Borders hard hitters rally support for indoor facility

Tennis Borders are getting set to serve up a proposal for bringing a much desired, and needed, indoor facility to the region.

The organisation, which represents 15 local clubs, has set up a working group to look at the possibility of bringing an indoor tennis centre to the area.

Steering the group is Borders District development officer Alastair McCulloch who has pushed relentlessly to have this type of facility installed in the Borders over the last decade.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The group is only in its infancy but it shows our desire to demonstrated that living in a rural area should not hamper you chance of becoming a World Champion,” he said.

“The goal is to come up with a plan that allows us to deliver a justifiable application for an indoor facility in the Borders.

“We aim to cover questions such as various options on location, size, build type and how it would function and be managed.

“Its too early to give precise details but we expect all Governing Bodies to be involved as well as SBC and BSLT to some extent.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Following Team GB’s historic Davis Cup victory in Belgium last month British No 1 Andy Murray highlighted the lack of opportunities for youngsters in the sport and McCulloch believes that the plight in the Borders is further worsened by the lack of indoor courts.

“There is a vibrant tennis community here who would greatly benefit from all year round tennis,” he added.

Performance is a fundamental part of our development plan and we need an all year round program simply to stay in touch with other districts. All we are asking for is parity with the rest of the UK.”

To date none of the big funding bodies have confirmed such a fund is open for applications but the group are hopeful that one will be established in the not to distant future.

“It’s not rocket science but we need the powers that be to create funds and look upon our application favourably,” concluded McCulloch.

Related topics: