tennis Xpress for those people who want to learn the game in 6 weeks, short tennis (mini tennis for adults) and the traditional offer with social play, leagues, coaching and competition. This clearly highlights the fantastic range of opportunities for adults to get involved in the game!
To find a local place to play and programmes please go to allplaytennis.com.