Christchurch Meadows Tennis Courts Open Day

Christchurch Meadows Tennis Courts

TENNIS fans are encouraged to come along to an open day at Christchurch Meadows Tennis Courts on Wednesday 29th August.

The event, organised by local tennis operator GDTennis, runs from 10am to 1pm at Christchurch Meadows Tennis Courts in Caversham. The open day offers an opportunity for members of the public to meet the tennis coaching team and find out about membership/pay and play opportunities. People attending the event can use the courts and play free of charge, with GDTennis coaches on hand with equipment. All ages and abilities are welcome. A new tennis court booking system has been introduced at Christchurch Meadows this year. Annual membership for the whole household is available, as well as pay and play options on a casual basis. The new courts booking system, ClubSpark, enables customers to view court availability and book and pay for courts online (including using the booking app on smart phones). GDTennis has introduced more programmed activities onsite, lessons for all ages and abilities, and tennis tournaments, including encouraging members to take part in a Reading Tennis League https://localtennisleagues.com/reading GDTennis Christchurch has four hard courts that are open all year round. Work to clean and re-paint the courts took place in March 2017.

Free Family Tennis Fridays

There is free tennis available on all courts between 9 and 11am every Friday during the summer holidays.

Cllr Graeme Hoskin, Reading’s Lead Member for Sport, said:

“The positive changes introduced at Christchurch Tennis Courts this year offer a host of benefits for tennis players and I hope it will continue to encourage more people to take up the sport locally. If you would like to find out more about what is on offer, why not come along to the open day on Wednesday 29th August, have a chat with the coaches and a free session on the courts. “As well as lessons and tennis tournaments on offer, don’t forget to take advantage of the free Friday morning sessions on all 3 courts during the summer holidays.” For more information and to register as a member, visit: https://christchurchmeadowstennis.co.uk

Ends

Notes

The Council aim to provide new and varied opportunities to learn and play tennis at Christchurch Meadows for the next 3-5 years, in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and a local tennis coaching company, GDTennis. GDTennis provide an on-site presence during the peak months of the year, supervising use of the courts and offering a varied programme of tennis activities and coaching opportunities for players of all ages and standards throughout the year. Tennis sessions are delivered by LTA qualified and accredited coaches and provide increased opportunities for local residents to get active and stay healthy.

Court Booking System

GDTennis manage the booking systems and programme of activity to allow courts to be used throughout the year. The courts booking system, ClubSpark, provides the opportunity for participants to use the courts in a number of ways: · buy a key fob/swipe card that is eligible for use for their entire household for an annual fee of £40 for Reading residents (£45 for non-residents), enabling them to play as much tennis as they like for only 77 pence per week. · Pay and play options will still be available for people who wish to access courts less frequently and fees will continue to be set by the Council through the fees and charges process annually. · In addition to the pay to access sessions, a number weekly free court slots will be made available to be booked on a first come, first served basis. In addition to the online booking it will also be possible to contact GDTennis by telephone to answer enquiries or book other tennis related activities.

Useful links:

· www.lta.org.uk · http://gdtennis.co.uk · https://clubspark.lta.org.uk