8 December 2014 | Tennis Queensland

 

 
Roma & District Tennis Club upgrades a sign of bright future

 

The Roma & District Tennis Club is ready to give a five-star tennis experience to more of the local community thanks to a grant awarded by Heritage Bank earlier this year.

 

Roma were one of 26 clubs successful in receiving funds as part of the largest ever Heritage Bank Community Tennis Grants Program. The grant provided the funds needed to conduct a fresh new facelift including new paint job and the building of brand new signage to get the message out far and wide.

 

Club President Baden Waldron says the signage is a very important addition for the club in a town growing every day.

 

“We have a very large fly-in, fly-out work contingent in town, and they had no real contact to hire courts and facilities,” Mr Waldron said. “It certainly has made a difference, particularly with the fly-in, fly-outs,” Waldron responded regarding the difference made so far.

 

The club is a big part of the community, and functions as more than just a tennis facility, providing venue hire options and out-of-the-box uses to maximize its potential.

 

“It’s used by many organisations for Christmas parties, and other functions. We’ve hired it out to the Indigenous [and] we hire it to schools,” listed Waldron.

 

Looking forward, these experiences will also be bolstered by the new upgrades.

 

Heritage Bank has been offering the Community Tennis Grants Program to Queensland communities for almost a decade, seeing far more than 100 different tennis clubs across the state cement a solid future with their financial support.

 

Heritage Bank Chief Executive Officer, John Minz is proud of how far-reaching the program has become and how Heritage Bank’s contribution has impacted on a sport that is so engrained in the Queensland lifestyle.

 

“Tennis is a fantastic sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. Tennis clubs often provide a focal point for communities to come together and strengthen social bonds. Heritage is delighted to support this program because by helping local clubs improve their facilities, we are also helping build stronger local communities,” said Minz.

 

The works are just the beginning in a line of future aspirations held by Roma & District Tennis Club, “Certainly we do have (plans) for redevelopment, our courts are not in the best state of repair at the moment, so we will be pushing very strongly to upgrade those courts to international standard in the next twelve months.”