6 minute read
ANYONE FOR TENNIS?
Kate was knocked out by the friendly atmosphere at the ‘tennis’ clubs in our area
IKNOW IT’S a cliché but inspired by watching Wimbledon I decided to dig out my tennis racket, which hasn’t seen the light of day for years, and fi nd out what’s going on in the club scene in our area. Tennis and golf were the fi rst sports to resume play when restrictions lifted as they are naturally socially distanced and played in the fresh air. And the overwhelming impression got at each club visited was how pleased the members are at being able to meet other players again. discovered that not only is regular tennis thriving, but that table tennis is popular in village halls up and down the valley and, even more exciting, Market Harborough Squash Club is the fi rst venue in the East Midlands to boast padel courts, having raised 1 0,000 to build two of them.
Padel tennis is the second most popular sport in Spain, after football – but perhaps we shouldn’t mention that right now And with about 0 clubs in the U it’s slowly growing in popularity here too. Steve and Alison Avil, chairman and secretary at Market Harborough Squash Club discovered the sport on a Spanish holiday and could see the attraction immediately. The courts are two-thirds the si e of a regular tennis court with enclosed sides like in squash, and you use the walls to continue play. The most appealing benefi t according to Steve is, you can get a rally going right from the fi rst or second attempt, not like in tennis.’ The racket is solid which is much easier for making contact with the ball and there’s no overarm movements so it’s brilliant for anyone with shoulder problems.
I went along to one of the Pay and Play mornings which they hold monthly. There was a mixture of families, couples, individuals and groups of friends. Some were already either squash, tennis or racketball players, but many were either complete beginners or had given up the sports years ago. One woman explained that she’d never got on with tennis, but found padel much more accessible right from the start. t’s much easier to hit the ball, so you immediately have fun.’ You always play doubles and it works well even with mixed abilities. e have many parents and children playing together,’ says Alison, and on the open mornings we all swap with everyone else.’ The morning was there a Spaniard from Derby came along, so excited to fi nd a padel court local’ to him. There are plenty of coaches available on those mornings too. Once you’re hooked, you become a member of the squash club and then you can book your slots online to play. On Saturday mornings the juniors aged from three upwards rotate around squash, racketball and padel. The fi rst unior and adult padel competition has now been played and a padel ladder is being organised so players can challenge other members.
www.harboroughcsc.co.uk
I left the squash club with a huge grin on my face buoyed up by an addictive game and a wonderful community atmosphere. Next on my list was table tennis. I roped in my friend Susanna as I knew she’d played as a youngster and thought she might like to have another go. We joined the Harringworth Table Tennis club in the village hall. With funding from Table Tennis England they purchased two tables in 2016 and now run sessions on Tuesday afternoons from 2. 0- . 0pm and again on Thursdays from 5- pm. t’s mainly retirees on a Tuesday boasting at least one hip replacement and some new knees but they off er a very energetic, highly competitive standard. On Thursdays there’s a broader spread of ages, both men and women.
The club plays in the Stamford & Rutland table tennis league with a game per week, mainly against teams from other villages and one from Stamford School. Some team members abscond to join neighbouring teams from time to time, but the rivalry is friendly, and even though the atmosphere can get tense during a tight game, it’s always very good natured.
Susanna stepped straight back in to the game with her backhand a particular strong point, despite struggling initially as the rules have changed since she last played. You no longer play up to 21 points, a game now fi nishes at 11, and you swap after two serves now not fi ve, to have more crucial match points. We had plenty of those in both our doubles and singles games, which made for a highly charged atmosphere and some nail biting moments. If you want great camaraderie while getting the heart rate up, this is the game for you. And it’s a very low cost sport at £2.50 per session with no kit required. I think we’ll be going again.
For details phone Helmut Salander on 01572 747633 or just turn up at Harringworth village hall.
Finally, and with some trepidation, I went along to Great Bowden Lawn Tennis Club near Market Harborough. At the end of June they opened their brand new 00,000 club house, and a fi ne building it is too. In fact, the whole venue is beautiful with towering horse chestnut trees lining the four courts. There are defi nitely worse places to spend a summer’s evening. Carol Krone, a committee member who organises the club nights, explained that Tuesday evenings normally involve a mix of players who may have just come through the beginners’ coaching programme or have returned to the game after time away, and want a gentler session. Thursdays are a bit more full blown with harder hitters.
You can go along to one of the club nights to see if it’s for you before committing to membership. But at £150 per year for the most expensive membership it equates to ust one cup of takeaway coff ee per week. That’s not a lot for full access to oodlit courts, tennis balls, coaching sessions and a load of players willing to join you for a game. For many members the social side of the club is the main draw, and I can certainly testify that they are a friendly bunch. You partner up for fi ve games then you move on to a diff erent grouping. This means you play with a variety of people at all diff erent levels. was rather nervous at fi rst - having never been a great player anyway - and the words extremely rusty’ kept bouncing around my head, particularly when I was pretty inept at the net, and let’s not mention my serves. But my fi rst partner ittorio soon put me at ease as he’d only recently started playing again after 30 years. hat took away most of all from my whi around the diff erent tennis clubs was, not only are the games great fun as well as being brilliant exercise, the clubs are sociable places. And it is so nice to be back mixing with other players.
