Upgrades at two Bellarine tennis clubs are proving a smash hit following their official unveiling last month.
And the timing couldn’t be better with the Australian Open beginning this weekend.
These new facilities provide the perfect playing environment for local tennis players – from juniors striving to emulate their heroes at Rod Laver Arena, to those having a casual hit with friends.
On Saturday, 14 December, my colleague and Connewarre ward councillor Elise Wilkinson attended the opening of two new synthetic grass courts at Barwon Heads Tennis Club.
The project, funded by the Victorian government via a $275,000 contribution from its Strategic Projects initiative, also included new competition sports lights at the courts.
This means the club’s 160-plus members and visitors will be able to hone their serves, volleys, drop shots and baseline game during evening training sessions and competitions.
That same morning, I attended the opening of a new pavilion at Leopold Tennis Club – jointly funded with $1 million from the Victorian Government and $720,000 from council.
The pavilion features a social space and a kiosk with a kitchen, along with internal and external storage and female-friendly club amenities including showers, toilets and an accessible public toilet.
The project also included the construction of a new playground at the southern end of Leopold Memorial Reserve, as the former playground was demolished to make space for the pavilion.
Tennis is thriving in Leopold, Barwon Heads and across the Bellarine Peninsula, and upgrades like these are vital for supporting the sport’s growth.
Tennis has a variety of health benefits from increasing aerobic fitness and improving muscle tone, strength and flexibility to lowering blood pressure.
As a non-impact sport with wheelchair variants, tennis is suitable for people of all ages and abilities.
Tennis is also a fantastic social sport, and thousands of lifelong friendships have formed on courts across Greater Geelong over the years.
The new pavilion at Leopold and new courts at Barwon Heads will help meet the needs of local tennis players and the broader community for many years to come.
As a council, the health and wellbeing of our community is central to everything we do.
Which is why we need to continue to invest in and deliver projects that encourage more people to get fit, active and involved in local sport.
I look forward to the privilege of opening plenty of new facilities and upgrades like these during my term as a councillor.
And, who knows, perhaps we’ll hear about the next young tennis ace from Barwon Heads or Leopold serving it up to the world’s best at the Australian Open sometime soon.
