COME AND HAVE A BALL
Tennis club wants new members
One of the biggest myths that Hamilton Tennis Club is trying to overcome is the perception of it being a ‘summer sport’ when in fact you could join right now.
Another hurdle that head coach Ian Cannon is trying to get past is that it’s also a ‘private’ club, and you ‘need to know somebody’ to join.
Not so! You can literally walk in off the street.
All-weather surfaces mean that rain or other inclement weather isn’t an issue, and there is plenty of space for new members to join.
Ian said: “It is challenging; when the weather changes, as people aren’t so keen. People are shocked when I tell them that we continue with the coaching all year round. They think ‘how can you do that, it’s outdoors’, but the weather doesn’t play as big a role as you would think. That’s why we have the all-weather surface.
“Unless it’s absolutely torrential for an extended period of time you can go out and play on the courts, they’re fine.
“It’s changing that stigma that tennis is a ‘summer sport’, it’s trying to say to people that we have things on, and they can come to them.
“There will be a drop-off after those summer months, and people will maybe then come back the following summer, but for those who are enthusiastic, we will put things on.”
Ian added: “It’s very easy to join the club, and this is something that we’re always telling people, and it’s difficult, I guess, to get that out there.
“A lot of people come down and say they thought it was just a private club and you could only come in if you knew somebody – but anybody can walk in off the street, get a membership form and join the club.
“If you go on the website you can download a membership form, all the information on how you join is on there, and you can pay there and then, just to make it easier.
“It’s open to everyone, we want more members, we actively encourage it and want to see the club as busy as possible, and with as many people playing as possible.
“I would get them down, get them involved in some of the coaching we offer. If it’s an adult, we do coaching on Wednesdays. We also have Tennis Tuesdays, which is only for women, and everybody can come to coaching as a non-member as well. They don’t need to join first.
“That’s a good way to introduce people to the club, and then after that if they’ve been coming for a while, we would encourage them to try and join, and then get them involved in some of the things that we do.
“I don’t know the exact number of members but it’s in the region of 150 to 170. When I was a kid growing up, they did have as much as double that. The Lawn Tennis Association say that 75 members per court is what you’re aiming for, so we have plenty of room.
“A lot of those members won’t come down three times a week – you might not see them for months on end – and there are folk who are down all the time.
“There are plenty of times that I’m down there, either coaching or playing, and there are courts that are free, so there’s certainly capacity there to increase the membership.
“We want people on courts all the time. If we could get that, it would be a good thing. I work quite closely with the Active Schools network in South Lanarkshire. In the last number of years we’ve delivered a huge schools tennis festival down here for primary fours, getting kids and parents down, and we use that as an opportunity to promote the club and try to get everybody involved.”
Membership fees are £80 for under18s, £60 for under-13s and £45 for under-10. Membership forms can be obtained in the clubhouse or downloaded from hamitontennis.co.uk. Alternatively, contact Ian Cannon at info@ictennis.co.uk or 07759 941136 if you have any questions.