To support the growth of local tennis, Dorset Tennis has allocated funding to provide grants to registered venues, coaches and schools to assist with projects which require additional financial support to enhance their initiative or coaching career.
The grants aim to promote tennis as a relevant, accessible, welcoming and enjoyable sport.
Grants are available for the following broad categories:
- Open Tennis: To promote tennis as an open sport accessible to everyone: for example to provide training for volunteers at LTA registered clubs or LTA accredited coaches to hold sessions for disabled players and those with long term medical conditions, or to put on ‘walking tennis’; to provide funds for special equipment required to promote accessibility, to provide start-up funds to assist with new activities designed to open up tennis. Disability can include persons with general health and mental health issues and clubs may consider contacting local charitable organisations. Advice on Open Tennis can be obtained from Dave Sanger (Dorset Open Tennis Lead) on davesanger@gmail.com
- Investment in gate access systems for “pay and play’ at clubs: Grants to help clubs to install digital booking (via Clubspark) with linked gate access technology, to enable them to ‘open up’ their courts to the local community on a play and play basis. This is particularly important in areas of the county where there isn’t a local and easily accessible park site or community facility.
- Grants to assist with the cost of LTA coaching qualifications: Dorset Tennis is particularly keen to encourage applications from people in under-represented backgrounds.
- Grants to help with the cost of officiating qualifications: Grants to assist with the cost of gaining or maintaining LTA officiating qualifications. Dorset Tennis is particularly keen to encourage applications from people in under-represented backgrounds.
- Tennis for free: Grants to help with the cost of providing tennis sessions that are free for players. The aim is to encourage players who might otherwise not try tennis, and also to keep new players at clubs with a short course of lessons so that they are encouraged to stay. These sessions can be offered at open days where support for the cost of events can also be provided.
- Club Competitions and match-play to help with the cost of putting on new club competitions (whether open to non-members or not) especially for juniors, to increase the number of young players who are regularly competing.
- New Young players: Grants to help subsidise start up sessions at Clubs for young players new to the game.
- High-level Performance players: Discretionary grants to help with the cost of competing for younger performance players.
Application forms can be found on the Grant Funding page or drop us an e-mail outlining your project – info@dorsetlta.co.uk.
