New Courts for Mayfield Tennis Club

Aim

We need YOUR HELP to resurface our courts and ensure the future of our community club!

Who we are.

est.1925, Mayfield Tennis Club is part of the diverse, multicultural community of Palmers Green, in the London Borough of Enfield. It is a vibrant and friendly club run solely by hard-working  volunteers who give time, energy and knowledge to ensure the club is run smoothly. They are passionate about the community and of course tennis! We have a wonderful clubhouse which has disabled access and toilet/shower facilities that is shared with Mayfield Cricket & Table Tennis Clubs.

We welcome everyone whatever their ability or age – we pride ourselves on meeting the needs of all players, from those playing for fun and fitness to team members who enjoy competing in the Middlesex summer and winter leagues. 

We offer a range of coaching from kids mini tennis to rusty rackets, beginners, girls' tennis and adult advanced; advertised locally, everyone in the community is welcome to take part without becoming a member.

Our twice weekly  sessions for seniors have been running for over 35 years due to the dedication of 3 club members. The sessions are open to all - age is not a barrier, the average age is 74 and the oldest player 83!

At just £4 for two hours (non members) it's great value, but most of all: it's fantastic tennis and great social, resulting in long lasting friendships.

 Many members like Jack, Ben and Lester belong to table tennis and tennis. 

We are also very proud to not only be diverse but also inclusive; supporting disabled people to play tennis. Sessions run by qualified coaches, supported by our volunteers, allow parents, carers and players to relax court side or in our accessible clubhouse. 

Lily Mills joined our disability tennis sessions when she was 13 and represented team GB in the 2019 Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi, returning home with 2 gold medals. She is an inspirational member of our ladies team and a reminder that not all disabilities are ‘visible’. 

The club is very supportive of her, fundraising to contribute to her training and expenses on her Olympic journey. 

Lily and Johnny (another youngster who joined our disability sessions) represented North London at the GB Special Olympics in Sheffield winning a gold and silver medal. Johnny now plays in our mens’ 4th team. We couldn’t be prouder of both.

Before Covid, Adam, one of our wheelchair members came regularly to play social tennis and he will be instrumental in the coordination of our new disability sessions which are due to start in spring when we have our new courts. 

Our courts are now no longer suitable to offer disability tennis, however, we have teamed up with Danny Sapsford, Bright Ideas for Tennis and Mark Bullock LTA
Disability Advisor, who will provide training for volunteer members and we are looking forward to  restarting these sessions in spring 2023 when we have our new courts.

Not Just a Tennis Club.

Mayfield has raised thousands of pounds in support of large and small charities including Marie Curie, Macmillan, British Heart Foundation, Breast Cancer, Noah’s Ark, Amara Charitable Trust (Kenya) to name just a few. 

In April this year, together with Bright Ideas for Tennis, we ran a hugely successful event to help with fundraising for the new courts. Everyone in the local community was invited to ‘play with the  pros’ and come and join in the fun.

In June we ran a wonderful community Wellness Day and asked local small ‘fitness/ wellness’  businesses to take part. Aside from tennis, anyone could come to try a session of yoga, pilates, circuit training, table tennis, pickleball or listen to talks on nutrition, posture and menopause.

We are so nearly there with our fundraising.
We have £71,000 of the £91,375 that we need to replace our courts.

WE NOW NEED YOUR HELP TO RAISE THE LAST £20K  

After 17 years of use, our four tennis courts are now beyond viable repair* and must be resurfaced to ensure the safety of our players.

When it rains, the courts retain huge puddles of water. Many places are no longer permeable so pooling occurs and when this happens it takes quite some time to dry and play cannot continue.

The effects of Covid-19, and the rising cost of living are having a big impact on community clubs financial resilience and we’re no exception!

YOUR SUPPORT will help us to: 

• Re-start our disability tennis programme in the spring on our new courts and encourage volunteers from our membership and local schools/colleges (A level students studying PE who wish to learn strategies for teaching tennis to those with a disability).  

• Enable seniors to continue to play regularly without fear of slipping. 

• Continue to offer everyone a great surface to play on, to enjoy their tennis and take it to the next level. 

• Encourage more of the community to play tennis through our online booking and pay to play scheme using ClubSpark. 

• Continue to offer quality coaching to various different abilities and ages.

THANK YOU for supporting us. We are very grateful for your pledge. 

THANK YOU to all the local suppliers and members for providing such a fantastic array of rewards.  

All rewards will be redeemable after 20th November when the project completes apart from the Arsenal Ladies Match tickets on 30th October and the Arsenal V FC Zurich on 3rd November.

Rewards can be collected from the clubhouse after 18th November.  If you should like your reward to be posted, post and packaging will be applied.

Grateful THANKS also to Sport England for their pledge.

With all your support we can have amazing new courts that everyone feels safe to play on, encourage new members and our club will continue to thrive at the heart of our community.

*“Existing court surfacing is subject to minor undulation and displacement which may render the court playing surface out of tolerance with the L.T.A. standard of 6mm under a 3m straight edge for synthetic turf courts with court Nr 4 most affected.”

“The Club should acknowledge that when the existing pile depth is highly worn and reduced to a depth below 5mm the worn areas of the synthetic turf may be prone to ripping and tears making it very difficult to achieve without comprising the play characteristics or creating trip hazards.”  

Sports Facility Planning and Design Co. REF. NR 2020 CAS 052 –  Condition Survey _MAYFIELD TENNIS CLUB  

This project successfully funded on 19th November 2022