Guiding Principles

Accessible Tennis CIC Company Number: 530601 is a Social enterprise founded in March 2016 developing new and innovative ways to get people more active.

It is founded on the following Guiding Principles.

• Improving and maintaining good mental health and wellbeing.
• Participation by service users in service delivery
• Involvement of Carers.

Aims or objectives

Provide tennis coaching for underrepresented groups in sport such as people with disabilities or health conditions, older people and women with the aim of improving the health, fitness and wellbeing of those individuals and the community as a whole as well as improving social inclusion.

Widening Access

“Widening access means understanding and addressing the needs of
people who share the protected characteristics as well as the
complexities associated with socio-economic disadvantage …..”
Sports Scotland Corporate Plan 2015-2019 Equality and Sports Research 2016.

Recent research recommended that Sports Bodies should be looking at new approaches and leading by example.

• Accessible Tennis is a new innovative Social Enterprise model set up as a nomadic club to provide flexibility.
• The service is aimed at people living with disability or health conditions.
• The service will aim to provide part time work for female coaches and target both women over 50 and people living with disability or health conditions as volunteers, Tennis Activators , Tennis Champions and coaches.
• It will use off peak court times when many courts are lying empty.

Products and Services

1. Tennis Coaching for people living with disability or health conditions
2. Volunteering opportunities for people living with disability or health conditions and women.
3. Opportunities for people living with disability or health conditions and women to be employed as coaches.
4. Opportunities for people living with disability or health conditions and women to get access to training and support to become qualified Tennis Coaches.
5. Setting up an Accessible Tennis consultative group to work for change in Tennis to widen and increase participation in Scotland.

Market Research

• 72% of Adults with a disability or health condition do not play as much sport as they would like.
• The current Lawn Tennis Association Strategy has its focus on the four areas of Wheelchair, Deaf, Visually Impaired and Learning Disability Tennis where there are pathways to play at elite level . Only 30% of people with Disabilities are categorised by those impairments.
• This project would be complementary and focus on Tennis Coaching for the other 70% and from my experience delivering tennis to people with mental health problems there is demand. There are courts lying empty at off peak times throughout Scotland. There are barriers to accessing courts which can include lack of access to qualified staff , pricing at an affordable cost and long term sustainability.
• 6 out of 10 Disabled people say they would prefer to take part in sport and physical activity with a mix of disabled and non disabled people. ( Open your Doors 2015)
• People with severe and enduring mental health problems have significantly poorer physical health with many dying 15-20 years younger than the average population.( NHS Scotland Learning Exchange 2015).

Why Accessible Tennis?

Accessible Tennis is a Social Enterprise with an asset lock. This means that any profits are reinvested in the company to subsidise access to Tennis for those that can’t afford to pay.

Quality

Accessible Tennis is registered as a nomadic venue with the LTA with the necessary insurance and legal protections. Coaches have appropriate coaching qualifications and registrations.
Some coaches have additional Disability qualifications.

New and Innovative

Flexible programmes at different venues during off peak hours in addition to current provision.