“The heart and soul of the tennis world, not to mention one of the oldest surviving courts, is located in London.”


the game. Up until that time it was a pretty lawless affair with no limit to the number of players on each side. Many of the most prominent public schools in England played a version of rugby and football and each had a different set of rules. It wasn’t until the late 1800s that the sport started being played by adults out- side of schools and a compromise on what was allowed in play was finally agreed. Te sport that didn’t allow any handling of the ball became Association Football (soccer) and the sport that did became Rugby Football (rugby.)


WANT TO PLAY?


You don’t have to look far to find a rugby club. Check out www.findrubgynow.com or www.rubgyclubs.info. For those with experience, Old


Emmanuel plays at Blagdons sports ground, New Malden, South London. Te club is open to children and adults. Anyone from age 5 and up can turn up, try out and train.


TENNIS RUGBY FACTS


Te home of English rugby is Twickenham.


Scotland’s home is Murrayfield.


Wales’ is the Principality stadium previ- ously known as the Millenium Stadium


Rugby union is played in more than 70 countries around the world.


Te same whistle is used to kick off the opening game of every Rugby World


Cup tournament. Te whistle is named after Gil Evans, the Welsh referee over- seeing a match between England and New Zealand in 1905.


London Irish, Welsh and Scottish


rugby clubs are all London teams made up originally of Scottish, Welsh and Irish men living in London.


Every year from 1872 there has been


an Oxford v Cambridge rugby match. Since 1921 it has been played at Twickenham.


www.focus-info.org


Some form of tennis seems to have been played for centuries, possibly even dating back to the Ancient Greeks and it may have been in France where the sport was refined. But the heart and soul of the ten- nis world, not to mention one of the oldest surviving courts, is located in south-west London. If you know only one thing about tennis it’s that Wimbledon is the pinnacle of tournaments. A day out at Wimbledon is a sporting and social necessity for any tennis fan. Last year, nearly a half million people attended Te Championship, as it’s officially known. Tennis is intrinsically linked to a British summer with its straw- berries and cream and jugs of Pimm’s. Royal patronage underlies Wimbledon’s standing as a major event; everyone from the Queen down in the Royal Family has paid a visit.


Want to play?


Outdoor tennis courts are available in nearly any park. Look them up on your local council park’s website or on the Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) website www.lta.org.uk under ‘Find a court’. For some popular park courts in central London try www.willtowin.co.uk and Battersea Park www.batterseapark.org/info/what-to- do/sports/tennis


Tere are a few indoor pay and play courts in London including:


Westway Sports & Fitness Centre www.everyoneactive.com/activity/tennis


Islington Tennis Centre www.better.org.uk/leisure/islingtontc


Dukes Meadows www.dukesmeadows.com/tennis


The Harbour Club is a private gym with indoor tennis courts www.harbourclub.com/racquets


Private tennis clubs in London require an annual fee and sometimes a joining fee or a debenture. Tey are high-end pricewise and range in waiting times. Tree popular tennis clubs in central London with indoor courts are:


Ealing Lawn Tennis Club www.ealingtennis.com


Campden Hill Lawn Tennis Club www.chltc.co.uk


Queen’s Club www.queensclub.co.uk


Most public tennis clubs offer group les- sons, with a combination of women’s only, men’s only, and mixed drills ses- sions at various levels. Cardio tennis with its fast-paced tennis drills and music is also a popular option


In the Play section on the LTA website www.lta.org.uk/play you can book into play in local tennis leagues, training ses- sions, and social Tuesdays with players of your standard


Local Tennis Leagues services provide op- portunities for groups. www.localtennisleagues.com. Tennis Jeanie www.tennisjeannie.com are two others


FOCUS The Magazine 5


Queen’s Club


Will to Win


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