Tennis in Surrey Magazine 2016

cover story
Amy Love
the 1970’s. Milton’s tireless efforts
to provide tennis in Southwark
paid off in 2004 when the Lottery
and local authority put up the
funds for a new facility and
Southwark City Tennis Club, based
in Burgess Park, was born and
subsequently became one of the
largest community clubs in the
country.
Milton says “The area we live
in is a troubled area – lots of
problems. It’s not a tennis-oriented
background. Tennis is not a sport
that is easily accessible to these
kids, but we’ve got nearly 500 kids
on our membership now.”
Disability Programme Award
(County) – Surbiton Racquet &
Fitness Club
The disability tennis programme
at Surbiton is headed by Chris
Starrett. Chris’s passion for
disability tennis is endless and he
continues to work with as many
individuals as possible. He pushes
the boundaries and has achieved
great success in championing the
sport to all.
Community Venue Award
(County) – Churchfields
Recreation Ground
Rashid Ahmad has developed the
sport of TouchTennis from scratch,
Chris Starrett
growing from a handful of players
to over 10,000 players worldwide,
as a volunteer. Following a
Surrey-funded pilot in 2013,
with funding from Elmbridge
Borough Council, eight permanent
TouchTennis courts were opened at
Churchfields Recreation Ground in
Weybridge.
These courts are open to use by
anyone and can often be seen full
with parents playing TouchTennis
with their young children. Free
sessions are run each week, with
equipment and guidance provided
for free. Rashid has put a huge
amount of effort into making this
venue inclusive, accessible and a
focal point of the community.
Club Award (County) –
Pensford Tennis Club
Pensford TC celebrated its 25th
Rashid Ahmad
anniversary in October 2015. It
was founded on a disused school
playing field with help from an
LTA grant and its six courts now
provide a centre for tennis in the
local community. The Club has
links with local primary schools
and runs a comprehensive junior
programme and competitive
opportunities supported by a
strong management committee
which has recently overseen the
refurbishment of the changing
rooms, kitchen and clubhouse,
resurfacing of three courts and the
installation of floodlighting for
all six courts to increase playing
capacity. The Award was presented
to the Club Chairman, Mark Evans.
The following three winners
Denis Kudla
were also selected by a Regional
Panel to be considered for a
National Award.
Coach Award (County and
Regional) – Mark Love of MDL
Coaching
Mark runs MDL Coaching which
is linked to seven venues in the
Croydon/Sutton area where he
is on the Committee of each
club as well as being part of the
Sutton Clubs Forum. He also
tirelessly promotes tennis outside
these clubs frequently running
assemblies at local schools, as
well as running free workshops in
curricular time and taking part
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