Wellington Tennis Club is now a three court club. Former Wellington Mayor and Town Councillor Janet Reed, a long-standing supporter of plans to build the third court, cut the Wimbledon-themed green and purple ribbon across the gate of the new court on Monday 20 July after current and past members and friends had toasted the new installation with champagne.
The club’s Chair, Sue Rackley, acknowledged the contribution of Wellington Town Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council, Persimmon Homes, Sport England and Cleverly Everly amongst others who have given financial backing to the project. Club Trustee and Vice Chair Simon Cross then made a presentation to Sue and paid tribute to her drive and determination that has carried the project through to its conclusion. Floodlights are to be installed on Wednesday 22 July.
Appropriately, Sue was the first player to step onto the new court accompanied by Simon Cross and fellow Trustee Janet Dobson. Charles St George completed the first foursome in acknowledgement of his contribution to the court building.
Despite restrictions on playing as a result of the coronavirus crisis, Sue reports that the club has been exceptionally busy recently. She said, “We’ve had an amazingly busy time since reopening and with a new online booking system I can see exactly how well used the courts have been. Some days 18 hours have been booked out! Lots of new members have joined, including 16 parent and child memberships which was a huge leap for us. We have had over 70 public bookings as well so this will help us both financially and in identifying potential new members.”
Monday and Thursday evenings for club members now provide greater playing opportunities and the third court offers wheelchair access and potential for tournaments.
Anyone interested in joining the club should contact wellingtontennisclub25@gmail.com.