Who are we?
Moreton-in-Marsh Tennis Club is a grassroots, not-for-profit Community Amateur Sports Club run entirely by volunteers for the benefit of local residents (and visitors to the area) who would like to play tennis.
Why are we crowdfunding?
Moreton-in-Marsh Tennis Club built two new tennis courts in 2022 but did not have sufficient funds at that time to add floodlights. Fast forward a couple of years and we are well on the way to reducing the size of the interest-free LTA loan taken out to build the new courts. Sport England have offered a £15,000 grant subject to the tennis club raising an equivalent amount from at least 100 separate donors.
The new tennis courts have been a great success. For the first time in our history, members and visitors have been able to book courts for recreational purposes at the same time as an organised activity is taking place (inter-club match, group coaching or social session). As these activities typically take place at peak times, this has been a welcome development and it's been great to see all four courts being used at the same time.
The opportunity to play tennis on the new courts is currently limited by the number of daylight hours. Once we install floodlights, more people will be able to continue playing tennis after dark.
How we’ll spend the money raised
The money raised via this crowdfunding initiative will be used for the purpose of installing floodlights on the new tennis courts.
Community impact
Moreton-in-Marsh is a rapidly expanding provincial town. The number of inhabitants has doubled since the millennium and this number is forecast to double again over the next decade. Unfortunately, there has not been a corresponding investment in infrastructure (such as sports facilities) which means there is high demand to use existing facilities.
Moreton-in-Marsh Tennis Club is a totally inclusive organisation, we run a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging local people to take up tennis.
Our Head Coach visits local schools to introduce schoolchildren to the pleasure of playing tennis (starting off with small rackets, soft balls and a low net).
Moreton-in-Marsh Tennis Club offers junior tennis camps during school holidays and weekly coaching for all junior age groups.
Our Rusty Rackets programme is targeted at adults who would like to return to tennis after a long absence (in many cases, participants have not held a racket since their school days).
We offer regular Open Days to introduce parents to the fun of playing tennis with their children.
Tennis is one of the few sporting activities in the local area that is played all-year round. It is not only enjoyable to play but it also contributes to people's health and wellbeing (including the mental health benefits of exercising in the fresh air and social interaction with trusted friends in a safe and secure environment). Players enjoy both the activities themselves and also the lasting friendships that develop.
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!