Club profile: Dunfermline Tennis and Bridge Club
• 3 MINUTE READ
Location: Dunfermline Tennis and Bridge Club, Dunfermline, Fife
Established: 1879
Membership: 350
Background
Founded in 1879, Dunfermline Tennis and Bridge Club has now officially welcomed back members and visitors to their newly refurbished clubhouse.
Situated in the centre of Dunfermline, the club claims to be the oldest tennis club still in existence on the original site, which started in 1879 when two grass tennis courts were laid in the grounds of Bothwell Linen Mills. In 1924, three red blaes courts were added.
The tennis membership at the club is around 350 including 160 juniors this year. Everyone is welcome to play at the club. Many local people attend coaching sessions and tennis activities as visitors.
There is a large coaching programme, run by Graeme Clarkson, which provides activities for members and the local community from aged three to over 80. The club has links with local primary schools and runs Mini Wimbledon events each year, which will hopefully resume next summer.
Newly-refurbished clubhouse and official opening
The Tennis Club and the Dunfermline Bridge Club agreed to come together to create a mutually beneficial partnership to help finance the upkeep of the new clubhouse built in 1978. Since then, apart from some minor alterations in 1990, there have been no major improvements to the clubhouse until now.
The renovation work cost a grand total of £150k and consisted of re-modelling the downstairs area, making use of the space taken up by large changing rooms to make a lower clubroom for members and providing new changing areas and accessible facilities. Upstairs, the former bar area was altered, and the large hall was spruced up with a viewing balcony formed above the brand-new equipment store.
The official opening of the renovated clubhouse took place on Saturday 30 October 2021 with over 75 members in attendance to celebrate the grand opening. In attendance was JJ Chalmers, TV presenter, public speaker and Invictus Games medallist from Scotland. Other guests included representatives from funding bodies and bridge and tennis members with their families and friends.
The newly refurbished clubhouse includes two fantastic social spaces, changing rooms and two fully kitted kitchens, and provides free Wi-Fi. The club has five Tiger Turf Advantage Pro tennis courts with LED floodlights and the two-storey clubhouse has recently been modernised, ensuring it is accessible to all. In addition to this, there is a Kids’ Zone with two mini tennis courts and a practice wall, catering for all age ranges.
The clubhouse is now open for members and visitors, under COVID-19 restraints for now, to play bridge and for tennis players to socialise around playing. The building will also be used for holding social events, fundraising events and will be available for local community groups to use and provide facilities for training courses.
Achievements
Over the years, the club has maintained an extremely impressive list of achievements that are ever-growing, which include:
- The Ladies Team hold a magnificent record in winning the Scottish Cup 18 times between 1986 and 2009. Judy Murray was a member of Dunfermline during most of the 1990s and played in six of the Scottish Cup winning teams. Jamie and Andy were often with her and jumped on any available court to play tennis.
- For over 40 years, the Dunfermline Junior Open Tournament has been an outstanding success and won SLTA Tournament of the Year award in 1996.
- The Club itself was awarded Tennis Scotland Club of the Year in 2006 after laying the first artificial clay courts in Scotland.
Club Coach Alan Russell was Tennis Scotland Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2018. - Two Dunfermline members have held the office of President of SLTA/Tennis Scotland – Dr G M Elliot in 1933 and Pat Reid in 2003/4.
- Pat Reid, Honorary Secretary of the club, was awarded the MBE in 2018 for services to tennis and lacrosse in Scotland.
.
Get in touch
For more information, take a look at the club’s website and social media platforms:
