The recent launch of the new public courts at Brodie Park in Paisley brought to my attention an alarming situation across Scotland.
I couldn’t quite believe it when someone told me that, until the new facility in Paisley was opened just over a fortnight ago, there were no courts to play on in Scotland’s second largest town with a population of around 74,000.
What was more staggering was what I discovered when researching the amount of public courts in some of Scotland’s other big towns. Some large towns did not have any courts. Some had very few. Others had courts lying in a state of disrepair.
All this at a time when we should be taking full advantage of the Andy Murray boom. We have such a great opportunity to grow the sport at this time, yet we do not have enough places to play in some of our biggest towns for those who want to give tennis a try.
The lack of indoor courts in Scotland also comes to the fore as we approach winter. The LTA and Tennis Scotland assure us they are working on resolving these issues. Let us hope so before it is too late.
If you want to read more on this, check out my piece in last week’s Herald which includes quotes from Judy Murray and David Marshall, Chief Executive of Tennis Scotland: http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/other-sports-news/scottish-tennis-is-court-short-1.1126061
You may have to register to see the full story, but it only takes a minute plus it’s free and worth it as the Herald covers tennis in-depth throughout the year.
On a similar theme, BBC Scotland’s David McDaid has also produced an excellent feature on participation and facilities in the country which is well worth a look: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/15157461.stm
No comments:
Post a Comment