British Tennis - Lawn Tennis Association

The LTA has produced a range of resources and best practice documentation to assist you in developing your clubs policies and procedures. Resources have been developed under the categories of child protection, equality and diversity, codes of practice and health and safety.

Child protection

Every year, millions of young people, coaches, officials and other volunteers derive fun, satisfaction and personal achievement from belonging to a sports club. At the same time, there are growing demands for quality and professionalism, as well as a greater need for everybody to be aware of child protection and safety issues.

It is the duty of every club to give serious consideration as to how it conducts activities and to take all reasonable steps to ensure that participants, visitors and volunteers can enjoy tennis in a safe environment. That obligation is particularly important with regard to the safety and welfare of young tennis players.

Child protection is a key element of Tennis Clubmark. Clubs seeking Tennis Clubmark accreditation are required to have rules, policies and procedures relating to safety and best practice. Clubs must familiarise themselves with the LTA’s child protection measures and adhere to them fully.

Equality and diversity

Tennis Clubmark clubs should be accessible to everyone, so it is important that the right culture is promoted. Your policies, practices and club ethos must encourage all members to adopt an inclusive and child-friendly approach to tennis.

Simply adopting new policies and gaining accreditation will not change the atmosphere of an unwelcoming club. A club management group must assume responsibility for ensuring that your club is always open, child-friendly, and free from discrimination or unfair behaviour.

“Sports equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities and taking steps to address them. It is about changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure it becomes equally accessible to everyone in society.”

Codes of practice

Codes of practice help people to know exactly what is expected of them, help the club to run smoothly and contribute to an excellent club atmosphere. Tennis Clubmark provides parents, guardians and children with practical guidelines to ensure that everyone benefits from a safe, enjoyable environment, on and off the court.

Health and safety

Health and safety is extremely important to all tennis clubs and organisations. You have an obligation to ensure the health and safety of members and people visiting your club, and you must provide adequate and appropriate equipment and facilities to enable first aid to be administered. In addition, you should implement polices and procedures that not only minimise the risk of accident, but also set out who is responsible for administering first aid, should an accident occur.