Chippenham based tennis coach Sam Hull has been awarded £1,720 by the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) Play Tennis Fund to deliver free coaching and participation programmes at Marshfield Tennis Club (MTC) and Biddestone Tennis Club.

Aimed at beginners and players returning to the game, aged between 14 and 25, MTC Coaching will offer a Tennis Xpress introductory course and a ‘return to tennis’ course at both clubs during the spring, and the school Easter holidays. Upon completion of the course, players will receive a discounted membership offer at their chosen club for the following summer months and remainder of the tennis year.

As well as providing more access to tennis to those living in the local area, it is hoped that the programme will help Marshfield Tennis Club attract more young adults to join the club, and that a sustainable coaching programme can be established at Biddestone Tennis Club.

Sam Hull, the Head Coach at MTC said: "I am delighted that we have been awarded this funding. It will make a real difference to tennis in Chippenham. We are all about getting more players on court and providing them with quality coaching and positive experiences. In 2016 the Tennis For Kids programme was a huge success in Marshfield so applying to the LTA’s Play Tennis Fund seemed like another great opportunity. I am very excited that the LTA was able to share my vision for growing the game in Wiltshire and has offered us this backing. This funding is out there and I would definitely recommend that coaches come up with a plan for their club and apply for this support.”

Zoe Bambridge, LTA South West Participation Manager, said: “We’re really pleased to have awarded this funding to Sam and his coaching team. On the back of the success of Andy Murray and Jo Konta, we’d really encourage any young people to pick up a racket and get playing. Tennis is a sport that can offer people so much and we are passionate about getting more people back on court. This is a great opportunity to give tennis a go for free at two fantastic clubs in Chippenham."

For more information about the upcoming courses at Marshfield or Biddestone Tennis Clubs, contact Sam Hull on [email protected] or via his coaching Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SAMarshfield/

Since launching with six rounds of funding in 2016, the LTA’s Play Tennis Fund has supported 18 projects across the South West, investing over £40,000 that will see 2,000 new young players take to the court.

The Play Tennis Fund continues in 2017 and invites applications for innovative participation projects aimed at people over the age of 12. The next application deadline for funding is Friday 3 March and more information can be found at http://www.lta.org.uk/venue-management/support-your-venue/play-tennis-fund/

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS

Images attached:
Coach Sam Hull with young players at Marshfield Tennis Club.
Schools Tennis Festival held on the courts of Marshfield Tennis Club during summer 2016.

• For more information about Marshfield Tennis Club, visit: http://www.marshfieldtennisclub.co.uk/
• For more information about Biddestone Tennis Club, visit: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/BiddestoneTennisClub

ABOUT THE LTA:
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the National Governing Body for tennis in Great Britain, responsible for developing and promoting the sport, with a mission to get more people playing tennis more often. It does this under the consumer brand of British Tennis, by working with a broad range of partners and over 25,000 volunteers, to grow the game in communities, clubs and schools. The LTA represents the interests of over 350,000 British Tennis Members, men and women, girls and boys across the country, playing on more than 23,000 courts. The LTA runs and supports a network of 11,500 approved tournaments for players of all ages, the corner-stones of which are the premier grass court events leading up to Wimbledon, held in Nottingham, Birmingham, Queen’s Club-London and Eastbourne, all title sponsored by Aegon. The LTA works with many delivery partners to grow the sport across the country. One of these is its charitable entity, the Tennis Foundation, to provide a tennis provision for more than 20,000 schools, disadvantaged youth as well as promoting tennis as an inclusive sport for anyone with a disability. For further information about the LTA and British Tennis, and to review the British Tennis strategy for 2015 – 2018 visit www.lta.org.uk or follow us on Twitter @BritishTennis.