Who we are and how Padel will work at EOSA
A not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers and based behind the Ely Leisure Village, Ely Outdoor Sports Association (EOSA) provides sporting and social facilities for our member clubs - Ely Tennis Club, Ely Tigers Rugby Club and Ely City Hockey Club – as well as the residents of Ely and the surrounding villages. We currently have 4 tennis courts, 3 rugby pitches, 1 astro pitch and a Clubhouse with a bar and social area. All are available to hire by the local community. The building of 2 padel courts will significantly broaden the range of sporting facilities we can offer and help us further improve the facilities at EOSA.
Once built, there will be an online booking system and there will be 30 bookable 1 hour sessions per day, 365 days of the year. The sessions will be between 8am and 10pm, with the last session starting at 9pm.
There will be an option to become a padel member or to use the courts on a pay per play basis, making them very accessible for everyone. We currently envisage an hour's court hire to be £16 for members (£4 per person) and £28 for non-members (£7 per person) with an annual membership fee costing £120. These figures will need to be reassessed once the courts have been built. Membership benefits will include:
- Reduced court booking cost
- Ability to book a court further in advance
- Eligibility to play in Team Matches
- Access to other EOSA benefits such as discounts at local stores, restaurants, and venue hire.
Why are we crowdfunding?
We have planning permission to build 2 new Padel courts on our site but at a total cost of £163K to build, we need to raise the necessary monies. We have £25K in funds already, have been awarded a £16K grant from the East Cambridgeshire Capital Grant Scheme, and the Sport England Movement Fund has agreed to matchfund £15K donations on this crowdfunding page so please help us to reach our target of £30K! We are looking to raise the remaining monies through other grants and an LTA loan.
Padel is the world’s fastest growing racket sport. It is an innovative form of tennis that’s fun, easy to learn and extremely sociable. Played on an enclosed court about a third the size of a tennis court, groups of mixed ages and abilities can play together making it a very inclusive and appealing way to keep fit. There are currently 90,000 players in the UK and the LTA forecasts that this will grow to 600,000 by 2026.
The closest Padel courts to Ely are currently in either Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds or St Ives and we would like to provide the residents of Ely and surrounding villages the opportunity to play Padel without the need to travel far.
How we’ll spend the money raised
Your donation will go towards the building of the two new padel courts - from the laying of the foundations and concrete base to the construction of the steel cage with tempered glass panels, laying of the artificial grass and installation of floodlights and net.
We are hoping to have raised enough money to start the work in June of this year and with the aim to have them completed by September.
Community impact
EOSA's aim is to provide sporting and social opportunities for all.
The facilities at EOSA are already used not only by our member clubs but regularly by many sporting and community groups in the Ely area including adult and junior football teams, a walking football team, exercise classes and baby and toddler groups. Local businesses, sports clubs and residents also hire the bar and social area for meetings, events, parties and courses.
With Ely and the local area growing at the rate that it is, demand for sporting facilities is only going to increase. We also all need to do as much as we can to encourage people to be active. Padel is very easy for beginners to pick up whilst still providing a challenge for seasoned athletes. Please help us increase the sporting opportunities for all in the Ely area and to develop the facilities at EOSA for use by all the community.
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!