“We have plans to hold open days and offer subsidised coaching for juniors and adults. The coaching and club membership will be open to anyone, not just people linked to the civil service.”

Those are the words of Joe Chadwick in September last year. He was speaking to The Local Answer just a couple of months after being appointed as professional at Cheltenham Civil Service Tennis Club.

And Chadwick is being true to his word because the club are holding their “first open day in a long time” at the end of next month.

It will take place on Saturday 28th September from 2pm-6pm and Chadwick added that the aim was to get “more people to use the facilities at the club”.

Those facilities just off Tewkesbury Road include four hardcourts – two of which are floodlit - and Chadwick continued: “They will be free to play for everyone on the day.

“There will be coaching, members to hit with, refreshments, music; hopefully the weather stays fine.”

The club currently have some 70 members and the aim is to get that number upwards of 100.

“We’ve got a ton of teams who compete in the men’s and ladies’ county competitions in both the summer and the winter,” said Chadwick.

“The teams are really important to the club. We’ve got a lot of social play for members too but we want to promote the club further.

“We want more people to be aware of us because I think a lot of people are unaware that we are actually here. The facilities are a bit underused.”

The club have use of the impressive clubhouse at the Cheltenham Civil Service sports ground but also have their own small clubhouse that they are upgrading.

“The tennis club have got big potential and the idea behind expanding our clubhouse is to make us more personal,” said Chadwick, who runs  successful junior tennis and multi sport holiday camps and has taken tennis into local schools in Cheltenham. “We’ll have a kitchenette where we can make our own food and drink.”

As with all grassroots clubs, a healthy junior section helps considerably and that is one of Chadwick’s main targets.

The club didn’t have any junior members when he joined just over 12 months ago and while growing that section has been tough, Chadwick is hopeful that the open day will help move the numbers in the right direction.

“Families are a big focus, we’d love more juniors,” he said. “But we’re open to anyone - families, adults, individuals, juniors.

“There will be 20 per cent membership discounts on the day and also discount offers on coaching.”

Anyone who wants more information about the open day or about the club itself should email Chadwick at joechadwicktennis@gmail.com or call him on 07872 645230.

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