Lalor West Tennis Club named Most Outstanding Club by Tennis Victoria
A LALOR tennis club whose membership has exploded from 100 to 600 in just three years, has smashed it at Tennis Victoria’s state awards.
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A LALOR tennis club with programs for Muslim women and for children with autism, has been named the state’s best.
Lalor West Tennis Club was named the 2018 Most Outstanding Club at the recent Tennis Victoria Champions Dinner for its emphasis on inclusion and belonging.
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Club president Andrew MacNeill said claiming the highest honour at the awards was a humbling recognition for the club, which had gone from just 100 members in 2015 to 600 today.
Mr MacNeill also scooped the volunteer achievement award.
Head Coach Yvonne Fantin, who was a finalist in the coaching excellence award, said the success of the club lay in the shared aim of democratising what was a traditionally elite sport.
“I feel like the programs that we run, that’s what brings people to the club,” she said.
“The environment makes people stay.”
Programs include a Muslim women in tennis class and lessons for children with autism, Ms Fantin said.
The club, at Huskisson Reserve, was also one of the first in the state to trial an automated book a court system, which enabled people to pay a $20 annual membership and have access to courts 24 hours a day.
Club member Rodney Cornwall said the club’s emphasis on inclusion had “melted” his heart.
“My son has cerebral palsy and is restricted in his movement, but they’ve actually got him out on the court hitting balls,” he said.
“That sort of inclusion melts your heart, it absolutely melts your heart.”
Frank Devlin, who has been a member of the club for 44 years said the recent success of the club had exceeded “all expectations”.
The club hoped to upgrade the courts in the wake of a membership surge, but Mr MacNeill said there were no plans to make it more exclusive.
“Tennis is a game anyone from five to 80-years-old can play,” he said.
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