HGBTC Court improvement phase 2

Aim

A new astro playing surface will enable the club to provide more opportunities for children, senior and disabled players to enjoy tennis.

We are fast approching our 120th Anniversary! HGBTC have been providing a community amateur sports facility since 1904!

But these days it's not just about bowling and tennis, the club is a siginficant part of the community.  

In addition to its bowls, snooker, cards, darts, table tennis, lawn tennis and socials provision, the club has low cost booking options for christenings, birthdays, funeral receptions, dance, yoga & health and fitness classes.

The club provides meeting facilities for several community groups, organ and photographic societies,  Osteoporosis Society and Independent Options NW.

2018 and Covid-19

In 2018 the tennis facilities at HGBTC were in bad shape.   The tarmac courts developed a drainage issue and our best effort to improve the situation didn't help.  At the same time our astro turf reached the end of its life.

After a period of hard work by our volunteers, loans from Cheshire LTA and fundraising efforts we started an ambitious project to completely rejuvenate the tennis section.

Volunteers removing the old astro turf:

The new tarmac was laid:

And then COVID-19 struck........

Post Covid-19

The court refubishment project stalled and funds had to be diverted.  Since play resumed following the pandemic we have been playing on the tarmac surface that was intended to be an interim measure.

Unfortunately the tennis section of the club has been negatively impacted in many ways since:

• Long standing members have left the club because the hard surface has caused issues with joints and foot pain.
• Senior players have dramatically reduced the amount that they play.
• The walking tennis group ceased due to reduced attendance.
• The cardio tennis group ceased due to reduced attendance.
• Teams are finding it difficult to practice and compete as most other venues have astro turf.
• Difficult to attract and retain members because nearby clubs are perceived as better because they offer astro turf facilities.

How we’ll spend the money raised

In phase 2 we are focusing on laying new astro turf onto the two block court 1 & 2.

In the future (phase 3) we will look to repair or replace fences and lay astro turf to court 3.

The cost to complete phase 2 is approximately £32k.  To date we have raised funds and received pledges for further donations to a total of £25k.

What could we achieve?

If we raise £10,000 we can:

• Lay top quality astro turf (Tiger Turf) in two colours
• Dress the court with professional grade sand
• Replace nets and posts
• Secure funds towards the first major service in 2028

If we raise £5,000 we can:

• Lay basic astro turf in a single colour
• Dress the court with standard sand

We are currently aiming to raise£10k.  By using top quality materials and services the life expectancy of the courts will be longer and provide a greater return on our investment.

Example of a Tiger Turf installation:

Community impact

As a CASC (Community Amateur Sports Club) one of our main principles is to bring affordable facilities to the local community.  We hope that by raising money from those who can afford to donate we can maintain low membership and pay and play fee's for the whole community.

By installing a new lower impact surface we can provide more opportunities for seniors, children and disabled people to enjoy tennis.

In anticipation of our project succeeding here are some of the exciting initiatives we are already planning

• Walking tennis
• Increased participation to reduce social isolation
• New primary schools offering
• LTA youth start sessions
• Accessible sessions in partnership with Independent Options NW for their Supported Living Tenants 
• Inclusive tennis with LTA Open court

In addition to the directly impacted facilities the tennis section is part of the wider club and we have highlighted some of our fantastic community facilities at the start of this page, but for our club to continue operating our community facilities the whole club needs to thrive and grow and we can't continue to do that if the tennis facilities are not updated.

How you can play your part

There are three 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!

This project successfully funded on 1st September 2023