Increasing participation in tennis for the visually impaired
The Pitch
Problem statement
A visually impaired tennis club, known as South Yorkshire Visually Impaired Tennis Club (SYVITC), was set up with the simple aim to increase opportunities for blind and partially sighted people to participate in physical activity, plus to grow a social network, reducing the risk of social isolation. We want to continue to engage with all the community, including educational groups linked to younger people enabling our VI tennis club to grow and be sustainable. We have identified two new partners to engage with, Tapton School and Sheffield Hallam University, with a potential reach of over 100 families with people with sight loss.
Solution
Funding will allow us to strengthen our opportunities for this engagement, by upskilling new coaches, increasing our court time and support the procurement of equipment. Our sustainability plan also includes for players to have access to regional and national VI tennis tournaments and funding, in some part, will help with achieving this.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
SYVITC was initially set up by disability tennis coach, Ben Howarth, and his first VI tennis player, Janiece Wallace. Ben Howarth is an award-winning Community, Disability and Inclusive Tennis coach. Janiece Wallace, who is visually impaired, is a volunteer campaign coordinator for the RNIB. The tennis club is now a member's club and supports 20 Visually Impaired players, has 1 sighted coach, 3 sighted Academy coaches and up to 20 sighted volunteers
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| Indoor court hire £15/ hour. 2 courts, 2 hours, 12 weekly sessions | £720 |
| Coach, 1 hour, 12 weekly sessions at £30/hour | £360 |
Beneficiaries
20 people
Expected impact
One of the primary outcomes of funding will allow the Club to increase court time and therefore help in the retention of players, improve the offering to new players and allow skill development and tournament attendance. One aim for our sustainability is to create strong partnerships with targeted organisations. These organisations will help us engage and connect with the South Yorkshire visually impaired community, provide facilities to play tennis and help identify and secure future funding support, when required.
Track record
We have been supported and work with Dan Maskell Tennis Trust, British Blind Sports, The Lawn Tennis Association, Nuffield Health, Yorkshire Sporting foundation, Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind and most recently, Coop Community Fund.