AFTER being heavily impacted by COVID-19 and last year\u2019s floods, the Heathcote Tennis Club is again running regular social sessions and have begun entering teams in competition.<\/p>\n
As part of the club\u2019s resurgence 11 players competed in a Fast4 Tournament at the club last weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor some it was their first taste of match experience and for others, their first time playing Fast4,\u201d said club secretary Vikki McNaughton\/<\/p>\n
Fast4 tennis began in Melbourne in 2014 and has been described as the tennis version of Twenty20 cricket, similar to the traditional form of the game but with shortened matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone had a smashing good time and we are going to incorporate the Fast4 format into our Tuesday night social hits,\u201d said Ms McNaughton.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sport was heavily impacted by the pandemic, then the floods. We put out a call on Facebook in August to see if there was any interest and it has snowballed from there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe now have 31 registered members, a team to enter in the Eaglehawk and District Tennis Association and social hits.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club offers three time slots for players of all experience levels. Sundays 9.30am to 11am, Wednesdays from 10am to 12pm and Tuesdays from 6pm.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone is welcome to come along to any session. We love it when people show up for a social hit,\u201d Ms McNaughton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve even had tourists pop in and join us. Membership was made free for this summer to encourage people to see how they like it. We can supply racquets, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms McNaughton said she is hoping to continue to provide opportunities to play tennis in the off-season to keep the momentum going.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting junior tennis up and running is our next priority and I would really like to get a mum, dads and bubs group running next year if people are interested,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will have a stall at the Community Smiles Day with activities for kids and where people can register their interest.\u201d<\/p>\n