DROITWICH’S Lido Park Tennis scheme is in the running to be crowned the best in the country.
The project, which started when the courts opened in 2018 after tenacious and tireless crowdfunding campaign, won the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) Communities and Parks Award for Herefordshire and Worcestershire and then the regional award, making it the best in the Midlands.
Then Neil Bates from Droitwich Lido Park Tennis received a call from the LTA to say the scheme had been shortlisted for the national title – putting it in the top three in the country.
Representatives will be heading to Wimbledon for the awards ceremony in July where they will find out if they have won the overall title.
Neil said: “The basis of the award is all of the work we do with the local community.
“Our youngest player is three, our oldest 86 and last year we had more than 200 participants take part regularly.”
The club’s walking tennis group is one of the largest in the region and there are specific groups, for example one catering for children with autism, those educated at home and others.
The club has worked with local voluntary groups to organise sessions for Ukrainian refugees who have moved to the area.
The outreach programme works supporting local schools, Parkinson’s groups, visually impaired people and others who have their own personal challenges such as acquired brain injuries.
Neil said: “We also have a number of young teenage volunteers who help us with the sessions and who we have helped develop over time.”
He thanked Wychavon District Council which had supported the scheme all the way, keeping the courts in fabulous condition.
He added: “We wouldn’t be where we are without them.”
