TENNIS
encouraging them into regular activity. Win Tennis provides excellent coaching for
Tennis has not always been available in players of all ages. Right: David Cameron
some schools, so a programme such as discusses the community tennis initiative
this that attracts kids from schools across
London to play tennis in a terrific centre coaching, which allow them to pursue enhance the ‘performance and devel-
is a really good scheme. It’s good for the their sporting interests as far as their opment’ of tennis programmes at the
spread of tennis and for finding the elite ability and enthusiasm will take them’. Westway Centre, Win Tennis manages
players of the future.” The Win Tennis programme certainly an outsourced coaching and develop-
fits this brief from a tennis angle. Ac- ment programme for the centre and is
Sporting legacy cording to Win Tennis chief executive responsible for the management and
Set up in 1971 to develop, for commu- and director Mike Walker, the organi- development of tennis staff, including
nity benefit, the 23 acres of land left sation has been working closely with coaches and support staff.
derelict after the construction of the Westway to develop its community and LTA funding has helped bring the cen-
Westway flyover, the Westway Develop- school programme for the past year tre’s tennis courts to High Performance
ment Trust (WDT) runs two sports and or so. “We’ve been helping Westway Centre (HPC) standard and the organi-
fitness facilities on a not-for-profit basis. achieve sport in the community objec- sation wholeheartedly supports the
It also operates 25 subsidised premises tives by putting the system in place to Westway/Win Tennis link up.
for voluntary organisations, landscaped introduce more kids to tennis and then LTA player director Steve Martens says:
gardens and meeting and music venues into a structured programme. We’ve got “What’s happening here links perfectly
as part of the same project. some really high quality coaches work- with what the LTA is trying to achieve
Westway Sports Centre features one ing with the children, it’s a fantastic set across the UK. We have a double goal:
of England’s largest climbing centres, 12 up and some of the kids are really begin- We want to see more people playing ten-
tennis courts, (eight indoor acrylic courts ning to progress,” he says. nis at a high level but more importantly,
and four outdoor clay courts), six foot- we want to see tennis taken to the mass-
ball pitches, four handball or ‘Eton Fives’ A win, win situation es. To do this we must make sure that the
courts, a basketball court, a netball The Win Tennis Academy at Westway people playing have a good experience
court, a 20-station gym and a swimming is one of the organisation’s two UK and that the right channels are in place
centre. With a focus on access for those International High Performance Cen- for future growth. We support the fact
most in need, its mission statement is to tres (IHPCs) – the other is based at the that Win Tennis was chosen to operate
operate ‘subsidised programmes, aimed Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre its tennis programme. In a community
at offering local young people access to in Buckinghamshire. Having signed a environment, the sport is only as strong
quality sports provision and providing three-year partnership with the WDT to as the coaches’ ability to work with the
people. Win Tennis is one of our stron-
The LTA wants to see more people playing tennis at a high
gest partners because it is well organised,
has a good management structure, qual-
level, but more importantly, we want to see tennis taken to ity coaches and a strong programme.”
the masses and for people to have a good experience
As one of 19 LTA HPCs in the coun-
try, Westway hosts two LTA-sanctioned
56 Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital Issue 3 2009 © cybertrek 2009
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