Geelong Lawn Tennis Club makes the most of difficult year

GEELONG Lawn Tennis Club (GLTC) has made the most of the COVID-19 lockdown period, taking it as an opportunity to attend to some of its facilities.

This year has been challenging for many, particularly sporting clubs.

GLTC director John McConachy said the club had spent at least $30,000 on maintenance, giving some areas of the club some long-needed care.

The club has replaced fences, painted the clubrooms and done plenty of cleaning, while perhaps the most noticeable of changes to spectators and players will be the removal of the grandstand seating that sat behind the grass courts in front of the clubhouse.

“We’ve used it well, we’ve had to take a bit of a chance, spending money when we don’t have any coming in, but the opportunity was there,” McConachy said.

“They’re things that needed to be done.”

While the club, like so many others, did not enjoy the usual intake of people throughout the year, it was able to fare better than some given its expansive grounds.

GLTC has 27 courts and while the initial ruling was that it would only be able to open one court per facility in the peak lockdown period, upon confirmation GLTC was able to open four courts in different zones, such is the size of the complex, which proved hugely beneficial in navigating the difficult time.

In further good news for the club, it has had an increase in junior teams despite the year’s events.

McConachy was stoked to register 21 teams, up from 19 last year, which reassured the club’s value to the community.

“We thought the numbers might be down, people might be reluctant to come out, but the juniors have been massive.”

GLTC opened its grass courts on November 7 and McConachy welcomed anyone in the community wishing to have a hit to make a booking and enjoy the freshly cut lawn.