Budding tennis players flock to Salts

8:38am Tuesday 21st August 2007

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If it's rapid growth that you want, then look no further than Salts Tennis Club.

Just five months ago the club had no-one registered on their junior coaching list - but now they have more than 130!

And six-year-old Lucy Preston from Thackley was lucky 100 on the register, receiving a free tennis racquet as a reward. It was presented by Laura Gibson, the Yorkshire Lawn Tennis Associa-tion's County Development Officer.

Salts Tennis Club secretary John Bretherick said: "We have had 75 children taking part in our summer tennis camps in the first two weeks in August.

"They range in age from six to 15 and come from Saltaire, Shipley, Baildon, Thackley, Clayton, Bing-ley, Cottingley, Wrose, Eldwick and East Morton.

"The coaching is a joint partnership between the club and Advanced Tennis, who our head coach Gul Rashid belongs to.

"And we also plan to start a winter tennis programme on Septem-ber 5, with coaching every Wednesday and Friday afternoon.

"As part of the tennis development programme we have sponsored 19 juniors aged between 14 and 16 to obtain the Tennis Leaders' Award - their first tennis coaching certification.

"They have been helping out at the summer camps and will be awarded their certificates next month."

However, all these camps cost money, and Salts are indebted to the sponsorship of the Yorkshire Lawn Tennis Association (including Bradford & Bingley plc), who have contributed £1,350 for coaching equipment, as well as organising coaching courses for tennis leaders and primary school teachers.

Bradford Vision (£4,300) and BT (£375) have also backed the club to help it run affordable tennis coaching throughout the summer'.

Support has also come from Dave Hors-man, Bradford Council's Neighbourhood Support Officer, who has given the club a Bradford Vision Neighbourhood Renewal grant.