TENNIS
Win Tennis provides coaching for players of all ages.
Above, David Cameron and Andrew Castle at the launch
Winning at Westway
Karen Maxwell visits the recently launched Win Tennis Academy at West
London’s Westway Sports Centre to find out how local children are being
given the chance to learn the game and climb the ladder to sporting success
L
ocated under the White City leisure complex – girls playing netball, Castle, together with Mark Cox MBE,
roundabout in West London, boys chasing and kicking a football and former World Number 14 and Win Ten-
just a few hundred metres from a group of teenagers laughing with nis head of coach education, are already
the site of London’s 1908 Olym- their athletics coach as they rest be- on court. They’re surrounded by junior
pic Stadium, Westway Sports Centre is tween races. Once inside, I marvel at the players from the community and local
an absolute hive of activity. competence of a group of harness-clad schools as well as from the Mini Tennis,
A multitude of children’s voices youngsters as they navigate their way Performance and Academy programmes,
bounce off the walls of the many out- carefully across some of the 300 routes and are putting some of the six-year-olds
door sports courts that surround the on a huge climbing wall as I head to- through their paces – many of whom
wards the indoor tennis courts. already possess a powerful backhand to
I’m here to witness the expansion die for – while tennis VIPs wait on the
of Westway’s partnership with Win sidelines for Conservative leader David
Tennis Academy and the Lawn Tennis Cameron to join them on court.
Association (LTA) to develop tennis op- A more than decent tennis player
portunities within the local community himself, Cameron has come to sup-
and offer local school children in the port the venture and the ethos of easily
Royal Borough of Kensington and accessible community sport in a qual-
Chelsea the chance to play tennis and be ity environment. He takes the time to
coached in a focused environment. chat to a couple of the children before
Win Tennis ambassador, former British embarking on a doubles match with
Number 1 and GMTV presenter Andrew Andrew Castle against two very compe-
tent teenagers. “This is a fantastically
Westway has both indoor and outdoor important scheme,” he says. “Getting
tennis courts kids to play sport in school is key to
Issue 3 2009 © cybertrek 2009 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 55
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84