Wallace Park Tennis

The Schools Tennis Project Ltd. is a recognised charity which manages Wallace Park Indoor Tennis Centre on behalf of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council.  

Covid response - 

With Covid closing indoor courts for much longer than outdoor ones, last summer we renovated the outdoor tennis courts at Wallace High School, with support from ‘The Whitemountain Programme’ and next year, we want to launch a new 'Lisburn Tennis Club,' based there, which will be affiliated with Tennis Ireland.

Tennis Club launch - 

We want to provide –

• Adult club coaching every Saturday, from now to June, and one evening a week, from April to June, @ Wallace H.S. (Costing approx. £1,500)
• Junior club coaching, one evening a week, from April to June @ Wallace H.S.  (Costing approx. £500)
• Coaching courses @ Wallace Park Indoor Tennis Centre (November – February, see rewards, costing approx. £3,600)
• ‘Try Tennis’ Beginner & Improver coaching (May & June @ Wallace Park Indoor Tennis Centre, costing approx. £2,100
• Coaching qualification for junior players (See ‘Young aces’ below, costing approx. £900)
• Rackets and balls for all these events (Costing approx. £1,400)
• Trophies for new junior & senior tournaments @ Wallace Park Indoor Tennis Centre and club tournaments at Wallace HS (Costing approx. £2,500)
• A spray-painting and line-marking machine so that the courts can be maintained in years to come (Costing approx. £1,000)

We are running this crowdfunding campaign to raise £5,000 which, if successful, Sport NI will match fund to give us £10,000 towards these costs.  This will really help get our club off to the best possible start next year.

From the programme above we wanted to highlight the following - 

Adult Beginners / Improvers

An ITF study showed that tennis is a sport most people want to learn but they are reluctant to attend an established club as they feel the players will all be better than them.  

At the two clubs we previously founded, in Dungannon & Jordanstown, this was the case with lots of people coming to try tennis in year one when they knew everyone was else was starting too, and much less coming thereafter.

We are providing low-cost coaching and membership to help new players get started in our first year.  If you’ve always wanted to try tennis, make sure you get involved now.   Don’t get left behind.

Offer – 

• 10 weeks of coaching (£60) 
• Adult membership of Lisburn Tennis Club (£95) 

£85 for £145 value, see rewards)

Young Aces (11–18 year-olds)

The ‘Ulster Squads’ train at Wallace Park Indoor Tennis Centre five days a week.  We want to utilise these young stars to inspire other children their age to play tennis.

Our ‘Young Aces’ programme will give any fourteen to eighteen-year-old, who is ranked in the top hundred in Ireland for their age group, a foundation qualification in coaching tennis.

We will then provide them with opportunities to gain experience assisting with coaching at the club or at their school, using their talent to inspire other children.  

Coaching is great experience for young people and could well lead to a summer job when they are at university.

Offer – 

• Coaching qualification (£95)
• Junior membership of Lisburn Tennis Club (£45) 
• Hoody (£40)
  
  

£40 for £180 value, see ‘Young Aces’ in rewards.

Senior Citizens (Over 65)

Outdoor tennis, golf and fishing were the first sports permitted after lockdown.  As we bounce back from Covid we want to provide older players, who may have felt ‘at risk’ during the pandemic, with a way into a healthy outdoor sport they may not have tried before.

Offer – 

• 10 weeks of coaching (£60) 
• Senior membership of Lisburn tennis Club (£55) 

£60 for £115 value, see rewards)

Please look at the rewards and pledge to join our new tennis club.  We look forward to seeing you on the courts again soon.