Markland Hill Racquets Club Covid 19 Relief Fund

Our Club

Markland Hill Lawn Tennis Club was founded in 1927 to provide Tennis facilities, by means of 6 dedicated Tennis courts, in the local community. Squash courts were added at a later date and in 1970 Bolton Badminton Club agreed to merge with the Club. A new indoor hall was constructed providing 4 Badminton Courts and 1 Tennis court overlaid. Subsequently a small but effective gym space was created. This was the basis of the club we now have to date and is one of the best venues for Badminton in the North West. The badminton courts are used regularly by the Lancashire  County Badminton Association for tournaments and matches and also by Badminton England for the Senior Leagues. 

The Club has a membership of over made up of Full Adult Sports Members, Students, Young, Junior 11-17 and Junior 5-10 categories. All the members have access to all 3 racquet sports. The Club is run by a small but dedicated collection of members.

Impact of COVID-19

Like many of you, we had big plans for 2020, which have been severely impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic! In the run-up to the new seasons, we've been continuing to raise funds for the redevelopment of our club such as the tennis court fencing and refurbishing the boards in the squash courts.

Unfortunately, our finances have been severely damaged by the significant economic impact of Covid-19. The club relies on revenue from social events, private hire (Birthday Parties and Christenings) coaching and hospitality as important sources of income, and all such activity has been suspended or heavily restricted since March.  No social and community events mean no income, and immediate risk to the club's financial health.  The club has ongoing maintenance costs, with over £10,000 being spent on the yearly maintenance of our playing surfaces, alongside increased cleaning costs to stay compliant with Covid Cleaning regulations as well.  This is in addition to ongoing fixed costs such as utility bills, insurances, accountancy and administration salaries.

How can you help?

We now need the help of our members, supporters, and local residents, to pledge funds and secure the short-term financial health of our fantastic club, so that we can continue to sustain the physical and mental well being of our community.

We've prepared an exciting package of rewards to show our appreciation for your support, plus everyone pledging £10 or more will receive an invite to our Pledgers’ BBQ to help celebrate us reaching our target! (to be held in the future when larger events are allowed again)

We are really grateful for any contribution that people are willing to make towards securing the immediate financial health of the club.  By supporting the club at a time when many of it's chief sources of revenue have vanished, pledgers are helping the club recover from the significant effects of COVID-19, enabling us to resume normal operations as soon as safely possible to support the local community in being active.  This recovery will then allow us to strive towards our exciting and essential long-term plans to transform our facilities for the benefit of Bolton and the surrounding areas.

Coaching

We have an active Coaching program in all racquet sports which is open to all in the community, and provide regular open days for the community to use the club for free with the aim to get more people active.

Our Aims

Our ambition is to encourage participation in racquet sports and make the sports accessible and enjoyable for our entire community, regardless of ability or background.

To achieve this aim, we must develop our facilities in the future to keep pace with modern demands and expectations, so that racquet sports can continue to be enjoyed year-round, rather than being constrained to their traditional seasons.