Left to right at Windsor Penarth LTC – Liz James (ladies captain), Michael Downey (LTA), Tim Hartland (club chairman), Simon Clarke and Peter Drew (Tennis Wales)
The new head of British tennis has been shown some of the sport’s success stories in South Wales.
Newly-appointed LTA Chief Executive Michael Downey visited Cardiff LTC, Windsor Penarth LTC, Penarth LTC and Mackintosh Sports Club in Cardiff, accompanied by Tennis Wales chief executive Peter Drew, and tennis development managers Pam Griffiths and Simon Clarke.
Youngsters at Windsor Penarth demonstrated their Mini Tennis skills, and Tennis Wales club of the year Penarth LTC showed the improvements the club has made to its facilities, leading to a huge increase in membership.
In Cardiff, he visited Mackintosh Sports Club in Roath, seeing the new building with indoor bowls rink and gym area as well as the original historic listed building. He presented the certificates and prizes to the winners of the day’s competitions, which included players of all ages.
Speaking at the Mackintosh Club, he said: ‘’It’s fantastic to see such a big turn-out on a very wet day. The atmosphere was incredible and I feel very encouraged, based on what I’ve seen today, that this great community club will continue to grow and grow for years to come.’’
Tennis Wales chief executive Peter Drew commented: “This was a rare opportunity to give Michael a flavour of what we are achieving in Wales. With participation growing, and new accessible ways to play tennis at a whole range of venues, other parts of Britain can learn from our success.”
Information on all aspects of tennis in Wales is available from Tennis Wales at 029 20 463335 or www.lta.org.uk/in-your-area/Wales/ and for regular updates follow Tennis Wales on Twitter @tenniswales
