Published: 13 June 2022
From: Culture
National sports charity ‘Tennis for Free’ (TFF), with the support of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), is serving up an ace for the local community, with the relaunch of free coach-led tennis sessions in Maidenbower Park, Crawley.
In an exciting partnership with Crawley Borough Council and Serious about Sport, the LTA and TFF will provide free sessions for individuals, families and carers (aged 12 and over) at Maidenbower Park every Saturday from 11am – 12pm. The simple aims are to get more people playing tennis and improve the physical and mental wellbeing of members of the local community.
Tennis for Free is a community sports charity that provides an ace day out including free coach-led tennis sessions and access to tennis courts in local parks around the UK, for all members of the community.
Together with the LTA, we are helping to make tennis more accessible to more people by removing the cost barrier that some sections of the community face, so that the entire community can play and benefit physically, mentally and socially. We have created specially designed programmes to welcome families, carers and people of all ages and any ability, tennis improves people’s mental health and TFF playing group games enhances this further. The beauty is that each session is led by qualified tennis coaches who will ensure people develop at their own pace. But it’s not just about the playing, these schemes bring people in communities together. People can get involved and help run the schemes even if they aren’t playing themselves. We are always looking for local volunteers to grow the programme, indeed some of our most successful and sustainable schemes across the UK have the coaches supported by a team of volunteers who organise further events.
Patrick Hollwey
Co-founder
Tennis For Free
I am very excited to relaunch Tennis for Free to Crawley. It is a fantastic opportunity for the local community to try tennis for either the first time, or to dust off the cobwebs after a time away from the sport. It’s a fun, friendly and entertaining free weekly event where you’ll make new friends and benefit from regular exercise. There is no catch, as the name suggests, everything is free.
Lucas Simm
Coach at Maidenbower Park
We are very excited about the free activities being created for people to play tennis in Crawley through the Tennis for Free programme. Maidenbower Park is a very accessible facility in the heart of the community. Having easy access to local good park facilities where you can play informally with your family, carers and friends is key to encouraging people to play. And with Tennis for Free offering free sessions every weekend, people will be able to meet and make new friends, get fit and have some fun and all for no cost.
Cllr Chris Mullins
Cabinet member for Wellbeing
Crawley Borough Council
We are proud to partner with Tennis for Free and very excited about the relaunch of weekly tennis coaching sessions at Maidenbower Park. Our vision is to open tennis up to many more people regardless of their age, gender, background, ability or disability and our partnership with TFF is helping to do this. Having high quality, easy to access park facilities where you can play informally with your family and friends is very important to encouraging new people to pick up a racket and play, and a key area of focus and investment for the LTA.
Stuart Maidment
Tennis Manager
LTA Parks
For more information, visit the Tennis for Free website and search for the Maidenbower Park Scheme.
You can also follow Tennis for Free on Twitter and Facebook.
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