The LTA Open Court Programme is a national programme funded by Sport England and the LTA, which is delivered at a local level made up of a collaboration of key partners actively promoting and delivering opportunities for disabled people to get involved in tennis. The programme provides disability specific sessions such as; learning disability tennis, wheelchair tennis, visually impaired tennis and deaf tennis. However, the LTA are also expanding the offer into other long term health conditions such as Mental Health and Dementia. More details of the LTA Open Court programme can be found on the LTA Open Court Webpage
Various venues around Wiltshire host inclusive tennis sessions and we are keen for more venues to engage with their local groups. This could be via sessions at your club or at the groups own premises or with a local SEN School or Daycare centre.
Kath Brooks (Wiltshire County Administrator) is the Open Court lead in Wiltshire and if you are interested in developing your inclusive offer and/or want to start up a disability specific session please [email protected]
Below is a fantastic example of a great partnership we have in Wiltshire between Marshfield Tennis Club and Calder House School:
Marshfield Tennis Club and Calder House School
Marshfield Tennis Club has been working with Calder House School for over 5 years, supporting their PE provision by delivering weekly tennis sessions.
Calder House is a small school of just under 50 children with dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia and language difficulties set in a rural area of North Wiltshire. Coach Dan Tonkin delivers tennis lessons to all the students throughout the year in small groups, enabling them to learn new physical skills, gain confidence in using their bodies and have fun playing tennis. There is a wide range of sporting abilities throughout the school but by using modified equipment suitable for each child’s stage of development great results can be seen in improved confidence and competence.
After receiving a funding grant from Wiltshire Tennis, Head Coach Sam Hull and Dan were able to invite the whole school to Marshfield Tennis Club for a tennis festival. This gave every child the opportunity to play on the courts, participating in some fun activities and games as well as the chance to play some friendly matches.
Bursar, Registrar and Managing Director Jason Page commented after the festival “Our kids had a fantastic time last week at Marshfield. Thank you for inviting us to this. Everyone got a great deal out of it. And thank you for your longstanding commitment and support for the children at Calder House. Dan makes a significant contribution to our delivery of P.E., V.M.I. and motor skills and has become an important part of our Tuesday team.”
Mrs Delahay, Head of School, also added “I would like to say an ENORMOUS thank you! For all you do to ensure that our children continue to benefit from external tennis coaching. I am grateful for the endeavours made to actively seek out funding”.
Sam Hull (Head Coach at Marshfield TC)
