Membership at a tennis club in Brighton has soared thanks to brand new playing facilities at Preston Lawn Tennis Club (LTC) which were unveiled this weekend.
The club received a grant of £15,000 and a loan of £15,000 from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), with support from Sport England, to build two new mini tennis courts and add floodlighting to an existing court. The floodlighting will help people play for more hours of the day during the winter months.
The funding is part of the LTA’s commitment to improve playing facilities and to enhance access to tennis nationwide.
Simon Lindfield, Club Chairman said: “The financial support provided by the LTA has helped our community tennis club expand its capacity and grow the active junior and adult membership by 30% in a short period of time.
“The two dedicated mini tennis courts and additional floodlights add significantly to the availability of affordable sporting facilities in the city of Brighton & Hove and therefore help promote active lifestyles for all age groups.”
Work began on the project in October 2010 and was completed at the end of December last year. The club now offers more facilities for younger tennis players playing mini tennis as well as extended playing hours for tennis players at all levels of the game.
Thanks to the new facilities, Preston LTC are now able to expand their junior programmes. More than 100 juniors of all ages and abilities are already coached on a weekly basis taking part in weekly fun competitions. This number is now expected to double in the next twelve months.
There are a number of promising juniors based at the club who are competing in national and international events. A schools programme includes after school clubs and free coaching sessions at the school with the aim being to both identify talented youngsters and promote a lifelong interest in tennis.
LTA Facilities Project Manager, Ian Rudkin said: “The Club are Clubmark accredited and run a good coaching and competition programme. Our County team work closely with the Club and hope to see this facility development help the Club grow and establish themselves as a key Club in the area.”
Mini Tennis helps to introduce to the sport for young children between four and ten years old, using smaller courts, nets and rackets and lower-bouncing balls.
There are three levels of Mini Tennis; Red, Orange and Green, each with their own court size and type of ball. This tailored approach, based on age and physical maturity enables players to develop vital skills and techniques at an early age.
Richard Lewis, Sport England’s Chair, said: "It's vital that public funding for sport goes into facilities that meet the highest standards, are welcoming, and cater for everyone. That's how we’re going to get more people using them every day.
“The new mini courts and floodlights at Preston Lawn Tennis Club will offer more playing facilities for its members and provide the opportunity for more people to play tennis for longer."
The funding has been provided as part of British Tennis’ facilities strategy which has received substantial investment from Sport England. This makes an important contribution to the drive to increase tennis opportunities for people to participate, compete and get access to coaching at all levels of the game in communities nationwide.
The LTA makes financial support available through its resources and ensures investments will deliver the maximum return for British Tennis through more people playing and more hours on the court across Britain. There will be an increase in the number and standard of facilities nationwide which will be available to the whole community at a reasonable, affordable cost.
To find out where your nearest court is, visit: www.lta.org.uk/playtennis