Dublin gold medallist at visually impaired tennis in Heaton

To raise awareness of visually impaired (VI) tennis, the club invited Jim Currie, gold medallist (B2) at the 2018 International Blind Tennis Tournament in Dublin, to play an exhibition match against Guy Keating, Heaton’s very own VI tennis specialist.

With ambitions to become a paralympic sport in the future, the visually impaired version of tennis is adapted from the full court version to a slightly smaller court, with a lower net.

It also uses an audible ball so players can hear it bounce and being hit, and, depending on an individual’s sight level, they can also be allowed up to three bounces before they must return it back to their opponent.

Players are categorized on a scale from B1 (no sight) through to B5 (partial sight) and must shout “ready” and then “play” before serving.

The event began with a brief introduction to the rules of VI Tennis for spectators, and play commenced.

Currie beat local hero Keating 4-1 in a short set but the match was very entertaining and informative, judging from the involvement and feedback from the spectators that came to watch.

Jim Currie looks to make a return.

Following the match, Currie was happy to get involved with club members and Julie Crow (deputy manager) and Lesley Wright were recruited from the crowd to play a mixed doubles match which also included Arif Malik, Heaton’s VI coach.

The match was a great watch and things were brought to a close with honours even.

Edward Beaton, HT&SC general manager, said: “This was a great event for all concerned.

“The club has Community Amateur Sport Club (CASC) status and positively promotes various kinds of mixed ability activities.

“VI tennis is a fantastic way of engaging with disadvantaged members of the local community.”

Anyone wanting to join the HT&SC VI tennis team, male or female, would be most welcome, so just call in at HT&SC or ring on 01274 541508.