All Change at Duffield Squash & Tennis Clubs

Aim

Help our Clubs recover from the effects of COVID by renovating our changing rooms, where the showers are in a state of poor repair.

Our Organisation

Duffield Squash & Tennis Clubs are award-winning sports clubs in Derbyshire offering tennis, squash, racketball, table tennis, gym and fitness classes. We are a voluntary organisation, run and funded by our members, serving both local residents and players from further afield. We offer exercise and fun, friendly match play as well as coaching, competitions and tournaments.

The Effects of COVID-19

The pandemic has taught us about the need for hygiene, and it is fitting that our project involves the renovation of our changing facilities. This has been affected by the loss of income from the closure of our clubhouse caused by the pandemic. Therefore, we are looking to raise £20,000 to undertake the refurbishment to ensure we can provide:

• individual cubicles
• comfortable, practical & easy-to-clean facilities
• low on-going maintenance

 This project will fulfil our wish to ensure the clubs remain a first-class venue for our members, the community and beyond.

Who we are

Duffield Squash & Tennis Clubs have been helping to keep the people of Derbyshire fit and active since 1882, when the tennis club was originally founded, making it the 12th oldest in the world. Moving with the times, a squash club was added in 1937, and eventually a gym in 1995. There are now seven outdoor tennis courts – all but one floodlit – and five squash courts. The club is owned and run by its members, drawing on the support of qualified coaches and a host of volunteers to manage the facility and organise programmes of activity.

The tennis club was instrumental in the establishment of the Derbyshire Tennis Association and still hosts the County’s annual championships. It has also been the Derbyshire Tennis Club of the Year three times since 2016.

On the squash side, our village club is a centre of excellence, and has not only won the National League championship four times – in 1998, 2006, 2007 and 2015 – but also attracted some of the world’s greatest players, including former World Number 1s Cassie Jackman MBE, Laura Massaro MBE and Nick Matthew OBE.

What we do

Coaching

Both squash and tennis clubs embrace the ethos behind Sport-For-All, coaching beginners through to experienced competitors. Youngsters not only learn how to play, but also how to develop confidence, self-esteem and social skills. School holiday clubs offer fun and sporting activities for local children, providing a lifeline for busy, working parents. Our coaches and volunteers also run outreach programmes with local schools.

Competition

Social play and friendly matches are the core of our adult programme, but those with a more competitive edge have the opportunity to join our club teams and play in local and national leagues.

Gym

We have also recently transformed our gym into a modern fitness suite with the latest functional and weight training equipment, so that locals no longer have to travel into the city to access these facilities.

Social

Our clubs are a social hub for the local community, offering a comfortable bar and a programme of social events that includes quiz nights, discos, dinners and musical evenings.

Why we are looking for funding

Seeing our clubs thrive has driven us on and we have worked hard over the years raising funds to refurbish courts and invest in new gym equipment. Most recently we have replaced our old heating boiler with new energy-saving ones. 

Our next project is the refurbishment of the changing facilities, in particular the showers, are in dire need of modernisation. Problems include:

• rotting timber
• leaks
• cracked tiles
• loose flooring
• waste water not draining away properly

This project will fulfil our wish to ensure the clubs remain a first-class venue for our members, the community and beyond.

What this will achieve and who will benefit

We want to ensure that our community club continues to thrive in the 21st century. To do this we need to continue developing our clubhouse and grounds to meet modern needs, tastes and regulations. By crowdfunding we hope to achieve this whilst keeping down membership costs. In this way, we can continue to allow as many people as possible to access good quality sporting, coaching and leisure facilities.

Our updated changing rooms will benefit all our racket sports players and gym users, who come not only from Duffield, but also from the surrounding villages and suburbs.

Personal stories

 ‘I have been a member of the Squash Club for over 35 years and it’s a lifeline.  It’s where I go to play and keep fit.  But more than that, many of the people I have played over the years have become friends, which makes the club a wonderful social hub.’ – Ashley Franklin

'Being a member of the club is a lifeline for me, although I have only been playing for three years; but what a fantastic three years! Taking up a racket sport from scratch in my fifties was always going to be a technical challenge, but the outstanding and friendly support from all members, the committee and a brilliant coach have meant that even the most complete beginner can make enough progress to enjoy playing several times a week.' - Sarah Parkman

This project successfully funded on 14th June 2021