BY John Bridgwater
An exciting tennis project delivered by a south Shropshire club has been nominated for a prestigious BBC Midlands sports award.
Bishop’s Castle Lawn Tennis Club’s ‘Tennis: Stronger Mind and Body’ project is one of six in the West Midlands being put forward for the BBC Midlands Power of Sport award.
The purpose of this is to recognise projects that have increased participation in sports and made a real impact on the community.
The Bishop’s Castle club were nominated for the award by Energize Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, the County Sports Partnership, after winning the Project of the Year prize at the Energize Awards last month.
Chris Child, partnership manager for Energize STW, said: “Congratulations to everyone at Bishop’s Castle Lawn Tennis Club.
“The ‘Tennis: Stronger Mind & Body’ project is a great example of the innovative methods that local clubs and organisations are using to help more people become involved in sport.
“The club is truly deserving of this nomination and I wish them the best of luck.”
Incentive
The project was designed by the club to introduce inactive people to the benefits of sport and physical activity, and is partly funded by the National Lottery Community Investment Fund, awarded through Sport England.
It uses innovative incentive schemes, such as free coaching programmes and reduced membership fees, and works with local schools, Bishop’s Castle Community College and SpArC to give people the chance to take part in tennis who might not usually have the opportunity.
The project began in April this year and will run until November 2011.
In the seven months since the programme began, the club have experienced enormous success, already smashing their first year target for new members joining the club.
The success has largely been thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers who designed and are leading the project.
Commenting on the nomination, Loveday Hickey, chairman of Bishop’s Castle Lawn Tennis Club, said: “We are delighted with the response we have had so far and absolutely thrilled that we have been nominated for the BBC Midlands Power of Sport award to be held in December in Birmingham.
“A lot of hard work has gone into our project, but the reward has to be that it has been recognised and been given so much publicity to encourage others that sport really matters.”
The winner of the award, which is sponsored by Sport England, will be announced at the BBC Midlands Sports Awards, being held at the National Motorcycle Museum near Birmingham on Sunday, December 7.
