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A court-sharing proposal between the Whangaparaoa Tennis Club and the Hibiscus Coast Netball Centre, both based at Edith Hopper Park, is still in limbo while club representatives digest a $25,000 feasibility study.
The report was released in April, but significant disruptions to this year’s sporting calendar, following the Covid lockdown, has pushed the 74-page report off the priority list.
The tennis club has been promoting the shared court idea for nearly a decade. It has just six courts to cater for 160 senior and 200 junior players, and ideally would like at least two more. Club president Alf Sayer says the pressure on the courts is from the junior section.
“The juniors are the future of the club so we need to be able to look after them,” Alf says. “Under the current arrangements, we have the expense of hiring courts at Whangaparaoa College for coaching.”
He says the tennis courts are utilised all week long for club play and general public use.
If the court-sharing arrangement does proceed, it would mean resurfacing the netball courts.
Alf feels a decision is still quite some way off.
“First we have to have a response from the netball, and they say we can expect that in September.
Then we have to identify all the implications, including the financial implications, and talk to our members and others about whether or not we really want to proceed.”
The Hibiscus Coast Netball Centre did not respond to requests for an interview.
Meanwhile, the summer tennis season will start with a recruitment weekend on October 10 and 11, part of the national Love Tennis initiative.
“It was very successful last year,” Alf says. “We had around 200 visitors. The weekend is a great opportunity for people, old and young, to come along and have a go”.
