the Maungaraki Tennis Club is alive with community involvement and young players.
Following a range of initiatives to build community interest, the Maungaraki Tennis Club is alive with community involvement and young players. The club recently received a grant from NZ Community Trust to help with ongoing the renovation of their clubrooms. Maungaraki Tennis Club secretary Hugh Frostick says the grant of around $3,000 will help add finishing touches to the clubs rejuvenation. ?We are promoting a club open day on the 12 September because of the new Dowse interchange. ?We are expecting there will be more of an influx of interest from Petone and Alicetown,? he says. The run-down state of the 35-year-old clubhouse has been a focus for the club, and after the downstairs facilities were upgraded they set their sights on upstairs. The clubhouse has undergone many improvements over the last few years and the club is now thriving. The second floor now has table tennis tables and a pool table where young kids from around the area culminate to socialise. ?The changes have made quite a difference from before,? says Mr Frostick. Last year the club put ?a lot of effort? into promotion and they are seeing the fruits of that work now. ?We have got a great lot of interest in the Grass Hoppers programme for younger players. ?It has been a very successful programme,? he says. Local schools have been getting on board with the new scheme that has seen the clubs youth numbers reach an all time high. Mr Frostick says the club is encouraging the social aspect with sausage sizzles and other activities that draw the community together.
