Collingham Tennis Club has secured Olympic legacy funding of £50,000 from Sport England’s Inspired Facility fund.
Sport England has revealed that more than 1,300 local sports projects across the country have now received National Lottery funding through Inspired Facilities, part of its Olympic and Paralympic legacy programme.
In a round of funding awards where tennis and cricket facilities were not a top priority, Club Chair Mike Ditchburn was amazed when told of the size of the award. “ I thought we’d do well to get anything, so to be given the full award is just tremendous for the club”.
Sport England praised the high quality of the application together with the standard and variety of activities the club provides for its members and the community.
The application was put together by a team of four. Members Michael and Ruth Copleston should have been busy renovating their new home and planning and preparing for their wedding on 3rd August but instead spent many hours of hard work sharpening the amateur efforts of Mike and his wife Roz to produce this brilliant application. When Ruth heard the good news she couldn’t stop laughing with delight.
It was a nail biting 15 hours between Mike missing the important telephone call while running the junior tennis sessions on Thursday afternoon and being able to return the call the next morning after 9.30am. Crispin Clarke from Sport England teased Mike by saying “I suppose you want to know how much the award is“!
This award will now enable the club to light its brand new court and provide enough power to eventually upgrade lighting on its other three courts to LTA standards thus securing the future of the club. It will allow more play, more coaching and more tournaments for all ages and abilities. The new facilities will be able to accommodate the membership which has grown from 37 to a current 182 in just over two years. They will match the high standard of coaching and tennis activities we now offer.
(Pictured here is the brand new court being played on the for the very first time.)
“With this award, the continued support of our members, the community, the LTA and Newark and Sherwood District Council Sports Development, Collingham Tennis Club is guaranteed a glowing future”, enthused Mike.
When he heard about the award Newark MP, Patrick Mercer, said
“I was delighted to learn of the funding awarded to Collingham Lawn Tennis Club. This will enable an increasing membership to grow further and will offer fantastic facilities for both young and old alike to learn and enjoy the great game of tennis”.
Sport England’s Chair, Nick Bitel, said: “A year on from the Olympics, this National Lottery investment is helping us deliver a lasting sporting legacy in Nottinghamshire. With investment now on offer from our Inspired Facilities Fund until 2017, we look forward to supporting many more sports clubs in the East Midlands who play such a vital role in grassroots sport”.
Collingham Tennis Club is one of well over 300 projects across England receiving lottery investment from the fourth round of the Inspired Facilities fund and one of more than 1,300 to benefit overall.
Many more communities are now set to benefit from the hugely popular fund, after Sport England today announced it was extending Inspired Facilities until 2017, with an additional £40 million of National Lottery funding to invest. Bids will be accepted for the next round of Inspired Facilities funding from 21st October 2013. You can find out more at www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities.