The President of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) Peter Bretherton headed to Oxfordshire last weekend to applaud tennis clubs and coaches in the area for their commitment to the development of tennis in the region.
On his trip Bretherton was invited to meet with the Community Tennis Association and its Managing Director Ed Nieburg at St Birinus School.
The Community Tennis Association has established itself as a ‘non-profit’ making Community Interest Company, with an aim to promote and support affordable tennis within local communities. As part of the Association, Didcot Community Tennis Club (DCTC) was set up in May 2011 and operates across three sites in town, including Ladygrove Park, Edmunds Park and St Birinus School.
Over the past year DCTC has gone from strength to strength in terms of membership growth and programme development. The club has over 150 members and over 120 juniors regularly attending a weekly coaching programme. The club has also achieved both Clubmark and Beacon status.
Community Tennis Association has also worked in partnership with Portcullis Tennis Club in Wallingford since April 2012. Prior to this the club had no coaching programme in place for six months. Since their partnership the club now boast more than 80 juniors on the coaching programme and over 200 members at the club.
Peter’s first stop on Saturday 29th September was Didcot Community Tennis Club at St Birinus School, followed by Portcullis Tennis Club, then to Oxford Sports Club and finishing at White Horse Tennis Centre.
Jo-Anne Downing, the LTA’s Tennis Development Manager for Oxfordshire, said: “We’re really looking forward to the LTA President’s visit this weekend. We’ve worked closely with the clubs in the area to provide accessible tennis to the wider community and it’s great that the work that Ed Nieburg has done with Community Tennis Association with support from both the LTA and the Local Authority will be recognised this weekend.”