11 Projects Awarded Open Court Funding From Tennis Wales
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Eleven superb projects across Wales will receive a total £12,000 of grant funding as part of the Open Court tennis programme in 2021.
The Open Court programme is funding tennis activities such as learning disability tennis, wheelchair tennis, visually impaired tennis and deaf tennis, and will also seek to expand and offer funding towards other long term health conditions such as mental health and dementia.
Aiming to remove the barriers that many disabled people face to sports participation, Open Court funding grants are awarded to increase accessibility and support volunteer and coach training, purchase adapted tennis equipment and subsidises the cost of facility hire and tennis coaching.
The grants will help to make tennis accessible to more disabled people of all ages and abilities, right across the country from Ceredigion to Wrexham
Tennis coach Chris Hill, based in Powys, runs one of the Open Court tennis programmes in Wales. Chris is working alongside Shain Lewis, a Welsh tennis coach and Special Olympian to inspire players with autism and learning difficulties to give the sport a go in a supportive, accessible environment.
Unfortunately, opportunities for inclusion in main stream sports for children such as my son are very limited in this area. We are extremely grateful to Chris for providing such a fantastic session which is thoroughly enjoyed by all. The patience and encouragement shown by the coach’s displays such an understanding and the benefits are enjoyed all round. To see parents joining in and having as much fun as the children is a joy to watch. Thank you" - Peter, whose son attends the Open Court sessions.
The eleven projects to receive Open Court tennis funding in 2021 are;
- Cardiff Wheelchair Tennis Club
- Ceredigion Council
- Chris Hill Tennis, Powys
- Newport Live
- Swansea Tennis Centre
- Wrexham Tennis Centre
- Cardiff Stars
- Conwy Council
- Tennis Wales National Wheelchair Performance Programme
- Cardiff Met University
- Bridgend Local Authority
Due to COVID restrictions some projects may see a delay into their planned activities. Details on each programme will be published as soon as available.
If you’d like to find out more about the opportunities for disabled people to play tennis where you live then contact us at Tennis Wales. We’re always looking for new partner organisations, funding support, sponsors and tennis venues to join the Open Court programme and make tennis accessible right across Wales.
Open Court funding is provided by the LTA, the National Governing Body for tennis in Great Britain and invested by Tennis Wales into Welsh projects as part of our joint strategy to open tennis up with additional support from Sport Wales.
