Leek Tennis Club - LED Floodlight Upgrade

• Who are we?

Leek Tennis Club has been a proud part of our community for over 100 years, providing a range of ways to get involved with tennis such as junior coaching sessions from as young as 5, right through to U3A club sessions where our oldest member is over 80! We currently have 5 tennis courts, two floodlit astro courts, two unfloodlit hard courts, and a single floodlit hard court. 

We welcome everyone to the Club whatever their ability or age - we pride ourselves on meeting the needs of all members, from those playing just for fun and fitness, to those wanting to compete in the City and Suburban and County leagues. 

We offer a range of coaching which is advertised locally and everyone in the community is welcome to take part without having to become a member. We also offer our courts to non-members via a simple online booking system. 

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are so proud of what we can offer as a small club, however, we are seeking funding for new LED floodlights to replace our current floodlights which can often be unreliable and then become costly to repair - this year alone, we have had to fund the replacement of at least 4 bulbs, with a fifth currently out of action, see picture below - they aren't easy to replace!  In addition to improving the Club facilities, these floodlights would also make a significant decrease to our recurring energy bills and help the Club become more sustainable! 

Leek Tennis Club has already raised a significant amount of money to part-fund the upgrade to LED floodlights, however due to the size of our club, the money raised from membership fees only covers the day to day maintenance with a small amount left over for project work. Therefore, we are endeavouring to raise the difference through crowdfunding.

Community impact

Leek Tennis Club reaches many parts of the local community through coaching, club sessions and social events. Leek Tennis Club has supplied a coach into local schools for a number of years (Beresford First, St Edwards Middle and Churnet View to name a few). Improvements in our facilities would allow students from these schools to be able to attend coaching at the Club itself at a more reasonable price due to the decreased energy cost. 

These floodlights would also allow us to extend playing hours into the evening, creating more opportunities for individuals to participate, particularly throughout the winter months when the coaching and club sessions start when the natural light has already been lost. The club sessions are attended by all parts of the community, from junior members, through to retired members/the local U3A branch.  

The Club is a great place to come together, play friendly and inclusive tennis, and socialise, resulting in lasting friendships! The picture above shows members after an American style tournament this summer. An upgrade to our floodlights would allow us to hold similar events throughout the winter, which is so important to the participants. 

We hold regular activities for juniors at the club, including Saturday morning fun-sessions, coaching and tournaments. The above shows the participants and winners from our Junior tournament which took place over the summer. We will continue with these offerings to juniors in the hopes to find the next Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu! 

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!

https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/LeekTennisClub