Sport North East ISSUE 01 | Page 23

Boldon Lawn tennis club “My first involvement with Boldon Lawn Tennis Club began when I took my son down to play as a junior 22 years ago. I then watched him play and thought I would join in in some of the beginner classes they have down at the club and joined as a member and have been there for 15-20 years now. I used to play team tennis but mainly just play at a more relaxed form with some of the younger players at the club. The coach at the club, Steven Gilbert, is doing a fantastic job there especially with the juniors at the club, which was one of the reasons why I got involved in sponsoring them. I feel the club has such a great community and family spirit and the committee members do such a fantastic job running things. Ian Williamson especially puts a lot of time and effort in to running five teams, organising junior coaching and frankly I don’t quite know how he has time to do everything! The sponsorship with the club is really because I wanted to give back to the Boldon Lawn Tennis Club for such a great atmosphere we have here. I also sponsor the golf club and just the Boldon community in general. I currently have the advanced IFA banners around the club. I would just like to say thank you to the club for all their help and they are running such a great set up with the juniors and I look forward to seeing the club grow and long may it continue.” Dave Newham, Advanced IFA • PENSIONS • SAVINGS & INVESTMENTS • MORTGAGES The great joy of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about life’s uncertainties, and our aim is to pave the way for a more secure financial future for you, your family and for businesses of all sizes. You are the focus of our business: You, your life, your family, your future. Our understanding of your current financial situation is the keystone to the formulation of a financial plan which will meet your future needs. Many people have goals and dreams, but a goal without a plan is just a wish... an achievable goal is a dream with a deadline. T: 0191 5483333 W: www.advancedifa.co.uk E: [email protected] 63/65 Sea Road, Fulwell, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, SR6 9BW We invite our young players to play in our annual tournaments, partnered with an experienced senior player to nurture and support them. They are also invited to senior match practice sessions and play in competitive senior teams, again with an experienced player.” Community “We are absolutely a community club; it’s at the very heart of what we do here at Boldon. Many of our members live in Boldon, our extensive schools programme radiates across the community. We’re involved in community activities to promote tennis at local park events several times a year and we’re supported by local business in the community. We’re also members of several social media groups which allows us to share our activities and success with the local community.” Challenges/Ambitions “It’s always difficult for an outdoor club like ours to compete against some of the bigger tennis centres that are close to us. But we strive to be the best we can be by ensuring our facilities are modern and maintained to a high standard, offering a varied tennis programme for everyone and working closely with our coaching team to grow the game of tennis. Our ambition is to be recognised as a performance club as well as a club for social and community play. Some of our juniors are now playing at County Level. We want to continue to grow our membership and continue to compete with all the clubs in the league. Last year we fielded 24 adult teams and 7 junior teams in 2 regional leagues. Our ladies first team has remained in the top division for 36 years.” www.sportip.biz 23