The Heron Tennis Centre’s Blueprint Part 2: Taking Heron into the Future by herontennis

THE HERON TENNIS CENTRE'S BLUEPRINT PART 2

TAKING HERON INTO THE FUTURE

The Heron Tennis Centre’s Blueprint Part 2: Taking Heron into the Future by Building on its Success Opened in 2004, the Heron Tennis Centre (Newquay) is the brainchild of Terry Askey. Terry, who was born, raised and worked in Newquay all his life, wanted to give something back to the local community after retiring from the travel industry. Heron is family-run and family-owned. It has been modelled on European tennis clubs and we are proud that it has become a very reputable tennis venue. The goal of Part 1 of Heron’s life has been achieved: become ‘Established and Successful’….. 2 indoor acrylic courts (*2 of only a small number of indoor courts in the county), 2 Kidzone Mini Tennis courts, 8 outdoor courts including 4 floodlit, plus a practice wall, all open to the public via "Pay & Play" or membership A welcoming, family-friendly, inclusive and professional "club culture" where juniors and adults enjoy on and off court times in harmony Licenced café and bar, open to the public Heron Room for meetings, exercise classes and celebrations 150 juniors, 100 adults and 10 inclusive players come to 30 group coaching sessions per week, catering for players from 2 1/2 years to players in their 80's, and which include 4 “Sassy” ladies only groups, 1 men only group, 2 “Super Seniors” groups, “Cardio Tennis”, and 2 junior and adult learning disability and wheelchair groups 100 private lesson pupils per week 6 coaches including 3 LTA Level 4 coaches Coaching provision for 8 primary and secondary schools including Truro School, Tretherras, Newquay Junior and Polwhele House 2 annual junior and adult National tournaments attracting 400 competitors, plus their families and supporters Host venue for the Summer and Winter Senior Cornwall County Championships, which feature the leading junior and adult players in the county 810 members and non-members on our email list 1500 social media followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter 6 adult teams including the 2021 Cornwall Premier League men’s and women’s champions 5 junior teams including the 2021 Cornwall U18 boys and U18 girls champions Home of Ace Academy: 2 pupils who received full tennis scholarships to US universities; Tad Maclean became the youngest British player to be world ranked on the ATP Tour in 2017 and the first world-ranked player from Cornwall in 20 years; 27 county champions; and a training base for 2 WTA ranked players Partner clubs: TC Steinbach (Germany), Set Point (Surrey), Putney Tennis Club (London) and Pershore Tennis Centre (Worcestershire) Home of Cornwall Disability Tennis Network Programme: 2 national squad learning disability players and 2 world ranked wheelchair players Home of the Cornwall Achieve Through Sport Foundation to help aspiring young players with their tournament costs 16 years later, the goal of Part 2 of Heron’s life is to take Heron into a viable future by building on its success. This will be achieved by giving members and non-members unforgettable experiences, both on and off court, and being the first club to bring a new racket sport to Cornwall. Specifically, this will be achieved by building 2 covered Padel Tennis courts and 3 artificial clay courts at Heron.

Why Padel Tennis – it is easier to learn than tennis, very social as doubles play, great for fitness, will attract new people to Heron from other sports like rugby, hockey and football, it is the fastest growing sport in Europe, Heron aims to be the first padel tennis venue in Cornwall and one of the first in the region! Why Artificial Clay – it is playable in all weathers therefore less cancelled play, softer on joints and muscles, opportunity to play on a new surface, plays similarly to European clay, excellent for juniors to have a taste of playing on a Grand Slam surface, which is argued to be the best for developing your game! Alongside the facility upgrade, our plans include: raising the profile of our adult and junior teams; enhancing the social side of tennis for adults especially whilst creating a sports bar and café vibe; maintaining the successes of our junior, adult, disability community programme, plus our Ace Academy ; and continuing to make Heron a place where people want to be for quality tennis, friendships and happy times!

Funding Heron’s Blueprint Part 2: Padel Tennis and Artificial Clay Courts Heron was mainly financed by private investment. An LTA grant and loan, plus Newquay Town Council and Restormel Borough Council grants, were also invaluable contributions to Heron’s opening. The total cost was £1 million. The centre is now largely self-sustaining and supports a fully functioning and professionally run tennis venue, and until now, any profits that have been made after loan repayments have been reinvested into the centre to maintain its operation. However, tennis facilities of Heron's size rarely generate the profits to provide a sinking fund for large scale facility upgrades such as the one we need and have planned. Thanks to continued private finance, making Heron’s Blueprint Part 2 a reality has begun, but we need outside funding in order to make this project a reality!

Target Total = £125, 000 How we plan to fund the Blueprint Part 2: 1) 5 year Sponsorship package – 2 or 1 available 2) 5 year Heron memberships – 15 available 3) “Super Heronian" 5 year membership – 2 available 4) Donations

Please watch our video for taking Heron into the future Video Available on YouTube: The Heron Tennis Centre (Newquay): Our Future

HOW WE PLAN TO FUND THE BLUEPRINT PART 2 1

SPONSORSHIP

5 year sponsorship packages: 2 lead sponsors costing £25,000 + VAT OR 1 main sponsor costing £50,000 + VAT, which includes: Name on main centre exterior sign, coaching and match balls, indoor court hoarding, reception advertising screen and 12 court nets Name on 2 National tournaments held at Heron Promotion at official launch of Padel Tennis courts and artificial clay courts, with possible royal visit, tv, press and radio 3 free memberships for employees, friends and/ or family 1 corporate day at Heron per year Heron Room use x2 per year Promotion on our weekly e-newsletters Name on our junior, adult, Ace Academy and disability programmes Logos on kit for our coaches, and junior and adult teams Plus, the prestige of being a lead sponsor and associated with Heron: our facility, our reputation, our values, our teams, our programmes, our leading players and what we represent!

5 YEAR HERON MEMBERSHIPS

15 available, £3000 each equating to £600 per year: Pay the full £3000 in one payment 5 years of membership, which includes free outdoor court hire, member’s rates for indoor court hire, eligibility to play in our teams and parking concessions Includes 12 indoor off-peak court hours Can make a private payment or a payment from your company, which can mean a tax saving

“SUPER HERONIAN" 5 YEAR 3 MEMBERSHIP – 2 AVAILABLE Tailormade package costing £10,000 for 5 years to include: 20 hours of private tennis or Padel Tennis lessons 20 hours of free indoor court time Single adult Heron Tennis and Padel Tennis memberships 20 free group tennis (including Cardio Tennis) or Padel Tennis coaching sessions 20 hours of use of our Heron Room 20 tubes of new tennis balls 20 free racket re-strings 20 free grips (regripped by us) 20 free coffees 20 individual guest day passes Free home league match fees Free Heron Open and Summer Open entry fees Free box league entry fees Plus, the prestige of being a Super Heronian member and associated with Heron: our facility, our reputation, our values, our teams, our programme, our leading players and what we represent.

4 DONATIONS TO THE BLUEPRINT PART 2 If you would simply like to make a donation to this project, please speak to Jon or Steve A to discuss. If you would rather make an anonymous donation, you can do this by transferring the amount of your choice to 'Heron Sports Management Company Limited', account number 20375365, sort code 20 87 94. Importantly, please reference the payment as 'Donation', which will mean it is non tax deductible. Any donation would be greatly appreciated!

Testimonials "Heron has been like a second home to us! The family joined initially for our autistic son to play in the disability group and what a fantastic inclusive group this has proved to be. The club is so accepting of our son and it is now his safe haven. Our middle son was welcomed as a sibling into the disability group and soon found his love for tennis, moving into Heron's Ace Academy. Heron not only develops youngsters as tennis players, but also as well rounded individuals. When our daughter was born, needless to say she joined the toddler sessions and quickly progressed into the academy system. Even Dad is now enjoying the cardio tennis sessions and playing with other club members. Heron really caters for everyone and artificial clay courts would just add to its appeal. Mum is the organiser at the moment, but is still made to feel part of the Heron family. She can be found in the fantastic cafe whilst the family are playing! Heron really is the most magnificent of tennis clubs: so warm, friendly and welcoming, with the most incredible coaches and administrators. We have found tennis because of Heron!" A parent whose children play at Heron "Heron Tennis is a strategically important venue for the county of Cornwall with an impressive history of engaging the local community and providing opportunities to meet the needs of a diverse range of people. The facility upgrade planned for Heron will not only enable Heron to build on this success, but create a facility like no other in the local area. As an all-weather surface artificial clay will provide greater court utilisation, increasing participation to support wider health and wellbeing agendas for the Newquay area. As the National Governing Body of Tennis we fully support Heron with their vison and look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on all levels of play from grassroots to performance." Kim Eschbaecher, Participation Development Partner, the Lawn Tennis Association "Never before have we come across such an open, inclusive, non-elitist and caring sports environment as we have found at Heron. The Askey family brand reaches across the local community regardless of age, ability or disability. The effort that goes into creating opportunity for everybody to enjoy tennis and other activities must be applauded. The club is a beacon for helping children and adults to make enjoyable exercise part of routine life. Pound for pound, Heron obviously produces societal benefits beyond the norms of everyday sports investment. This hugely successful enterprise should be recognised and supported for the lasting emotional and physical health benefits created." Heron Tennis Centre member and Men's Team Player "Heron Tennis Centre sits in the heart of the Newquay community. The facilities are enjoyed by all ages and by individuals from right across the county for both recreational and more competitive tennis. I welcome the wishes of the club to expand their offering on the site. The chance to be the first padel facility within the county offers a unique opportunity for both Newquay and Cornwall to become part of this fast growing and popular new sport. Anything which engages more people into sport in general and racket sports in particular will capture the imagination of the local community. The team at Heron Tennis Centre have developed their facilities over a number of years and this latest phase in their development is an extremely exciting step forward." Louis Gardner, Mayor of Newquay

Please help us to make this project a reality! Thank you, from Terry, Steve, Jon, Lizzie, our staff and coaching team!

The Duchess of Gloucester (left) visits Heron in 2013

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