A mother from Flintshire has joined forces with a local charity to become a tennis volunteer on the programme that helped turn her son’s life around.
Martina Pritchard from Hawarden got involved in the Bouncing Back initiative at Mold Tennis Club after seeing the transformation it had on her son, who was so badly affected by anxiety that he was unable to go to school.
Thanks to a partnership between Mold Tennis Club and local community enterprise KIM Inspire1, Martina began taking her 17-year-old son to the Bouncing Back programme in August 2016, which has now helped him cope so well with his anxiety, he has been able to return to school.
As a way of continuing her family’s connection with Bouncing Back and supporting the initiative that changed her son’s life, Martina decided to keep attending the weekly sessions as a volunteer to help others who may be going through the same issues she experienced with her family.
Thanks to recent improvements funded by LTA and Sport Wales at Mold Tennis Club, Bouncing Back is one of a number of community outreach programmes that are able to take place at the club. With four new courts and floodlights installed last year, Mold Tennis Club is now able to run year-round initiatives for the community and local schools, supported by Tennis Wales and the Tennis Foundation, and the improved facilities have been heralded by KIM Inspire and the club as being central to the success of community programmes.
Martina said: “Tennis has changed our family’s life. We are so grateful to the Bouncing Back sessions and my son has a new-found confidence, which we thought we would never see again. Watching your child overcome a difficult period in their life, no matter how big or small is truly remarkable and I don’t know where we would be today and I just hope our story inspires others.”
Clubs and communities across north Wales are now being encouraged to follow Mold Tennis Club’s lead and look at how investment into facilities can transform the programmes on offer at their clubs. With a record £125 million of funding now available to improve facilities through the Lawn Tennis Association’s Transforming British Tennis Together initiative, launched this summer, there are real opportunities to improve grassroots tennis facilities. Tennis Wales and the LTA are looking for community organisations and local authorities to partner with them and raise a further £125 million of matched funding to invest into a shared vision for growing the game.
Pam Griffiths, Participation Manager for Tennis Wales, said: “This really is a once in a lifetime opportunity for clubs, local authorities and communities to transform their local facilities, so that people from across the country can play more tennis. In particular, for programmes like Bouncing Back, it is vital that they are able to run all year round and have the facilities to make that happen. Transforming British Tennis Together provides exactly that chance by delivering more floodlit and covered courts in north Wales and indeed across the whole of the country.”
Rachel Sumner, Chair of Mold Tennis Club and Youth Engagement Manager at KIM Inspire, who devised the Bouncing Back programme, said: “Tennis is such a good way for people to improve their emotional and mental wellbeing and confidence, but it is crucial to have the right facilities and environment. At Mold Tennis Club the facilities had deterioted and since we’ve been able to make the improvements, we’ve thrown open our doors, made it a real community club and are now working with a raft of organisations to help people with a wide range of needs play tennis.”
Transforming British Tennis Together aims to reduce the barriers to playing tennis by doubling the number of floodlit and covered courts across the UK over the next ten years, increasing available playing hours. The initiative will also see the LTA and Tennis Wales work with local communities across the region to:
- Install online booking and entry systems so everyone can book a tennis court easily from their mobile phone, computer or tablet;
- Refurbish courts, clubhouses and other social spaces to ensure players have a great experience every time they visit; and
- Support other innovative and creative ideas that meet local demand.
The LTA is calling on tennis clubs, parks, local government, volunteers, coaches and businesses across the region to come together and register their interest in bidding for the funds to transform their local tennis courts. For more information visit www.lta.org.uk/TBTT. For more information on the Bouncing Back programme visit http://www.kim-inspire.org.uk
1 ABOUT KIM INSPIRE:
KIM – ‘Knowledge Inspiration Motivation’ – Inspire started as the only organisation in North Wales specifically to help women struggling with poor mental health recover through community programmes. It has expanded since its inception in 2002 and now includes a series of programmes aimed at helping men, KIM4HIM, and young people, KIM-Betweeners. KIM Inspire and Mold Tennis Club developed Bouncing Back, which is also supported by the National Lottery Fund and the Tennis Foundation, to help people with a range of wellbeing needs get out of the house, meet people and benefit from activity. The focus is on wellbeing and recovery from symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression by learning new skills, connecting with others and supporting fellow players in the group session.