Tennis club nets amenity upgrade
REBUILDING the flood-ravaged Redlynch Valley Tennis Club has taken a big step forward with the opening of a new $178,000 amenities block, which includes five showers, five toilets and a parents’ room.
“Having quality change rooms is just as important as having tennis courts, especially when it comes to encouraging women and girls to take up tennis and to keep playing it,” said Minister for Sport Mick de Brenni.
“The club has more than 200 members and a growing number of juniors, mainly females, learning winning tennis skills from coach Ryan Coffey, so we want to give them every opportunity and encouragement to stick with the game and reach their full potential.
“The facilities are especially significant for the local community, because members of the Redlynch Equestrian Centre will also be able to use them for events on weekends.”
Redlynch Valley Tennis Club president Jason Christopher said the new change rooms would have an immediate impact.
Member for Barron River Craig Crawford said the government also announced $303,100 funding to complete the rebuild of the club’s four tennis courts.
“We will also replace the fencing and lighting, to ensure this facility provides everything that rising Far North tennis players need to reach their potential.
Mr Christopher said the area would be like a beehive.
“We already have a full program of equestrian and tennis events booked for this weekend,” he said.
“Most of those participants are girls, so having a safe place for them to change, shower and use the bathroom is very important. We also have the opportunity to hold more events and run junior development programs.”
Cairns building company Northern Innovations employed more than 35 local staff and contractors during the five-month construction phase of the amenities block, which head builder Ben Digweed said was the result of team work.
“Working in conjunction with the tennis club has been an amazing experience as they carried out the grant application and planning process before handing over to my team,” said Mr Digweed.
“We employed a range of local sub-contractors including plumbers, electricians, concreters, block-layers, renderers, carpenters and painters.
“The facilities they had were quite run down and past their use by date, so the new facilities are going to bring the standards back up, so they can be used for years to come.”