Serving up Tennis in Greenwich

06 Dec Serving up Tennis in Greenwich

By Lyndall

TwistFizz Projects and Achievements in 2023

TwistFizz C.I.C. has had a successful year, offering weekly tennis in Greenwich, which included coaching for juniors of all skill levels, as well as hosting adult sessions and running a coaching program at two locations in Greenwich. In 2022 we established a Tennis Academy in partnership with Shooters Hill Sixth Form College for young learners, adding to our weekly delivery of tennis across Greenwich!

This year we were awarded Park Venue 2023 by Kent LTA for our commitment to growing tennis participation in a friendly and welcoming environment. We were chuffed to win and remain forever grateful to our team of dedicated volunteers, and coaches who provide massive support in encouraging more people in our community to learn and play.

As a social enterprise, we focus on providing accessible tennis opportunities for everyone. This included a free weekly (Sunday) family session at Eltham Park South which we ran throughout the summer. The family session proved popular with local families, with many kids picking up a racket for the first time, and many adults dusting off their tennis skills! Our delivery extended to Charlton Triangle, where we ran free sessions for young people during the summer, thanks to strong links with the Peabody Housing Association. It was rewarding to see so many young people aged 6 – 18 years enjoy rallying and competing.

By getting involved with the Greenwich School Sports Partnership (GSSP) we were able to run tennis festivals for SEND school children, and pupils not participating in regular PE. This coupled with our relationship with four local primary schools has meant more children accessing tennis during curriculum time and after school. There have been a few festival and community events we’ve been pleased to be involved with this year, and the team have enjoyed setting up mini courts on all sorts of surfaces, encouraging festival goers to give tennis a try.

We’ve been actively encouraging young people 11+ and more girls to play. Thanks to a grant from the People’s Postcode Lottery,  we were able to run free weekly tennis sessions for 12-18 year olds at the Cator Park MUGA. These free sessions gave young people the opportunity to learn, compete, or gain a tennis qualification.  The sessions were well attended with a number of young people keen to keep involved with the sport.  Valentina Iancu, our Head coach at Cator Park MUGA, did a fantastic job spearheading the LTA Youth Prime Video Girls which saw 42 girls benefiting from 6 weeks of tennis, a racket, and a t-shirt for just £35. Many of these girls continue to play and will probably do so throughout the winter.

It’s been brilliant being part of the LTA SERVES project where helping young people in underserved communities is what it is all about! As part of our commitment to the project, we were invited to take part in the Laver Cup Legacy Programme.  This included mentor support for our volunteer coaches, and some of our junior players taking a trip to Lee Valley to participate in a London-wide festival.

Proud to be awarded Park Venue of the Year 2023, we remain dedicated to maintaining public tennis facilities and ensuring that everyone in our community has the opportunity to enjoy what we believe is a fab, family-oriented sport. Our mission is to bring community tennis to life in Greenwich. We strive to fill the park courts, schools, and other community spaces with inspirational coaches and volunteers, fun and sociable activities, and good facilities that are accessible to everyone in our community.

Bring on 2024!