TENNIS
Know what you want, why you want it, assess its potential positive impact and make sure the specification and design meets you requirements
THE LTA’S PLACES TO PLAY STRATEGY T
his strategy aims to increase oppor- tunities for people to participate in tennis on a regular basis at a venue
close to their home, which provides high quality opportunities on safe and well- maintained facilities. The strategy sets out: • The LTA’s overall vision for places to play • How it will grow regular participation by supporting places to play to develop and deliver the right programmes • How the LTA makes its capital invest- ment decisions to ensure it invests in the right facilities to grow the sport • How it will support performance programϖϖmes in the right locations
VISION The LTA is committed to growing the sport to ensure that more people are playing tennis more often at first class facilities, with high-quality coaching programmes and well-organised competitions. Its overall aim for the next six years
(2010-2016) is to ensure that, as far as practicably possible, the British popula- tion has access to and is aware of the places and high-quality tennis opportuni- ties in their local area. This includes: • Access for everyone to well-maintained, high-quality tennis facilities which are either free or pay as you play • A Clubmark accredited place to play within a 10-minute drive of their home • Indoor courts within a 20-minute drive time of their home • A mini tennis (10 years and under) performance programme within a 20- minute drive of their home (Perfor- mance Centres) • A performance programme for 11- to 15- year-olds within a 45-minute drive time of their home (High Performance Centres)
• A limited number of internationally- orientated programmes strategically spread for players aged 16-plus with an international programme (International High Performance Centres)
(Note: These targets are guidelines and subject to demand, population density and existing provision.)
FACILITY DEVELOPMENT A transparent process is in place provid- ing clear guidance and setting out the expectations for financial support. This process ensures investments will deliver the maximum return for British Tennis for the limited resources available. The majority of grant funding available is
derived from central government and allo- cated to British Tennis through the success- ful partnership with Sport England. There is a commitment to Sport England that the number of people playing tennis once a week will increase by 115,000 by 2013. Investment in the right projects,
supported by the right people is key if this target is to be achieved. In addition to this LTA loan and grant funding is also available. Projects that will be prioritised include: • Projects that will increase the number of adults and juniors participating on a regular basis • Projects that will enable more adults and juniors to compete on a regular basis • Projects that develop the talent pool and secure a winning future at the top level • Improving facilities to meet increased customer expectations and deliver a quality experience • Boosting capacity and bringing poor quality courts back into use – such as those in parks and local authority sites
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usually the better and more sustain- able ones. They understand the need for quality, prepare well in order to spend money and the evidence is that the capital investment in turn increases their membership base.”
Know what you want However, as we can see, the cost of improving tennis facilities does not come cheap so it’s important to know what you want, why you want it, as- sess its potential positive impact and make sure the specification and de- sign meets your requirements. While there is a competitive market out there and you should expect contrac- tors to sharpen pencils, it shouldn’t be at the expense of quality. The LTA anticipates that it will con-
tinue to invest considerable amounts of its funding into facilities within its ‘Places to Play’ strategy that seeks to create an additional one million hours of extra playing and coaching time. What is required is a long-term strategy with suitable continuing in- vestment from the governing body to use facility enhancements to uplift the quality of the facility across the board and to modernise and improve the ‘tennis experience’ in order to increase and sustain its popularity. Further detailed information on tennis facilities can be obtained from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)
www.lta.org.uk and from the Sport and Play Construction Association (SAPCA)
www.sapca.org.uk ●
Phil Sandilands is a director of TrioPlus Tennis. For more information, email
psandilands@trioplusonline.co.uk or visit
www.trioplusonline.co.uk
Issue 4 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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