Marlborough Tennis Club will realise a long term aim when its own club facilities and courts are formally opened later this year on land leased from Marlborough Golf Club.
Work will start at the end of this month to construct six all weather tennis courts with downlighting and a small pavilion to provide toilets and changing facilities. The courts will be ready for play before the end of the year.
The new area will be on the strip of Golf Club land that borders Port Hill on the A346 to Ogbourne, with access being through the existing Golf Club entrance.
Hilda Moore, chair of Marlborough Tennis Club and Head Coach said: “The club will have a much more vibrant feel to it once we have our own permanent home with year round playing facilities. These are very exciting times.”
Marlborough Tennis Club has over two hundred members and six adult teams in the Swindon and District Tennis League. Until now the Club has rented courts at Preshute from Marlborough College. For several years the club has been seeking to build its own courts in the town. “The Development Committee has worked tirelessly to identify a site and to secure funding,” added Hilda.
£676,000 of the £750,000 needed to fund the project has been raised. Roger Wheeler, treasurer, said: “The club are very grateful to all the donors including the Lawn Tennis Association, Sport England, Community First, and the Marlborough Area Board.”
The remaining £74,000 will be raised through various fund raising activities organised by the club this year and through further sponsorship. The Club are offering court sponsorship at £10K per court. This buys the right to logo’d advertising on the windbreaks at each end of the court for a period of five years and a commemorative plaque.
The link to a Crowd Funding page for donations large or small can be found on https://www.facebook.com/Marlboroughtennis/. Donations from tax payers can be made under Gift Aid and by so doing the donation is increased by 25%.
The Club already organises many activities. The Great British Tennis Weekend, held each year, offers free tennis coaching; a schools’ project involves over two hundred eight to nine year olds every July; and Rusty Rackets encourages those who may not have played tennis for years back into the sport.
With its new facilities the club is looking to expand and to hire a full time coach and assistants so that it can offer tennis to all ages and abilities. Club members can also expect to enjoy the social scene at the Golf Club.
“Tennis is a wonderful family sport,” says Hilda. “We are interested to hear from anyone who can help fund raise, offer sponsorship or coach.”
For further information please visit : www.marlboroughtennis.co.uk, or click here to reach the crowd funding page directly